Euro Paper Talk: Liverpool register serious interest in €140m strike ace & Norway midfielder; Spurs eye midfield maestro

Liverpool and Manchester United are keen on a La Liga star, while Mauricio Pochettino wants Tottenham to strike a deal for a midfielder – all in Wednesday’s European papers.

LIVERPOOL, MAN UTD, TRACKING MAXI GOMEZ

Liverpool and Manchester United are conducting thorough checks on Valencia striker Maxi Gomez, according to reports in Italy.

Gomez, who was on West Ham’s radar in the summer transfer window before he moved to Mestalla Stadium from Celta Vigo, signed a five-year contract with his current employers which included a €140m release clause.

The 23-year-old has netted five goals and assisted one other in 15 appearances in all competitions for Valencia so far and has in fact scored one in every 2.4 attempts on goal.

It is the latter statistic that has reportedly caught the eye of United and Liverpool, who – according to Calciomercato – have begun to monitor carefully Gomez’s progress at Valencia ahead of a potential move for the player.

Previous reports in the summer linked the European champions with a move for him before his move across Spain but this latest claim – if true – suggests their interest may not have ended despite him only recently signing a new deal.

Another report from Norwegian outlet ZG claims that the Reds are interested in Genk midfielder, Sander Berge.

 

 

AND THE REST

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has asked the club’s hierarchy to try and strike a deal with Barcelona that would bring midfielder Carles Alena to North London (Calciomercato)

Arsene Wenger is the favourite to take over as head coach at Bayern Munich after Ralf Rangnick turned down the role (BILD Sport)

Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz – linked with Liverpoool and United – has said he is confident he can go abroad at “any moment” and be a success (Marca)

Real Madrid are eyeing up a move for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, whose current price tag sits at £60m (Don Balon)

Representatives from Los Blancos were joined by officials from Manchester City on Tuesday night in watching RB Salzburg striker Erling Braut Haaland in action against Napoli (Calciomercato)

Salzburg have told interested clubs that they will have to stump up £86m if they want to sign Haaland (Tuttosport)

Chelsea are to battle with the likes of Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund for the signing of Flamengo wonderkid, Reinier, who has been dubbed a “Kaka clone” (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Manchester United have turned down an initial £10m bid from Roma to make Chris Smalling’s loan move permannent (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has profusely denied reports that Gareth Bale could leave the club in January (Marca)

Lionel Messi would want Barcelona to appoint River Plate’s Marcelo Gallardo if Ernesto Valverde is sacked this season (Mundo Deportivo)

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique blasted his side’s lack of patience as they drew 0-0 with Slavia Prague in Champions League action on Tuesday (Mundo Deportivo)

Juventus are keen on signing James Rodriguez from Real Madrid next summer, with Christiano Ronaldo interested in reuniting with his former teammate (El Desmarque)

Qatar Sports Investments, which owns Paris Saint-Germain, has shown interest in buying Leeds United (L’Equipe)

PSG boss Thomas Tuchel has turned down an opportunity to become the new Bayern Munich boss (L’Equipe)