Euro Paper Talk: Man Utd cleared to sign 548-game veteran on a song
Manchester United have learnt of the bargain fee needed to sign a top January target, while Chelsea are looking to raid Monaco for one of French football’s most talented upcoming stars, according to Wednesday’s European papers.
MAN UTD TOLD MANDZUKIC PRICE WILL BE €11M
Manchester United have reportedly been informed by Juventus that Mario Mandzukic will cost just €11m if they want to sign him in January.
The veteran striker has been told he can leave the Serie A champions when the winter window reopens after falling down the pecking order under Maurizio Sarri,
Mandzukic came close to joining United over the summer, but opted to stay in Turin – much to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s disappointment.
However, it seems it’ll be a case of second time lucky with Mandzukic now said to be keen on a move to Old Trafford ahead of rival interest from West Ham, an unnamed Qatari side and MLS outfit LA Galaxy.
The striker has a decent record too: in his 538-game career, the 33-year-old has 212 goals to his name: a strike every 2.5 matches.
Solskjaer is said to have made Lyon star Moussa Dembele his No 1 target – but Calciomercato claims he could also take up Juventus’ offer to sell Mandzukic for €11m too in order to further increase his attacking options over the second half of the season.
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AND THE REST
Chelsea have reportedly lined up 18-year-old Monaco’s France U19 wonder-kid Benoit Badiashile – and will look to strike a deal in January for the forward to move next summer when their transfer sanctions are lifted (Le 10 Sport)
Juventus have emerged as favourites ahead of Barcelona and Liverpool in the race to sign Napoli midfielder Fabian Ruiz, with Maurizio Sarri’s side ready to meet the €70m asking price next summer (Don Balon)
Real Madrid are plotting a triple January raid on Ajax and will watch Donny van de Beek, Hakim Ziyech and David Neres against Valencia on Wednesday night ahead of a €150m triple raid (AS)
Bayern Munich rejected an offer to sign Man City striker Gabriel Jesus for a €100m fee this summer after the Premier League champions offered him to the Bundesliga giants (Bild)
David Beckham has set his sights on signing Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez and David Silva as his first three transfers at new MLS franchise Inter Miami (Calciomercato)
Real Madrid are ready to let Thibaut Courtois leave the club in the summer of 2020 after he failed to impress at the Bernabeu and was withdrawn at half-time during Tuesday’s 2-2 draw against Club Brugge (Don Balon)
Barcelona are considering another bid for Chelsea’s Brazil forward Willian in the January window, with the Brazilian yet to sign a new deal and available on a free transfer in the summer (Mundo Deportivo)
Everton failed with a bid of more than €30m (£26.6m) to sign 20-year-old Portuguese forward Rafael Leao in the summer before he moved from Lille to AC Milan (Tuttosport)
Atletico Madrid have held talks with Qatar-based Al Rayyan over the sale of 30-year-old Spain striker Diego Costa (AS)
Barcelona may take up an option to sign Real Betis full-back Emerson next summer after the 20-year-old caught the eye in LaLiga (ESPN)
AC Milan’s former manager Gennaro Gattuso is reportedly waiting for an approach from his former club to return to the dug-out (Calciomercato)
Former Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Bernard Lama has expressed reservations over Keylor Navas and questioned if he’s good enough for the Ligue 1 giants (AS)
Fiorentina are ready to offer a mega deal to young midfielder Gaetano Castrovilli in order to keep him at the club and ward off the big guns from a swoop (Calciomercato)
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, 20, has rejected a new £5.3m-a-year contract with AC Milan (Corriere dello Sport)
Serie A giants Juventus are keen on signing Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld on a free transfer next summer (Tuttosport)
Burnley forward Jay Rodriguez, 30, is being linked with a surprise move to Inter Milan in January (Calciomercato)