Paper Talk: Liverpool, Arsenal to battle for £36m Belgium star
Liverpool and Arsenal are ready to go head-to-head for a Bundesliga playmaker, while Kylian Mbappe has made a big decision over his future, according to Monday’s papers.
LIVERPOOL, ARSENAL LAUNCH BIDS FOR PLAYMAKER
Liverpool and Arsenal are ready to launch bids for Borussia Monchengladbach’s Belgian midfielder Thorgan Hazard this summer.
The 26-year-old younger brother of Eden Hazard has impressed in the Bundesliga since leaving Chelsea permanently during Jose Mourinho’s second tenure.
Hazard has been eyed by several Premier League clubs for months, while Borussia Dortmund are also ready to try and snatch the player from their Bundesliga rivals.
However, The Sun claims that both Liverpool and Arsenal are plotting to hijack any move for Hazard’s signature.
Although Hazard is said to be keen on a move to Dortmund, it’s also claimed that the lure of a return to England, for what will almost certainly be a much bigger salary, may be too good to turn down.
Gunners chief Unai Emery is reportedly a big fan of Hazard and would love to bring him in this summer, with Dennis Suarez’s loan switch from Barcelona highly unlikely to be turned into a permanent one.
As for Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp is still after a creative replacement for Philippe Coutinho, despite the club being on the brink of potential Premier League and Champions League glory.
The Reds are already said to have outbid their rivals with an offer of more than £36million for the player, but Arsenal’s interest could now though a spanner in the works – if Hazard favours a return to London instead.
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AND THE REST
Liverpool have contacted Lille about signing Ivory Coast forward Nicolas Pepe (Daily Star)
Kylian Mbappe has snubbed a move to Real Madrid but has promised to keep a close eye on the Spanish giants – although only as a spectator on TV (The Sun)
Manchester United will listen to bids for £75m-rated Romelu Lukaku this summer, with Juventus thought to be interested (Daily Mirror)
Rafael Benitez is unimpressed by the £100m transfer-kitty Newcastle hope will convince him to sign a new contract (Daily Mirror)
Newcastle striker Ayoze Perez has hinted at a summer transfer after his hat-trick sealed Premier League survival (Daily Mirror)
Brazil international defender Marcelo insists he has no plans to leave Real Madrid this summer – despite rumours he is set to join former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus (Daily Mirror)
Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld believes they will have to win all their remaining games to secure Champions League football (Daily Mirror)
Cristiano Ronaldo has said he will ‘1,000 per cent be at Juventus next season’ (Daily Mail)
Manchester United are ready to offer Mike Phelan the role of technical director and promote Michael Carrick (Daily Mail)
Fulham interim manager Scott Parker is hoping to find out his future in the next few weeks (Daily Telegraph)
Philippe Coutinho has admitted he is ‘anxious’ about facing his former club Liverpool in the Champions League (Daily Express)
Motherwell midfielder Jake Hastie will join Rangers in the summer after agreeing a pre-contract deal (Daily Record)
Celtic target Bahlul Mustafazada says he would jump at a move to the club (Daily Record)
Scotland will face competition from Slaven Bilic’s former club Besiktas if they want to land the Croatian as the new boss (Daily Record)