Paper Talk: Mata rejects China to extend Man Utd stay; trio eye Inter star

Rob McCarthy

A Manchester United star is set to reject a move to China and pen a new deal with the club, while Southampton have targeted a Barcelona striker, according to Thursday’s papers.

 

UNITED STAR TO REJECT CHINA SWITCH

Juan Mata will reportedly reject the lure of a move to China and sign a new contract at Manchester United.

Representatives of the United playmaker are understood to have been approached by the Chinese Super League with a view to a move, but Mata has turned down the opportunity to earn a huge rise on his current £165,000-a-week salary and opted to stay at United – who are set to trigger a one-year extension to his current deal.

Mata is expected to join Ander Herrera in penning a new deal with the club, with his fellow Spaniard also expected to extend his stay at Old Trafford.

Herrera has found first-team starts hard to come by so far this season due to the outstanding form of United new boy Nemanja Matic, but with Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini currently on the sidelines he is expected to feature more in the coming weeks.

United boss Jose Mourinho values Herrera as a key member of his first-team squad and is ready to reward the player with improved terms.

AND THE REST

Jose Mourinho is ready to sign a new £65million five-year Manchester United contract (The Sun)

Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino is set to make a move for Barcelona forward Paco Alcacer in January (Daily Star)

Arsenal fear Alexis Sanchez will not be ready to face Watford on Saturday after the agony of missing out on the World Cup with Chile (The Sun)

Michael O’Neill hopes Huddersfield winger Sean Scannell will switch allegiances from the Republic and play for Northern Ireland (The Sun)

Crystal Palace are ready to battle Newcastle for Besiktas striker Cenk Tosun (The Sun)

Barcelona will make an opening bid of £120m for Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho in January (Daily Mail)

Jose Mourinho is angry that Romelu Lukaku was risked by Belgium in their match against Cyprus on Tuesday (Daily Mail)

Police on Merseyside will check motorway bridges for offensive banners ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Man Utd (Daily Mail)

Arsenal are ready to thrust Laurent Koscielny back into action to replace the injured Shkodran Mustafi (Daily Mail)

Roy Hodgson will target experienced Premier League players in January as he plots Crystal Palace’s survival (Daily Mail)

Newcastle’s Ayoze Perez has thanked Rafa Benitez for reviving his career (Daily Star)

Former Newcastle striker Leon Best has been given a chance to impress on trial with Charlton (Daily Star)

England midfielder Jack Wilshere is understood to be considering leaving Arsenal in January in a bid to boost his chances of earning a spot in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad (Daily Mirror)

Watford loanee Andre Carillo has ruled out making a permanent move from Benfica (Daily Star)

Paul Scholes would have to end his involvement with Salford City to land the Oldham job (Daily Mirror)

Leeds United are hoping to sign Huddersfield left-back Scott Malone in January with a loan deal most likely (Daily Mirror)

Hull City boss Leonid Slutsky is ready to appoint Oleg Yarovinsky as his assistant – Yarovinsky was his head scout at CSKA Moscow (Daily Mirror)

West Brom are eyeing up a January move for Inter Milan full-back Yuto Nagatomo (Daily Mirror)

Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante has been ruled out until November with a hamstring injury (Daily Telegraph)

Sunderland owner Ellis Short is ready to sell the club for around the same price as his house – £57m (Daily Express)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set for a return to full training with Manchester United next month and could be available for selection in December (The Times)

Burnley, Newcastle United and West Brom are all interested in signing Inter Milan’s 31-year-old defender Yuto Nagatomo