Euro Paper Talk: City agree €60m January deal to fix problem position

Man City will end their hunt to fill a problem position with an impressive €60m January deal agreed, while Barcelona and Juventus are set to trade four players before the European transfer window shuts, according to Thursday’s European papers.

 

MAN CITY ‘AGREE TO SIGN’ BARCELONA STAR UMTITI

Reports in Spain claim Manchester City have agreed to sign Samuel Umtiti in January.

Pep Guardiola was in the market for a new centre-half this summer to cover the departure of the long-serving Vincent Kompany, who moved on after a trophy-laded spell in Manchester.

City had hoped to land Harry Maguire from Leicester, but were beaten to the punch by neighbours Manchester United, with the blue half of Manchester opting against – as they have done in the past – to walk away from the deal.

But with just Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi at his disposal, Guardiola remains in the hunt for a quality addition to his backline and Don Balon claims they have agreed to meet Barcelona’s €60m (£55m) asking price for Umtiti.

The World Cup winner was made available by Barcelona this summer after slipping down the pecking order, but with no takers coming forwards and with the player determined to stay with the LaLiga champions, he ended up staying at the Nou Camp.

However, the Spanish publication reckons all that will change in January, with City agreeing to meet Barcelona’s asking price and Guardiola in turn hoping his former club don’t play the Frenchman in the Champions League to ensure he will remain eligible for he Blues in the latter stages of the competition, assuming they get there.

 

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AND THE REST

VALENCIA, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 19: Emre Can of Juventus reacts during the Group H match of the UEFA Champions League between Valencia and Juventus at Estadio Mestalla on September 19, 2018 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images)

Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici is confident a deal has been struck with Barcelona which will see Ivan Rakitic and Emre Can swap clubs this summer (Tuttosport)

Mario Mandzukic, linked earlier this summer with Manchester United, could also join the LaLiga champions with Luis Suarez heading the other way (Tuttosport)

PSG have rejected Real Madrid’s offer of €100m plus Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Keylor Navas for Neymar (L’Equipe)

The Ligue 1 champions, however, are keen on Navas and could launch an independent move for the Costa Rican goalkeeper after seeing efforts to sign Gianluigi Donnarumma from AC Milan fail (Marca)

Bayern Munich will relaunch their attempt to sign Manchester City winger Leroy Sane when the January transfer window opens, despite the winger’s recent ACL injury (Sports Bild)

Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted he was on the verge of signing for Arsenal before Manchester United made a late move to hijack the deal (TV1)

Angel Correa’s transfer to AC Milan from Atletico Madrid should go through in the next few days after the two clubs settled on a €40m fee (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Atletico Madrid are ‘totally confident’ of landing Valencia striker Rodrigo Moreno in the closing stages of the transfer window (Marca)

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has branded Arkadiusz Milik ‘untouchable’ amid claims the Polish striker could be set to join Inter Milan as part of their attempts to land Mauro Icardi (Calciomercato)

Barcelona are set to renew the contract of midfielder Rafinha Alcantara before loaning him out, with Valencia a likely destination (Marca)

Fiorentina are targeting Sporting Lisbon winger Raphinha with negotiations ongoing to lower the €25m asking price (Gianluca DiMarzio)

Brescia owner Massimo Cellino has set his sights on signing free agents Fredy Guarin and Adil Rami in the next few days after wrapping up a deal for Mario Balotelli (Tuttosport)

Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted he doesn’t know why international teammate Bruno Fernandes has not left Sporting Lisbon yet, amid reports the attacking midfielder has been offered to Real Madrid (AS)

Zinedine Zidane has ‘changed his mind’ on the future of James Rodriguez at Real Madrid after being delighted by the player’s attitude in training (AS)

Borussia Dortmund are in talks with Portugal international Raphael Guerreiro over extending his contract, with his current deal expiring in the summer of 2020 (Bild)

Paulo Dybala is expected to remain with Juventus for at least one more season after a report claimed the Old Lady will only sell him if they manage to land Neymar this summer (Tuttosport)

Jerome Boateng TEAMtalk

Jerome Boateng could still depart Bayern Munich this summer if a club are prepared to pay £20m for the 30-year-old centre-back (Sports Bild)

AC Milan winger Samu Castillejo has decided to turn down an approach from Celta Vigo and fight for his place (Calciomercato)

Jurgen Klopp has compared Liverpool old boy Philippe Coutinho to Alessandro Del Piero after informing Bayern Munich what to expect from the player (Kicker)

Real Betis striker Loren Moron – who scored on the opening day of the campaign – is wanted by French club Bordeau (France Football)