Paper Talk: Mata linked with La Liga return; Saints eye ex-City man

Oli Fisher

Manchester United man Juan Mata is the subject of interest from a La Liga side, while Mesut Ozil has issued a demand to Arsenal, according to Wednesday’s papers.

 

REAL MADRID EYE MAN UTD MAN

Spanish giants Real Madrid are eyeing a possible move to take Juan Mata back to the Bernabeu, according to the Express.

The Spaniard started his career with Real at their Castilla team, but never managed to graduate and eventually joined fellow La Liga side Valencia.

The 29-year-old was left out of Jose Mourinho’s squad which faced Chelsea at the weekend, adding to speculation that Mata’s days at Old Trafford could be numbered.

Zinedine Zidane is looking to add attacking creativity to his side, who sit eight points behind Barcelona in the La Liga table after just eleven games played.

Mata may be available on the cheap in January, or possible on a free if Los Blancos are willing to wait, as his contract expires next summer.

 

AND THE REST

Nabil Fekir has hinted that Arsenal could be his destination when he leaves Lyon (Daily Star)

Mesut Ozil wants the number 10 shirt at Arsenal – currently worn by Jack Wilshere – if he is to sign a new deal at the club (The Sun)

Chelsea have been dealt a blow in their quest to sign Alex Sandro with Juventus determined to hang onto the full-back in January (Daily Star)

Newcastle are ready to renew their interest in Danny Ings in January, and are planning a loan move for the Liverpool striker (Daily Mail)

Slaven Bilic called his West Ham players after his sacking on Monday to ask them where they felt he had gone wrong, with many blaming him for allowing disciplinary standards to slip (Mirror)

Chelsea are reviewing their management structure after the resignation of technical director Michael Emenalo (The Guardian)

Sam Allardyce’s chances of landing the Everton job are fading because of a disagreement over the contract – he wants a long-term deal, whereas the club see him as a short-term option (Daily Star)

Sam Allardyce: Turned down China move

PSG hope to sell Angel Di Maria and Lucas Moura in January, after UEFA told them they need to raise £70m if they want to meet financial fair play regulations (Daily Mail)

Lionel Messi has given Barcelona his three choices if they don’t sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool – they are Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, Lyon’s Nabil Fekir and Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez (Daily Express)

Jose Mourinho is heading for a clash with the Manchester United board over further backing in the transfer market (The Sun)

Luke Shaw is set to reject a move to Fenerbahce in January and stay at Manchester United to fight for his place (Daily Mail)

Liverpool’s Joe Gomez has his eyes on a place in England’s squad for the World Cup after receiving his first call-up, for the friendlies against Germany and Brazil (Daily Express)

Southampton’s morale has not been affected by the Virgil van Dijk saga in the summer, according to winger Nathan Redmond (Daily Star)

Southampton are targeting ex-Manchester City forward Stevan Jovetic to help solve their goal-scoring problems under Mauricio Pellegrino (Mirror)

Crystal Palace target Cenk Tosun says that he is not interested in a move to the club as he loves life at Besiktas (Daily Star)

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan says appointing David Moyes is a “gamble”, and they have no one lined up to replace him at the end of the season (The Sun)

Paul Pogba is set to make his return from injury for Manchester United against Newcastle straight after the international break (Mirror)