Euro Paper Talk: Juventus rival Man Utd for €60m defender
Manchester United are facing a major contender to their hopes of landing a Fiorentina centre-back, while Barcelona are making moves to snare yet another top star from Liverpool, according to Tuesday’s European papers.
JUVENTUS TO RIVAL MAN UTD FOR €60M CENTRE-BACK
Manchester United are facing stiff competition for major centre-back target Nikola Milenkovic.
The 21-year-old impressed United manager Jose Mourinho, who watched on from the stands as Serbia took on Montenegro, and it has been suggested that the Reds will also target Milenkovic, as per the Metro.
With his centre-back partnerships continuing to rotate, a commanding defender is understood to be Mourinho’s priority and Milenkovic is right at the top of his list.
However, Corriere dello Sport claims that Juve chief Massimiliano Allegri has Milenkovic very much on his radar, as the Turin giants begin to plan for life without veteran Andrea Barzagli, who turns 38 next year, while Leonardo Bonucci will be 32 in May next year and Giorgio Chiellini recently turned 34.
Although Juve still have Medhi Benatia and Daniele Rugani at their disposal, a long-term plan to replace those defensive stalwarts is reportedly in place.
A fee of around €60million (£53m) has been mentioned and that is where United may have the edge of their Serie A rivals, who value the player at nearer €35m.
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BARCELONA HATCH PLAN TO SNATCH FIRMINO
Barcelona are hatching a plan to lure Roberto Firmino away from Liverpool next summer, according to reports in Spain.
The path from Anfield to the Nou Camp has become a familiar one in recent seasons with Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho both making big-money transfers to the LaLiga giants.
And it is the slowing down of Suarez that will prompt Barca to move for Firmino next summer, according to OK Diario.
The director of the Spanish news outlet, Eduardo Inda, claims he has it on good authority that the Brazilian will be Barca’s No 1 transfer target next summer and they will prioritise his signing above any other.
And Inda suggests contact may already have been made to snare Firmino to the Nou Camp in a deal that would likely set them back a fee in the region of €200m.
“It’s about Firmino, Liverpool player,” he said when asked about Barcelona’s transfer plans.
“I already said that Luis Suarez is seen increasingly stubborn and they are considering doing the same operation as Coutinho.
“But I guess at the end of the season, not halfway through.”
Firmino only signed a long-term contract with Liverpool back in July and further reports in Spain suggest Barca could attempt to soften Liverpool’s stance by giving them first refusal on a chance to re-sign Suarez.
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AND THE REST
Former Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria has been linked with a surprise move to Arsenal in January after admitting he is open to a return to the Premier League. However, the Argentinian wants wages of around £200,000 a week and that may prove prohibitive to the Gunners (Le10 Sport)
Sampdoria chairman Massimo Ferrero has told Tottenham he wants €25m for central defender Joachim Andersen (Calciomercato)
Harry Kane has a clause in his contract allowing him to join Barcelona or Real Madrid for £175m if either club bids for him (Don Balon)
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has stated his intentions to sign Genoa striker Krysztof Piatek ahead of rival suitors Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool and Roma (Corriere dello Sport)
Thomas Partey is considering his future at Atletico Madrid ahead of the January transfer window amid interest from Arsenal and PSG (Marca)
Real Betis striker Loren Moron has confirmed he rejected the opportunity to join West Ham United this summer (Estadio Deportivo)
Inter Milan have stated their intentions to sign Anthony Martial on a free transfer next summer, while AC Milan have a similar plan in place to land Aaron Ramsey (Tuttosport)
Fiorentina winger Federico Chiesa remains Napoli’s No 1 transfer target in January and they are prepared to spend up to €60m to land the Chelsea target (Corriere dello Sport)
Barcelona plan to sign both Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs De Ligt from Ajax and have established the best strategy to bring the Dutch duo to the Camp Nou (Sport)
Juventus have also made De Ligt their No 1 transfer target for January and are prepared to spend the reported €50m Ajax are asking (Tuttosport)
Inter Milan are targeting the re-signing of their former defender Cristiano Biraghi in January. The left-back left the Nerazzurri after seben years and now plays for Fiorentina (Corriere dello Sport)
Barcelona are keen to win the race to sign Flamengo midfielder Lucas Paqueta, despite reports Milan have already agreed a €35m deal (AS)
Inter are also targeting a surprise January move for Dinamo Zagreb winger Ivan Sunjic when the transfer window reopens (Tuttosport)
Luka Modric has spoken of his regret that his football career never allowed him the chance to play with Zvonimir Boban, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazario (France Football)
Lorenzo Insigne has revealed he was rejected by Torino and Inter Milan in his youth days on the grounds of being ‘too small’ (Gazzetta dello Sport)
La Liga leaders Sevilla will prioritise a new centre-back in the January transfer window, but are also ready to bolster other areas of their squad (Marca)
Fulham may look to strengthen their defence by bringing in AC Milan defender Mateo Musacchio (Corriere dello Sport)
Liverpool are mulling over a possible approach for Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne (Rai Sport)
AC Milan are ready to launch a move for Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Leandro Paredes when the transfer window reopens with a fee of around €30m being mooted (Corriere dello Sport)