Euro Paper Talk: Chelsea ready to make late bid for Nabil Fekir; Roma target Tottenham midfielder; Mignolet wanted
Chelsea are ready to pounce on Nabil Fekir ahead of Thursday’s transfer deadline and Tottenham could lose Victor Wanyama to Roma, according to Tuesday’s European papers.
CHELSEA ‘ACCELERATE’ FEKIR TALKS
France Football are reporting that Chelsea are leading the race to sign Nabil Fekir.
The France attacker star is wanted by new Blues boss Maurizio Sarri because he can link midfield and attack and Chelsea have “accelerated” talks and moved ahead of Liverpool in the running to sign him.
Liverpool had been set to unveil Fekir as a summer signing ahead of the World Cup but the £53million deal collapsed at the last minute in strange circumstances with a row emerging over his fee and a long-standing knee injury.
Fekir has since been linked with a move to Chelsea, though it’s believed Anfield is where the player is believed to have set his heart on moving.
Fekir returned to training with Lyon on Monday after helping his country win the World Cup and, despite being happy at the Ligue 1 club, he admitted there was some serious uncertainty about his future.
“As you can see, I am in Lyon. I am very good here,” he told the club’s official website.
“But the transfer window is still long and everything goes very fast in football. We do not know what will happen in the future but I am very good at OL.”
Now though Chelsea have upped the ante with the transfer window set to shut at 5pm on Thursday.
CHELSEA AGREE KOVACIC DEAL
Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Real Madrid rebel Mateo Kovacic, according to reports in Spain.
The Croatia star has refused to train or play for the European champions in a bid to force a move away from the Bernabeu – and now Marca claim the player is London-bound.
It’s claimed Kovacic is set to move to Stamford Bridge on an initial loan deal, with the Blues holding the option to turn the transfer into a permanent €60million deal next summer – far lower than the initial €80m Real were said to have demanded when Manchester City made an enquiry earlier this summer.
Kovacic expressed his desire to leave Real earlier this summer after a meeting with new boss Julen Lopetegui – and it seems he has now got his wish.
The World Cup finalist has only started 37 La Liga games across three seasons; 10 of which were in the 2017/18 campaign and now he needs to become a regular starter to fulfil his potential.
The former Inter Milan had also been linked with Manchester United, but their interest is believed to have waned as Jose Mourinho focuses his search on signing a new central defender.
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AND THE REST
Victor Wanyama has emerged as a top transfer target for Serie A club Roma after a move for Steven N’Zonzi collapsed (La Repubblica)
Jerome Boateng has been urged by Bayern Munich team-mate Franck Ribery to shun interest from Manchester United and Arsenal (Goal)
Lucas Perez has undergone a medical at West Ham, while david Ospina will hold talks with Turkish giants Besiktas (Goal)
Napoli have joined Besiktas in the race for Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet (Het Nieuwsblad)
Besiktas are awaiting the sale of Arsenal target Domagoj Vida in order to sign West Brom Albion star Nacer Chadli (Sabah)
Sampdoria will rival Lazio for the signature of Inter Milan’s Portuguese midfielder Joao Mario (SportItalia)
Sassuolo have reportedly made a €12m bid for Barcelona defender Marlon (Mundo Deportivo)
Roma are said to be targeting the signing of Malian midfielder Diadie Samassekou from Red Bull Salzburg (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Toni Kroos has admitted Real Madrid will find it ‘really tough’ to replace Cristiano Ronaldo this season (AS)
Celtic are hoping to sign Pedro Chirivella after the Liverpool midfielder turned down a £3.5 million switch to Rosenborg (Goal)
Athletic Bilbao’s keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is a target for Chelsea (Goal)
Barcelona are working on a deal to sign Paul Pogba and could offer Ousmane Dembele or Ivan Rakitic to get the deal over the line (Mundo Deportivo)
Manchester United will resist any offers for Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial while continuing their search for a centre-back (ESPN)
Paris Saint-Germain have offered Adrien Rabiot another new deal after both Arsenal and AC Milan made plays to sign the €40m-rated France midfielder (SportItalia)
Luka Modric has agreed personal terms on a move to Inter Milan and could formally ask Real Madrid to let him leave the Bernabeu (Calciomercato)
Leeds United are watching SC Amiens striker Moussa Konate (L’Equipe)
West Ham are close to landing Antonio Sanabria from Real Betis for a fee of €22.5m, with the forward due to arrive for a medical in the coming days (Estadio Deportivo)
Arsenal will make a last-minute move to sign Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele (Mundo Deportivo)
Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic is more determined than ever to stay at Juventus after the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo and return of Leonardo Bonucci (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Inter Milan have contacted Monaco to discuss a swap deal involving Antonio Candreva and Keita Balde (Calciomercato)
Sevilla sporting director Joaquin Caparros declared that Steven N’Zonzi is staying with the club and will training with his teammates as normal (AS)
Levante midfielder Jefferson Lerma is undergoing a medical at Bournemouth on Wednesday ahead of a club record €30m move
Atletico Madrid and AC Milan have finally found an agreement over the transfer of Nikola Kalinic (Gazzetta dello Sport)
PSG are ready to challenge Arsenal in the race for AC Milan’s Swiss left-back Ricardo Rodriguez (Telefoot)
Villarreal midfielder Alfred N’Diaye has arrived in Malaga ahead of move to the club (AS)
Former Arsenal star Santi Cazorla has signed a one-year contract with Villarreal with the option to extend by a further season
Celta Vigo have reached an agreement of €6.5m for Nordsjaelland midfielder Mathias Jensen (La Voz de Galicia)
The agent of Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has offered his client to Manchester United and Chelsea (Il Corriere dello Sport)
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