Paper Talk: Arsenal eye Sturridge; Leicester plan £40m swoop

Daniel Sturidge: Linked with £30m move to Arsenal

Daniel Sturidge: Linked with £30m move to Arsenal

Arsenal are reportedly planning a £30million swoop for Daniel Sturridge, while Leicester want to bolster their squad with a £40m double raid on their Premier League rivals, according to Sunday morning’s papers.

 

ARSENAL EYE STURRIDGE SWOOP

Arsenal will make a £30m move for Daniel Sturridge when the summer transfer window opens.

Arsene Wenger is finally aware of the need for a top-class striker at the Emirates and has long been an admirer of Sturridge, claims the Sunday Mirror.

The 26-year-old scored in Liverpool’s 3-0 second leg win over Villarreal , having been an unused substitute for the first game in Spain.

And Jurgen Klopp described his performance in helping Liverpool to the final of the Europa League as ‘outstanding’ and labelled him ‘an unbelievable player’.

Daniel Sturridge: Place against Villarreal in doubt

However, he has not always seemed as wildly enthusiastic, also leaving the England striker – who will be named in Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2016 squad on Thursday – on the bench for the Europa League semi-final first leg defeat at Villarreal.

Sturridge is fully recovered from his most recent injury problems and, unsurprisingly, he was also in a positive mood in the wake of the triumph over Villarreal, insisting there was no friction between him and Klopp and that he was happy at Anfield.

And the striker recently declared his happiness at AnfieldThose comments, however, were in stark contrast to last weekend when the striker insisted he’d be a fool to say he was ‘Liverpool for life’.

Wenger seems uncertain who is best to lead his attacking line, alternating between Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud in recent weeks.

And Arsenal’s relatively meagre goals tally – Spurs, Leicester and Manchester City have outscored them this season – tells Wenger he needs to add firepower to his squad.

If Liverpool send out even the merest hint that they are prepared to sell, Arsenal would face competition for Sturridge’s signature – but it might not be too stiff.

A return to Chelsea or Manchester City, for example, would be out of the question.

A fee for Sturridge would be tricky to negotiate. Liverpool would rate him way above the £30million level but bidders would point to his injury issues as a reason for a reduced mark.

 

LEICESTER PLOT £40M DOUBLE SWOOP

Troy Deeney: Celebrates his first-half spot kick

Leicester are targeting a £40m double swoop for Crystal Palace winger Yannick Bolasie and Watford forward Troy Deeney in the summer.

Claudio Ranieri is now planning his Premier League title defence and will bid to bolster his squad with the duo, according to The Sun on Sunday, as the Foxes also bid to cope with the Champions League.

Bolasie is a £20million target from Crystal Palace and will add competition on the flanks.

The 26-year-old has his heart set on move to one of the traditional big English teams – but Ranieri could persuade him after the amazing season at the King Power.

And Deeney, 27, has long-term admirers within the new champions after getting Watford promoted and keeping them in the top flight.

Arsenal were reportedly weighing up a move for him earlier in the season and he would also cost at least £20million.

Deeney will also need persuading to leave his club as he is settled in the area and is a big presence in the dressing room.

 

AND THE REST

Oscar: Midfielder rejected move to China

West Brom will put Brendan Rodgers on their list of potential bosses if Tony Pulis decides he has no future at the club (Sunday Mirror)

England manager Roy Hodgson intends to speak to Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli about his tendency to retaliate (Sunday Mirror)

Burnley centre-back Michael Keane is a target for Everton and Stoke (Sunday Mirror)

Sunderland have been checking on Rennes winger Kamil Grosicki, a £4m-rated Polish international (Sunday Mirror)

New Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte is considering making an £8m move for Southampton forward Graziano Pelle (The Sun)

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has snubbed a stunning mega-money move to China, worth more than £200,000-a-week after tax (The Sun)

Ryan Giggs will leave Manchester United if Jose Mourinho is appointed manager ahead of him (Sunday People)

Manuel Pellegrini has claimed Pep Guardiola does not need to rip apart Manchester City’s squad this summer (Sunday People)

Everton will consider outgoing Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores as a replacement for Roberto Martinez (Sunday People)

Aston Villa are on the verge of being sold to a Chinese investment group for £100m (Sunday People)

West Ham want to sign Inter Milan forward Mauro Icardi ahead of their move to the Olympic Stadium (Sunday People)

Joe Hart has assured Manchester City fans their season will not go into meltdown following a wretched week in which the side were dumped out of the Champions League semi-finals by Real Madrid (Mail on Sunday)

Tottenham are confident they will not suffer the curse that befell Arsenal more than 16 years ago when they play Champions League matches at Wembley (Mail on Sunday)

Gary Neville should have started his managerial career in England, according to his Valencia replacement Pako Ayestaran (Mail on Sunday)

Watford will hold talks with Liverpool this weekend over the proposed signing of £5m-rated Jerome Sinclair (Mail on Sunday)

Everton could make a move for Club Bruges defender Bjorn Engels, with John Stones attracting interest from Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United (Mail on Sunday)

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Rossiter will speak to Rangers next week ahead of a possible move to Scotland (Mail on Sunday)

Chelsea could make a rival bid for Hatem Ben Arfa – also a target for Barcelona, while midfielder Oscar, 24, is in talks over a summer move to Italian champions Juventus (La Stampa)

Chelsea are ready to pull the plug on their attempts to land John Stones from Everton because they refuse to get drawn into a bidding war (Sunday Express)

Tottenham are ready to offer Charlton £8m for their wonder kid Ademola Lookman (Sunday Express)

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew will sign a new contract after the south London club secured their Premier League status following a 2-1 victory over Stoke (London Evening Standard)

Tottenham wanted to sign midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate, 26, until West Ham told them it would involve a swap deal with striker Harry Kane, 22, according to Hammers co-chairman David Sullivan (London Evening Standard)

Manchester City midfielder Fernando is a £10m target for Europa League semi-finalists Villarreal (Sunday Express)

Real Madrid are ready to scupper Man United and Man City’s plans to land £80m forward Robert Lewandowski (Daily Star on Sunday)

Inter Milan want Manchester City to hand Pablo Zabaleta a golden goodbye – in order to help them seal a cut-price £1.5m summer deal for the right-back (Daily Star on Sunday)

Manchester City are close to beating Barcelona in the race for Sassuolo right-back Sime Vrsaljko (Daily Star on Sunday)

Stoke are lining up a bid for Norwich winger Nathan Redmond, 22, as a cheaper alternative to 22-year-old West Brom midfielder Saido Berahino (Sunday Mirror)

Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal target Marqhuinos, 21, is frustrated with a lack of first-team opportunities at Paris Saint-Germain and the defender will ask to leave when he holds talks with the club’s board after the French Cup final with Marseille on 21 May (Mundo Deportivo)

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino will spend big this summer in a bid to take some of the pressure off Harry Kane (Daily Star on Sunday)

Jose Mourinho has been asked to wait until the end of the season for formal talks with Manchester United over succeeding Louis van Gaal as manager (Sunday Times)

Watford have approached Roberto Di Matteo as they seek a replacement for manager Quique Sanchez Flores, who will leave this month despite a successful campaign at Vicarage Road (Sunday Times)

Roy Hodgson will select Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere in his 23-man England squad for Euro 2016 this week (Sunday Telegraph)

Manuel Pellegrini believes he has several more years as an elite manager and is confident there will be attractive offers for his services after leaving Manchester City (The Observer)