Paper Talk: Chelsea swap deal; Man United watching star trio

Mattia De Sciglio: Defender linked with Chelsea switch

Mattia De Sciglio: Defender linked with Chelsea switch

Manchester United are being linked with moves for three players this morning, while Chelsea are set for talks with AC Milan over a player-plus cash swap deal, according to Tuesday’s newspapers.

 

MANCHESTER UNITED KEEPING TABS ON GRIEZMANN AND BAILEY

It will hardly come as a major news that Manchester United are keen on a swoop for Antoine Griezmann, though the Daily Star claims the club made another check on the player this weekend ahead of a likely swoop next summer.

The player has been linked with a £80million move to United, Chelsea and Arsenal next summer but reports suggest the player will be persuaded to move to Old Trafford by his close friend Paul Pogba.

United had a scout present for Sunday’s 2-0 win at Valencia – and will have been impressed by his all-round display and another notch on his tally for Atletico.

However, the scout may well tell his employers that Griezmann can’t be handed penalty duties should he move to Old Trafford – the Frenchman saw a first-half penalty saved by Diego Alves. Griezmann has now failed to convert his last three penalties, and four of his last six – three in La Liga and three in the Champions League.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail claims Manchester United have sent scouts to watch Genk’s highly-rated Jamaican winger Leon Bailey.

Leon Bailey: Linked with a move to Premier League

The Jamaican, who turned down Chelsea and Ajax to move to Belgium, has electric pace and has begun to add goals to his repertoire – scoring five so far this season.

United sent two representatives, including chief scout Jim Lawlor, to Belgium to watch 19-year-old score in his side’s 3-1 Europa League win over Sassuolo last Thursday.

Chelsea, Arsenal, Leicester, Sunderland and Newcastle were also represented at Genk with Sassuolo striker Gregoire Defrel also under scrutiny.

And finally, Canadian youngster Alphonso Davies is also on United’s radar, The Province report.

 

CHELSEA LINE UP FABREGAS / DE SCIGLIO SWAP

Cesc Fabregas: Struggling for game time at Chelsea

Cesc Fabregas could be set to leave Chelsea and join Italian giants AC Milan in a player plus cash deal, according to reports in Italy.

CalcioMercato claim Milan are ready to hold talks with the Blues about a deal for 29-year-old Fabregas, who has made four Premier League appearances this season but was an unused substitute in the recent win at Hull.

It reports that Chelsea want to strike a cash-plus-player agreement, with the cash part being €10 million and the player being full-back Mattia de Sciglio, with officials from both clubs now set to open talks.

De Sciglio, a 23-year-old Italy international, worked with Blues boss Antonio Conte during his time as coach of the national side – but there could yet be a spanner in the works.

Liverpool, who have been linked with a new left-back since the summer, are also keen on De Sciglio, and reports last month suggested they had seen an offer for him turned down.

 

AND THE REST

David Wagner: Huddersfield boss

Steve Bruce has been backed for the vacant Aston Villa job, despite his past as a player and manager of Birmingham City, by Alex McLeish (Daily Mirror)

Villa will only turn to Bruce if they can’t persuade Huddersfield manager David Wagner to give up the team he has taken to the top of the Championship (The Guardian)

Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte has revealed he spoke with Manchester City for “a long time” before snubbing a move to the Etihad (Daily Mirror)

Chelsea do not have a buy-back clause inserted in Thorgan Hazard’s contract, according to the Belgian’s club Borussia Monchengladbach (Daily Mirror)

Swansea snubbed Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs for the manager’s job after an ‘underwhelming’ interview (Daily Mail)

The FA is exploring options to recruit a number of young foreign players who are eligible to play for England, including Celtic’s 20-year-old striker Moussa Dembele (The Sun)

Ander Herrera is taking heart from Manchester United’s title capitulation of 2012 as they struggle for consistency (Daily Mail)

Sam Allardyce renamed the WIFI connection in his St George’s Park base ‘BIG SAM’S OFFICE’ (Daily Mail)

 

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Paul Pogba needs time to settle at Manchester United, claims France boss Didier Deschamps (Daily Mail)

New England boss Gareth Southgate will be hoping it is a sign of things to come with England U17s smashing Germany 8-1 on Monday (The Sun)

Bournemouth and West Ham both sent scouts to check on Leeds left-back Charlie Taylor at the weekend ahead of a possible January swoop (The Sun)

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte wants to start a stunning January restructure with four signings from La Liga, according to reports in Spain (Daily Express)

Thibaut Courtois has hit back at criticism of him this season and lamented the fact that in England the goalkeeper always gets the blame (Daily Express)

Gareth Southgate has warned Wayne Rooney over tactical discipline ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers (Daily Telegraph)

Manchester United legend Teddy Sheringham reckons Wayne Rooney needs to get aggressive to rediscover his form (Daily Star)