Paper Talk: Spurs eye Brazilian ace; Man Utd free to sign £45m target

Lucas Paqueta TEAMtalk

Manchester United have been left as frontrunners to sign a Flamengo star in January, while Tottenham are also looking to sign a Brazilian from Ajax, according to Sunday’s papers.

 

BARCELONA DROP OUT OF RACE TO SIGN BRAZILIAN STAR

Manchester United have been left in the clear to sign £45m-rated Brazilian Lucas Paqueta after Barcelona were reported to have dropped out of the race.

The Sunday Express claims the LaLiga champions have withdrawn their interest in the player after deciding their priorities lie elsewhere – leaving Jose Mourinho’s side in pole position to land the Flamengo star.

The 21-year-old midfielder has been compared to Roberto Firmino in his homeland, due to his workrate and ability to play the high press, while he can also operate either in midfield or lead the line up front.

He was also recently capped by the Brazil national side in recent friendlies against the USA and El Salvador.

Flamengo have a £45m release clause in his contract and reports in Brazil suggest they are fully expecting him to move to Europe in January. Barca’s withdrawal means United now reportedly lead the race to sign a player who has also been linked with Liverpool, AC Milan and PSG.

Paqueta has two years left on his Flamengo deal and has six goals in 21 matches so far this season.

 

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AND THE REST

Tottenham are ready to join the race to sign Ajax’s Brazilian winger David Neres in the New Year (Sunday Express)

Jack Grealish is set to put pen to paper to extend his deal with Aston Villa (Sunday Express)

Free agent Steven Caulker may be on his way to Wigan. The former Cardiff and QPR centre-back, 26, left Dundee in the summer (Mail on Sunday)

Manchester City defender Kyle Walker says he wants to move back to his preferred right-back position with England having played as a centre-back during the World Cup (Mail on Sunday)

Manchester United and Arsenal are eyeing Arne Maier, the German who has been called the next Toni Kroos (Sunday Mirror)

Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong in transfer tug-of-war between Manchester City and Manchester United (Sunday Mirror)

Wolves are ready to battle for the world’s best young players as they bid to cement Premier League permanence (Sunday Mirror)

Chelsea are hot on the heels of Reading’s England U19 starlet Danny Loader (Sunday Mirror)

Glenn Murray has seen his contract talks put on hold by Brighton (Sunday Mirror)

Fulham plan to make an £18m move for Lyon star Maxwell Cornet after his stunning performance against Manchester City (The Sun on Sunday)

Everton’s stars are unhappy with the amount of training and instructions under Marco Silva (The Sun on Sunday)

West Ham want to keep Declan Rice by giving him a pay rise – but the sides are miles apart (The Sun on Sunday)

aston villa boss steve bruce 2

There are calls for Steve Bruce to be axed after his 100th game in charge, following Aston Villa’s home loss to Sheffield Wednesday (The Sun on Sunday)

Leicester’s Eduardo Macia has emerged as favourite to become Aston Villa’s director of football (The Sun on Sunday)

Derby boss Frank Lampard is hot on the trail of Preston centre-half Ben Davies (The Sun on Sunday)

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard wants to clinch permanent deals for Lassana Coulibaly, Ryan Kent, Ovie Ejaria and Joe Worrall (The Sun on Sunday)

LA Galaxy and former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 36, has been offered a return to his boyhood club Malmo (The Sun on Sunday)

Swansea must pay extra money if Luciano Narsingh plays any more games (The Sun on Sunday)

Chris Smalling is expected to sign a new deal at Manchester United – despite increased speculation about a move away from Old Trafford (Daily Star Sunday)

Manchester City are eyeing a summer move for PSG ace Adrien Rabiot (Daily Star Sunday)

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil could be sold in January if the club receives an attractive offer (Daily Star Sunday)