Euro Paper Talk: Lopetegui clears Real Madrid man to make €60m Man Utd move

Manchester United could land a long-term €60m defensive target, while Arsenal lead Everton and West Ham in ambitious plans to lure a €30m-rated World Cup winner, according to Thursday’s European papers.

 

NEW REAL COACH WANTS BOATENG TO REPLACE VARANE 

Manchester United will be given the green light to sign long-term Jose Mourinho target Raphael Varane, according to reports in Spain.

New Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui is ready to stamp his mark on the squad by axing Zinedine Zidane favourite Varane and replacing him with Jerome Boateng, who has been told he can leave Bayern Munich for a fee of around €35million.

That’s according to Spanish outlet Don Balon, who reckon Boateng is seen as the perfect partner for Sergio Ramos in the heart of the Real defence, with the new boss expected to make a push to reclaim the LaLiga title back from Barcelona.

And it’s suggested Varane will be pushed out of the club as a result of Boateng’s arrival, with long-term suitors United keen to bring him to Old Trafford for the reported €60m (£54m) asking price.

Mourinho has been in the hunt for a new central defender this summer, but has seen doors close on him for Samuel Umtiti and Jose Maria Gimenez, while efforts to land Toby Alderweireld appear to be stalling after Tottenham hiked up the Belgian’s asking price.

 

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AND THE REST

Arsenal, Everton and West Ham have all made enquiries over a potential deal for Borussia Dortmund’s €30m-rated World Cup winner Mario Gotze (Kicker)

Real Madrid have agreed personal terms with Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker but are €20m short of Roma’s asking price, with the Serie A holding out for €80m (Mundo Deportivo)

Bayern Munich are set to land the Jann-Fiete Arp ahead of Tottenham and Chelsea. The Hamburg striker – billed the new Harry Kane – could move for just €1.5m (Bild)

Angel Di Maria, Goncalo Guedes, Javier Pastore, Layvin Kurzawa, Thomas Meunier and Yuri Berchiche are the six players PSG plan to sell to ensure they raise their €60m sales demanded by FFP (Calciomercato)

Atletico Madrid will no longer chase a move for Milan winger Suso following the signing of Monaco forward Thomas Lemar (AS)

Reported Liverpool target Valon Berisha will undergo a medical with Sampdoria ahead of a move to the Serie A side from RB Salzburg (Sky Italia)

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is lobbying for Thiago Alcantara to return to Barcelona this summer (Bild)

Levante and Real Betis are battling to sign Numancia goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez (Cadena Ser)

Napoli are readying a move for Chelsea defender Davaid Luiz – but three clubs in the Chinese Super League are also keen (UOL Esporte)

Juventus are ready to make Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool target Federico Chiesa this No 1 transfer focus after ruling out a move for Anthony Martial (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Gelson Martins: United target

AC Milan are set to rival Arsenal for Portugal forward Gelson Martins, who is on a free after leaving Sporting Lisbon (Corriere dello Sport)

Sevilla have identified Milan striker Nikola Kalinic to strengthen their attacking options for next season (Diario de Sevilla)

Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong has requested his club sanction an exit to Barcelona this summer (Mundo Deportivo)

Massimiliano Allegri has admitted he rejected the chance to replace Zinedine Zidane as Real Madrid boss in order to focus his attention on Juventus (Gazzetta dello Sport)

West Ham look to be close to finalising a deal for Lazio midfielder Felipe Anderson for an initial €30m fee – with a 20% sell-on clause (Sky Italia)

West Ham are also close to agreeing a deal with Toulouse to sign centre-back Issa Diop for a fee of around £22m (Le10 Sport)

Liverpool are set to make contact with Lazio this week in an effort to test the water over €30m-rated goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha (Il Messaggero)

Valencia striker Simone Zaza is set for a return to Serie A with his agent in talks with both Sampdoria and Sassuolo (Onda Deportiva)

Barcelona are close to finalising the sale of midfielder and Everton transfer target Andre Gomes to an unnamed club for around €30m (Mundo Deportivo)

Paris Saint-Germain look set to prevent youth academy graduate Yacine Adli from signing a professional contract with Arsenal (ESPN)