Paper Talk: Spurs to snub playmaker; Newcastle eye City star

Rob McCarthy

Newcastle are hoping to seal a deal for a Manchester City midfielder, while Tottenham have cooled their interest in an Everton star, according to Thursday’s newspapers.
 

NEWCASTLE EYE £5M BRAZILIAN

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez is poised to land Brazilian star Fernando from Manchester City.

Benitez has identified the 29-year-old as his first major signing since winning promotion back to the Premier League.

City are believed to want £8m for a player who is out on contract next summer, but Benitez is confident he can get his man for £5m, according to the report in The Sun.

Southampton and Bournemouth are also said to be in the running for the player.

BAKAYOKO SIGNING TO SPARK MATIC MOVE TO MAN UTD

Chelsea are closing in on £35m-rated Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, with Nemanja Matic reportedly poised for a move to Manchester United if that deal goes through.

Blues boss Antonio Conte has made the signing of the France international one of his top priorities this summer, after the 22-year-old enjoyed an outstanding season with the Ligue 1 champions.

Conte wants to pair Bakayoko with N’Golo Kante to give the Blues a central midfield partnership full of pace, power and dynamism, while United boss Jose Mourinho is a big fan of Matic and is keen to bring him to Old Trafford.

The player himself is also keen on the switch, having played under Mourinho in two spells at Stamford Bridge.

United, meanwhile, are still hoping to wrap up deals for Real Madrid frontman Alvaro Morata and Inter Milan playmaker Ivan Perisic, according to the report in the Daily Mail.

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BARKLEY IN LIMBO AFTER SPURS COOL INTEREST

Ross Barkley faces being stuck in limbo at Everton after Tottenham reportedly cooled their interest in the midfielder.

Spurs have been long-time admirers of the England star, who has still to sign a new deal with the Toffees, but are believed to be considering dropping out of the race for the 23-year-old as they are already well covered in the number 10 position, according to the report in the Daily Mirror.

Barkley looks increasingly likely to be frozen out by Everton boss Ronald Koeman, particularly after the Toffees snapped up playmaker Davy Klaassen from Ajax for £23.6million.

Koeman is also still eyeing a move for Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson, which seemingly means Barkley’s days at Goodison Park are numbered. However, with Spurs set to drop their interest in remains to be seen where the midfielder will be playing his football next season.

AND THE REST

Brazil full-back Dani Alves is on the brink of completing his move to Manchester City after Juventus agreed to release him from his current contract (Daily Mirror)

Manchester City star Samir Nasri has been offered a £275,000-a-week tax-free deal by Chinese Super League outfit Shanghai Shenhua (The Sun)

Diego Costa is ready to dig his heels in and stay at Chelsea until he seals his dream move back to Atletico Madrid, who are currently serving a transfer ban until January (Daily Star)

Playmaker Bojan Krkic claims he will probably return to La Liga if he leaves Stoke this summer (Daily Mirror)

Joe Hart could remain at Manchester City as the England No 1 keeps his options open (Daily Mail)

Manchester City’s bid to sign Kyle Walker will drag into next week as Tottenham refuse to lower their £50m value for the England star (Independent)

John Terry is willing to drop into the Championship in a bid to win more silverware (Daily Mirror)

Man Utd have slapped a £20m price tag on full-back Matteo Darmian, who is wanted by Serie A champions Juventus (Daily Star)

Sam Clucas is set to join the list of players to quit Hull this summer following their relegation, with Leicester, Burnley and Swansea all locked in a three-way fight for the midfielder (Daily Mirror)

Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta has confirmed the club have received a “substantial offer” for defender Alex Sandro (Daily Express)

Alan Pardew is the shock name in line to be named as Sunderland boss if Tony Adams’ consortium seize control of the club (Daily Star)

Newcastle and Burnley are battling it out to sign England Under-20 World Cup winner Sheyi Ojo on loan (Daily Mirror)

Arsenal want £20m for Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny (The Sun)

Former Liverpool stopper Pepe Reina is close to agreeing a one-year contract extension at Napoli (Daily Mirror)

Leicester City are plotting a £25m move for Manchester City frontman Kelechi Iheanacho (Daily Telegraph)

Derby aim to sign Stoke midfielder Glenn Whelan, once they sell Will Hughes for around £8million to Watford (Daily Mirror)

Louis van Gaal is targeting a return to football more than a year after he was sacked by Manchester United and is eyeing a role at the Dutch FA (The Times)

Manchester City don’t want to loan out Nolito this summer, with the club keen to seal a permanent exit for him (Daily Mirror)

Southampton and Crystal Palace are battling to make Mauricio Pellegrino their new manager, with Dutchman Frank De Boer waiting in the wings (The Independent)

Lyon are close to completing a £16.6m move for Chelsea’s 21-year-old forward Bertrand Traore, according to club president Jean-Michel Aulas (London Evening Standard)

Giannelli Imbula’s proposed loan switch from Stoke to Nice has hit a snag over the midfielder’s wage demands (Daily Mirror)

Huddersfield have made a club record £11.5m bid for Montpellier striker Steve Mounie (Daily Mirror)