Paper Talk: Chelsea eye Dortmund ace; United plot Saints swap

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: Linked with a host of clubs

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: Set to complete United move

Chelsea are on the trail of one of Borussia Dortmund’s star men, while Manchester United hope to land a long-term target by offering a Premier League rival Memphis Depay, according to Wednesday’s papers.

 

UNITED HOPE TO TEMPT SAINTS WITH DEPAY SWEETENER FOR MANE

Sadio Mane: Forward a target for giant trio of clubs

Manchester United are ready to offer Memphis Depay to Southampton to lure long-term target Sadio Mane to Old Trafford.

According to the Daily Star, United are desperate to offload Depay, 22, this summer after a disastrous debut Premier League season following his £25m move from PSV Eindhoven.

The Dutchman started well with a brace against Club Brugge in the Champions League but has since found himself dropped by manager Louis van Gaal.

Saints boss Ronald Koeman remains a big admirer of Depay from his time in Holland and tried to buy the Dutch international before he joined United.

Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain were also amongst the clubs desperate to secure his services.

United had an approach for Mane knocked back last summer but the £30m rated Senegalese flier is still high in their wanted list.

Mane has struggled for form for much of this season but has scored four goals in his last five games.

Depay has not netted in the Premier League since November and has come under fire from fans for his poor performances.

He was absent from the line-up that beat Everton in the FA Cup at the weekend and faces a huge battle to prove his worth in the final weeks of the season.

And things could yet get worse with Jose Mourinho tipped to take over from Van Gaal in the summer.

 

CHELSEA EYE MKHITARYAN AND GET BONUCCI HOPE

Chelsea are interested in Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan and are also hopeful of a deal for Leonardo Bonucci, according to reports in the Daily Mirror.

The Blues hope to tempt the 27-year-old Armenian, a former Liverpool target, to Stamford Bridge despite no Champions League football next season.

Mkhitaryan has scored 18 goals this season in all competitions and is set for another campaign in European football’s No1 club tournament if he stays at Dortmund.

Claims that they want Mkhitaryan come amid claims they are also closing in on the £28million signing of Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan.

Meanwhile, the Blues have been given a boost in their pursuit of Juventus defender Bonucci after he refused to commit his future to the newly-crowned Italian champions.

Juve have so far insisted the 28-year-old is not for sale. But, asked whether he would be moving on, Bonucci refused to commit his future to the club.

He said: “I haven’t said anything yet. The question hasn’t been asked, so I can’t say either yes or no.”

 

AND THE REST

Alexis Sanchez: Needs a break, says Wenger

Bayern Munich want Alexis Sanchez, with the German side plotting a summer transfer swoop for the Arsenal star (Daily Mirror)

Liverpool have been given the go-ahead to sign Cologne’s 25-year-old Germany international defender Jonas Hector (Metro)

Arsenal are planning to steal Chelsea wonderkid Dominic Solanke, with the England Under-21 star demanding a bumper contract (The Sun)

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, 26, wants to leave Arsenal and move to Roma in the summer after a successful loan spell

Jack Sealy used to earn £20 a week playing for Bristol Manor Farm in the Western Football League, but now he’s set to pocket £10,000 a week as the only Englishman in the Chinese Super League (The Sun)

Jorge Sampaoli is claiming he met with Roman Abramovich about becoming Chelsea boss before they appointed Antonio Conte (Daily Star)

Napoli legend Diego Maradona believes the club will sell striker Gonzalo Higuain, 28, in the summer – and has urged them to replace him with 22-year-old Spurs forward Harry Kane (Marca)

Antonio Conte is closing in on his first Chelsea signing, with a £31m bid set to seal deal for Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan (Daily Express)

Tottenham are set to battle it out with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona for Lyon defender Samuel Umtiti (Daily Express)

Roma are keen to sign Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini, 28, for £15m (Gazetta dello Sport)

Kasabian guitarist Serge Pizzorno wants to take his creative skills from the music world to the fashion industry by designing his ‘dream kit’ for his beloved Leicester City (Daily Mail)

Aston Villa are set for a second round of talks with Nigel Pearson as the crisis club continues its search for their next manager (Daily Mail)

Damien Comolli, who left Liverpool in 2012, is being lined up for a return to English football with Aston Villa. He is wanted as the technical director by a Chinese consortium bidding to buy the relegated Premier League club from Randy Lerner (Daily Telegraph)

Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos, 21, is in talks over a summer move away from the Parc des Princes, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal all interested (Canal+)

Middlesbrough have joined Aston Villa and West Brom in expressing an interest in Gent’s Belgium international striker Laurent Depoitre, 27 (Het Laatste Nieuws)

Livingston striker Matthew Knox, a 16-year-old who had a trial at Manchester United in January, is being monitored by “a lot of clubs”, according to the club’s manager David Hopkin (Daily Star)

Joel Robles, 25, wants to be the Toffees’ number one goalkeeper next season – and believes Martinez should stay in charge (Liverpool Echo)

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says he would “one day” like to return to Paris St-Germain as manager (RMC)

Sweden manager Erik Hamren says 34-year-old PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not too old to thrive in the Premier League (Sky Sports)

Porto manager Julen Lopetegui and Borussia Monchengladbach boss Andre Schubert could be candidates for the Swansea manager’s job in the summer (Wales Online)

Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis, 30, sees similarities between the Champions League semi-finalists and league leaders Leicester (Daily Express)