Euro Paper Talk: Mourinho makes fresh appeal to sign Senegal man

Jose Mourinho is begging Manchester United to sanction a world-record defender swoop, while Jurgen Klopp will battle Barcelona to sign a €25m Spanish winger in January, according to Thursday’s European papers.

 

MOURINHO DESPERATE TO BRING IN NAPOLI STAR

Jose Mourinho has made a second appeal to Manchester United to sanction a deal to bring in Kalidou Koulibaly when the transfer window reopens in January.

The Napoli defender is thought to be No 1 on Mourinho’s list of central defensive targets, but the Senegal star was always seen as someone out of reach with the Serie A outfit against his sale.

However, reports earlier this month suggested the club could cash in if anyone offered a world record defensive fee of €100m (£88m) – and that has given Mourinho the encouragement he needs to try and bring the player to Old Trafford.

But convincing the Old Trafford board to sanction the deal could prove tricky. Reports on Thursday morning suggested the club were opposed to sanctioning him any more transfer cash after he lost faith in a trio of his signings.

But according to Tuttosport, via the Daily Record, Mourinho will make a fresh plea to United’s money men to sanction the deal, believing the powerful centre-half could single-handily fix their defensive shortcomings and ensure their bid to return to the Champions League next season gets back on course.

 

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LIVERPOOL TO DO ‘EVERYTHING THEY CAN’ TO SNARE ZAGREB STAR 

Liverpool are ready ‘to go to war’ with Barcelona over a deal for Dinamo Zagreb winger Dani Olmo, according to reports in Spain.

According to Sport, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp represents the biggest threat to Barca’s hopes of being reunited with their former youth star, having become ‘obssessed’ with signing a player who is tearing up trees in Croatia with Zagreb.

The Catalan paper, via Sport Witness, claims Klopp is such a fan of the 20-year-old Spanish star that he has ‘set off alarms’ for the Reds boss, who will ‘do all he can’ to convince the player to sign for Liverpool when the transfer window opens in January.

Klopp, however, may have his work cut out with it reported that Olmo has set his sights on a return the Nou Camp, having come through their youth set-up between 2004-2014.

Sport claims Dinamo are looking for €25m for the Olmo, but claim both the Reds and Barca will pitch their opening offers far lower in a bid to talk them into a deal.

The player is contracted to his club until 2020.

 

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AND THE REST

AC Milan are looking to loan Tottenham target Amadou Diawara from Napoli to replace Lucas Biglia (Tuttosport)

Real Betis are opening negotiations to extend the contract of Coach Quique Setien beyond 2020 (ABC de Sevilla)

Incoming new Inter Milan CEO Beppe Marotta has made PSG’s Adrien Rabiot and Fiorentina’s Federico Chiesa his No 1 transfer targets (Calciomercato)

Kaio Jorge is reportedly being watched by Chelsea scouts as the Blues weigh up making a move for the rising Brazil star (Globe Esporte)

 

Goalkeeper Jan Oblak is so unhappy at Atletico Madrid that he would be open to leaving the club as early as January (Marca)

Roma face a tricky January with the club expecting a plethora of offers on some of their stars. Kostas Manolas and Lorenzo Pellegrini – both linked with Man Utd – as well as Tottenham and Arsenal target Cengiz Under are the men thought to be subject to interest (Corriere dello Sport)

Lionel Messi has urged Barcelona to make a move for Mohamed Salah after he made the Liverpool man his No 1 target (Don Balon)

Arsenal and Manchester United target Mehdi Benatia has submitted a transfer request to leave Juventus in January (Corriere dello Sport)

Barcelona forward Malcom has distanced himself from speculation he could look to leave a club he “wanted to play for since I was a small child” (ESPN Brasil)

Malcom TEAMtalk

AC Milan are targeting a January swoop for Sao Paulo defender Rodrigo Caio (Calciomercato)

Diego Simeone is in ‘advanced talks’ to extend his contract at Atletico Madrid beyond his current deal of June 2020 (Radio Marca)

Juventus rejected the chance to sign Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas, after making it clear they’re happy with Wojciech Szczesny and Mattia Perin (Corriere di Torino)

Real Madrid are ready to make a move for one of Paris Saint-Germain’s superstar duo Kylian Mbappe and Neymar if the French club are forced to sell (AS)

Barcelona rejected the opportunity to sign Mbappe this summer (Mundo Deportivo)

Arturo Vidal could be in line for a sensational return to Juventus in January, after the Chilean midfielder was reported to be “extremely unsettled” in his new home at Barcelona (Corriere dello Sport)

AC Milan are pondering a move for Liverpool midfielder Fabinho in January amid ongoing concerns about the form of Tiemoue Bakayoko (Corriere dello Sport)

Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian is wanted by Lazio (Il Messaggero)

Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet has revealed how Juventus tried to sign him when he was in second tier of French football with Nancy (Goal)

Virgil van Dijk says his Holland team-mate Matthijs de Ligt will undoubtedly be on Liverpool’s list of potential targets (De Telegraaf)

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 18: Edinson Cavani of Paris Saint-Germain reacts during the Group C match of the UEFA Champions League between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield on September 18, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Edinson Cavani has agreed to return to Napoli next summer from PSG (Corriere dello Sport)

Brescia owner Massimo Cellino says he will only sell Sandro Tonali to the team “who show the lad and I most love”. The teenage midfielder has been linked with Chelsea, Man City and Juventus (Tuttosport)

Suso claims he is happy playing in Serie A for AC Milan despite talk of him returning to Liverpool , but it appears Real Madrid could be the Spaniard’s next destination (Marca)

Galatasaray have an interest in signing Juventus starlet Moise Kean in January (Fanatik)