Paper Talk: Arsenal lead race to sign Villarreal star with £45m exit clause

Pau Torres

Arsenal are at the front of the queue to sign a Villarreal defender, while Tottenham are ready to sign a Manchester United target in the January window, according to Monday’s newspapers.

 

ARSENAL LEAD RACE TO SIGN PAU TORRES

Arsenal have reportedly moved ahead of Manchester City and Chelsea in the race to sign Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres, according to reports.

The 22-year-old has caught the eye in the heart of the Villarreal defence this season, with Arsenal scouts receiving a tip-off from their former midfielder Santi Cazorla.

According to The Sun, Cazorla personally recommended his former club take a look at the former Malaga loanee and snap him up before a host of big-name rivals look to land a player tipped for the top.

Unai Emery is desperate to bring in central defensive reinforcements and knows that remains an Achilles heel for his side, despite the summer signings of David Luiz and William Saliba – the latter of whom won’t arrive until summer 2020.

It’s claimed, however, that Arsenal could also add Torres to their ranks, though it’s claimed the club will hope to sign the player for some distance less than the £45m exit clause that currently exists in the player’s contract.

 

AND THE REST

Bruno Fernandes TEAMtalk

Tottenham will make a renewed bid to sign Man Utd target Bruno Fernandes when the transfer window opens again in January (Daily Express)

Spurs will move for Fernandes with Christian Eriksen determined to move to Real Madrid, though any transfer could be delayed until next summer (Daily Express)

Manchester United and Juventus have reportedly come to a verbal agreement over a £10m deal for striker Mario Mandzukic (Daily Express)

Barcelona have reportedly included Roberto Firmino on a shortlist of forwards to replace Luis Suarez (Daily Express)

Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani says he is considering selling a stake in the club to three bidders, including Qatari Sports Investment – which is run by Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi (The Times)

 

Sven-Goran Eriksson swayed Roman Abramovich to buy Chelsea instead of Tottenham – after mistakenly thinking the billionaire was a chauffeur at their first meeting (The Sun)

Arsenal are keen to snap up Scunthorpe’s teenage midfielder Joey Dawson in a surprise deal (The Sun)

Arsene Wenger turned down numerous offers from Real Madrid during his time at Arsenal and admitted if he had moved, it would have certainly meant more trophies (The Sun)

Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy has deleted Wayne Rooney from his social media accounts as he stands by his wife Rebekah during her public falling out with Rooney’s wife Coleen (Daily Mirror)

Manchester United and Liverpool target Kai Havertz is considering a move from Bayer Leverkusen – but he’ll speak to Germany boss Joachim Low first (Daily Mirror)

Manchester United’s wage bill is the highest ever reported by a Premier League club (Daily Mirror)

 

 

Wales manager Ryan Giggs has claimed Daniel James was ‘acting’ despite TV cameras appearing to show the winger knocked unconscious against Croatia on Sunday night (Daily Mail)

Manchester United could make a £70m move for West Ham midfielder Declan Rice in the January transfer window, according to reports (Daily Mail)

Southampton’s director of football operations, Ross Wilson, the key figure in the club’s recruitment and the man who brought manager Ralph Hasenhuttl to St Mary’s, has quit to join Rangers (Daily Telegraph)