Paper Talk: Tierney wanted by Man Utd; shock Costa transfer link
Manchester United are plotting a £10million raid on Celtic, while Diego Costa’s future is again under the spotlight amid claims of interest from another La Liga giant, according to Tuesday’s newspapers.
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UNITED TO MAKE £10M SWOOP FOR TIERNEY
Manchester United are tracking Celtic’s teenage left-back Kieran Tierney, according to reports on Tuesday.
The Daily Mirror claims United have sent scouts to make regular checks on the 19-year-old, who has been earning rave reviews for the Bhoys this season.
Tierney, 19, who is making his way back from a two-month lay-off with an ankle injury, has also been watched by Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City this season.
Tierney played a key role in Celtic’s 3-3 Champions League draw with Manchester City at Celtic Park earlier this season and has been in demand since.
The report suggests United made try tempt Celtic with a £10million offer for the player this month, with the club struggling to fill their left-back void having played Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, Matteo Darmian and Ashley Young there this season.
But it says a summer move looks far more likely for Tierney, with Celtic also adamant that another of their star men, striker Moussa Dembele, will also stay put.
COSTA IN THE NEWS AGAIN AS BARCELONA JOIN LIST OF ADMIRERS
Barcelona have joined the race to sign Diego Costa, as they seek to try and take advantage of the uncertainty over the Spanish international’s future at Chelsea, claims The Independent.
Tuesday’s papers are full of news about the Chelsea striker’s future, with many suggesting the player is likely to shelve plans to move to China by staying at Stamford Bridge until the end of the summer, when the Blues will grant him his exit.
And while the Chinese Super League – despite the quota limit they placed on foreign signings – remains an obvious pull due to the vast sums of money being offered, the player’s former club, Atletico Madrid, are also said to be monitoring developments closely.
However, The Independent claims another La Liga giant, Barcelona, have also made their interest in Costa known to the player’s advisors.
Bids for the player in this window are not out of the question, but it is understood Chelsea have no intention of selling this January, despite a controversial weekend that finished with him missing the league leaders’ 3-0 win away to Leicester City through a back injury.
Sources in Madrid and Manchester say Atletico are almost resigned to losing Antoine Griezmann to United in the summer for an expected fee of around £100m, making a return bid for Costa inevitable. Those close to the club say they would expect to pay around £40million for Costa. That could change if Barcelona make their interest concrete, however.
In what has been a more difficult season for the defending Spanish champions, their famous attack of Leo Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez has not come close to the impact they had in the 2014-15 treble season. With Suarez set to turn 30 next week, the Barca hierarchy are more open to changing up their attack, and Costa is high on their list of targets.
AND THE REST
Manchester City have told Barcelona they are willing to pay £100m to reunite superstar Lionel Messi with Pep Guardiola (The Sun)
Meanwhile, Guardiola will be handed a staggering £250m to turn Manchester City into champions again (Daily Star)
And Guardiola is planning a mass clear-out this summer in a bid to re-build Manchester City (Daily Express)
Guardiola will be in the market for a new goalkeeper this summer, as pressure continues to grow on Claudio Bravo, 33 (Daily Mail)
Manchester United are reportedly expected to sign Antoine Griezmann in a £100m move next summer after Atletico Madrid made Chelsea’s Diego Costa their top choice to replace him (The Sun)
Costa is ready to call a truce with Chelsea and stay until the end of the season (The Sun)
Costa is now at loggerheads with Roman Abramovich – after refusing to commit himself to a new deal at Chelsea (Daily Mirror)
Costa is likely to be sold by Chelsea in summer as Antonio Conte takes hardline approach (The Guardian)
Swansea City have been linked with a loan move for a Chinese Super League player in the form of ex-Chelsea star Gael Kakuta (The Sun)
Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez faces a possible jail sentence after admitting to two counts of tax fraud in Spain (The Sun)
Arsene Wenger is lining up a move for AC Milan’s rapid forward M’Baye Niang if Alexis Sanchez opts to leave Arsenal (The Sun)
Former Arsenal star Lukas Podolski looks set to break the trend by rejecting a move to China to play in Japan (The Sun)
Robbie Keane could make a shock return to English football after LA Galaxy spell with Championship side Preston (The Sun)
Crystal Palace are talks to sign Sevilla midfielder Vicente Iborra (The Sun)
Liverpool may risk fall-out with FIFA by playing Joel Matip against Plymouth in Wednesday’s FA Cup clash despite an eligibility row (Daily Mail)
Tottenham have offered an academy scholarship to Mauricio Pochettino’s 15-year-old son (Daily Mail)
Middlesbrough will reluctantly sell Gaston Ramirez to Leicester for £10m and replace him with Stoke’s Bojan. The two 26-year-old attacking midfielders are both keen on moves (The Sun)
West Ham have ordered Dimitri Payet to apologise to their fans and show some loyalty to the club after rejecting a fresh bid from Marseille (Daily Mirror)
Payet, 29, is prepared to take a pay cut in order to return to his former club Marseille, says French journalist Julien Laurens (BBC Radio Five Live)
Watford are close to signing Fiorentina’s ex-Birmingham, West Ham and QPR striker Mauro Zarate on loan (Daily Mirror)
Christian Benteke’s agent says the 26-year-old striker’s focus is entirely on Crystal Palace, despite reports linking the Belgium international with Paris St-Germain (London Evening Standard)
Striker Patrick Bamford will cost Middlesbrough up to £10m when he completes his move from Chelsea back to Boro, where he has previously been on loan, this week (Daily Mirror)
Jurgen Klopp will not sanction a loan move for Liverpool youngster Sheyi Ojo (Daily Mirror)
Manchester United are among a number of top European clubs keeping tabs on Flamengo youngster Vinicius Junior – and have already been rebuffed in one attempt to secure first option on any eventual transfer (The Independent)
Liverpool have entered a three-way race with Inter and Juventus to sign Sassuolo winger Domenico Berardi (The Independent)