Paper Talk: Rakitic wanted by big guns; Arsenal chase Russian

Barcelona will wait until January to sign Paul Pogba and Manchester United made a late bid to try and sign Virgil van Dijk in January, all in the papers.

 

BARCA TO WAIT FOR POGBA

Barcelona are ready to wait until January to sign Paul Pogba, claims Don Balon.

The Spanish source suggest Barca are 90% sure they will not sign him this month, but are prepared to make a concerted effort to get him in January.

Pogba and Jose Mourinho’s relationship is a tense one and Barca are ready to wait and see how that pans out in the next few months before making a move to sign the France World Cup winner.

It’s a similar tactic to the one the Catalan giants employed in their pursuit of Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho.

Last summer they pursued the Brazilian before giving up and eventually signing him in January in a £142million deal.

 

AND THE REST

Virgil van Dijk TEAMtalk

Manchester United made a move for Virgil van Dijk during the January transfer window (Daily Mail)

Arsenal could move for teenage Russian defender Igor Diveev after watching him at the COTIF youth tournament in Spain (Mirror)

Paris St-Germain are interested in Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic but Barcelona are not interested in offers for the 30-year-old, whose buyout clause is 125m euros (£112.2m). (Marca)

Real Madrid’s Croatia midfielder Luka Modric, 32, has described claims he contacted Inter Milan about a summer transfer as “the greatest nonsense in history”. (Mirror)

Barcelona striker Paco Alcacer has become Borussia Dortmund’s top summer priority (L’Equipe)

Tottenham Hotspur are likely to move their match against Manchester City in October to a day later (Monday, 29) in to avoid a fixture clash with an American football game. (Daily Mail)

Eden Hazard, 27, will be offered a five-year £300,000-a-week contract to keep the Belgium playmaker at Chelsea, following interest from Real Madrid. (The Sun)

Chelsea and England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 22, could move to Spain on loan after being left out of Maurizio Sarri’s squad to face Arsenal at the weekend. (Mirror)

Ruben Loftus-Cheek TEAMtalk

Chelsea want Loftus-Cheek to stay and fight for his place despite the player being upset at being dropped from the squad. (Telegraph)

Everton manager Marco Silva is expected to resist an improved offer of over £22m from RB Leipzig for forward Ademola Lookman, 20, where he spent last season on loan. (The Times)

Middlesbrough are closing in on a double deal for Everton’s DR Congo winger Yannick Bolasie, 29, and Serbia midfielder Muhamed Besic, 25. (Star)

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis is agonising over AC Milan’s offer to give him a huge rise to his to £2.6m wages to quit the Emirates. (Telegraph)

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham is not convinced a loan move to the Sky Bet Championship is the best move for his long-term career – Aston Villa are interested in the 20-year-old.  (Telegraph)

Manchester City’s Ukraine midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko, 21, is set to join Spanish side Real Betis on a season-long loan. (Sun)

Jose Mourinho’s plea to Ed Woodward that Manchester United should sell Anthony Martial before Europe’s transfer window closes is set to be ignored. (Star)

Juan Mata has ordered Manchester United’s players to stop sulking in the wake of their shock defeat at Brighton.  (Star)

Norwich City defender Timm Klose is a £3.5m target for Basel and Hannover.  (Star)

QPR have made an approach to Burnley to sign striker Nahki Wells on loan until January.  (Star)

Manchester United have given their backing to Jose Mourinho and insisted they have not sounded out Zinedine Zidane about taking over at Old Trafford. (Times)

Former Arsenal and France forward Thierry Henry, 41, is interested in taking charge of French side Bordeaux, says ex-Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. (Corse Matin)

Watford’s former France defender Younes Kaboul, 32, has been linked with Nantes, after Hornets head coach Javi Gracia appeared to cast doubt on his future at Vicarage Road. (Watford Observer)

There is a 50% chance Bayern Munich’s Germany defender Jerome Boateng, who was linked with a move to Manchester United, could join Paris St-Germain in the next few days. (Sky Sports)

Alexis Sanchez Manchester United

Manchester United’s Chile forward Alexis Sanchez, 29, deleted social media posts promoting his clothing range as fans criticised the timing after the club’s Premier League defeat by Brighton. (Mail)

Stoke are preparing to make a £6.5m bid for Brentford midfielder Ryan Woods with Championship rivals Swansea also keen to sign the 24-year-old. (Telegraph)

Stoke want to sign Derby County’s former England midfielder Tom Huddlestone, 31, on loan until the end of the season. (Mail)