Euro Paper Talk: Tottenham to land winger as Barca pinch top Liverpool target

Tottenham could be the chief benefactors amid claims Barcelona are set to sign a €70m star, while Edinson Cavani has set his sights on a move to Manchester United, according to Monday’s European papers.

 

BARCELONA TIPPED TO SIGN NICOLAS PEPE

Lille winger Nicolas Pepe is set to announce his future club next week  – and the Spanish press reckons it is Barcelona who will win the race for his signature.

The Ivory Coast winger has enjoyed a stellar season with the Ligue 1 high-flyers, having bagged 19 times and assisted with 12 goals so far.

The forward has seen his name linked with Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd, Bayern Munich, PSG and Real Madrid so far this year – but Catalan paper Sport reckons it is Barcelona who will win the race to sign him following hush-hush talks with his agent.

It’s believed Pepe will fetch as much as €70m this summer, with his move to Barca quite the step up given the player is yet to play in the Champions League.

But Lille will be unable to prevent their star man moving on at the end of the season, with Lille sporting director Luis Campos admitting earlier this year: “If a really good proposal comes in for Pepe, we have to sell him.”

The signing of Pepe is expected to be funded by the departure of Malcom, whom Barca are ready to sell for the same €40m they paid Bordeaux for him last summer.

The player has struggled to make an impact at the Camp Nou and news that he is ready to move on has alerted both Milan and Inter. However, sections of the Spanish press reckons another of his former suitors in Tottenham look most likely to complete a deal this summer.

 

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MAN UTD SET TO TURN TO CAVANI, RODRIGUEZ

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)

Manchester United are ready to turn their transfer attentions to two South American stars, according to reports.

Calciomercato reports that PSG striker Edinson Cavani is looking to leave PSG this summer and has instructed his agent to secure him a move to the Premier League, with both Chelsea and United in his sights.

But with Chelsea more likely to seal the permanent transfer of Gonzalo Higuain, the Italian outlet claims a move to United looks to be on the cards with a fee of €60m being mentioned.

The 32-year-old is the Ligue 1 giants’ all-time leading scorer with 192 goals in 272 appearances and it’s claimed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants the Uruguayan as a replacement for Romelu Lukaku, who admitted recently that a move to Italy is on the cards.

Meanwhile,  Don Balon claims United could make it a South American double this summer. The Spanish outlet claims United are firm favourites to seal the €60m transfer of James Rodriguez from Real Madrid this summer after Bayern Munich and Arsenal both rejected the chance to sign him.

The player will return to Real Madrid at the end of his loan stint in Bavaria, but they reckon it’ll be a brief stay with United seeing Rodriguez as an obtainable replacement for Alexis Sanchez.

 

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AND THE REST

Rodri TEAMtalk

Rodri has told Atletico Madrid he wants to stay at the club despite claims Manchester City have triggered the €70m exit clause in his contract (AS)

 

Wanda Nara has claimed that Mauro Icardi wants to stay at Inter Milan ‘for the next 150 years’ (Tiki Taka)

Ivan Rakitic has insisted he wants to stay at Barcelona this summer and that he ‘only lives for this club’ (Sport)

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has confirmed his intention to keep Juventus loanee Gonzalo Higuain at the club (Calciomercato)

Real Madrid have already held discussions with Eintracht Frankfurt striker Luka Jovic and are confident on a deal (Goal)

Luka Jovic TEAMtalk

Liverpool are set to miss out on €40m-rated Borussia Monchengladbach star Thorgan Hazard this summer after he agreed a deal with Borussia Dortmund (VTM Nieuws)

Brahim Diaz, who joined Real Madrid from Manchester City in January, is expected to be loaned out next season despite featuring in four of their last six games (Marca)

AC Milan are expected to stick with under-fire coach Gennaro Gattuso until the end of the season – but he will be replaced in the summer (Tuttomercato)

Neymar has admitted he would like to play with Eden Hazard in future years, with both players strongly linked to Real Madrid (Fox Sports Brazil)

Real Madrid have withdrawn their interest in signing Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot, despite the player having a verbal agreement over the move (Canal+)

Matthijs de Ligt TEAMtalk

Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt insists he is yet to make a decision on his future amid interest from the likes of Liverpool, Man Utd, Barcelona and Juventus (various)

Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen says he is keen to find a new club in the summer after his outings this season being limited to just the Copa del Rey and one Champions League appearance (Ziggo Sport)

Lyon are said to have held a series of talks with former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger over replacing outgoing manager Bruno Genesio (L’Equipe)

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said he wants to bring Xabi Alonso back to the club one day as a coach (SportBild)

Liverpool are ready to renew their interest in bringing €65m-rated Nabil Fekir to the Premier League from Lyon this summer (L’Equipe)

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc insists England’s rising star Jadon Sancho will not be sold this summer and will remain at the club (SportBild)

Real Madrid would consider selling Man Utd and Juventus target Raphael Varane for a world-record €100m fee – despite Zinedine Zidane’s insistence that the Frenchman will stay at the Bernabeu (various)

Tottenham have been given the green light to make a move for €20m-rated Torino midfielder Soualiho Meite this summer (Football Italia)

Zinedine Zidane has criticised Gareth Bale, saying he “did not know if he’s focused on Madrid” after Real’s 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday (AS)