Paper Talk: Man Utd eye Ritchie; Chelsea want striker

Manchester United are reportedly considering a move for Bournemouth’s Matt Ritchie, while Chelsea plan to sign a striker in January.

UNITED CONSIDERING RITCHIE APPROACH

Manchester United are eyeing a shock move for Matt Ritchie, according to The Sun.

United were first linked with the Bournemouth winger in August, and the tabloid claims Red Devils scouts have been watching him again in recent weeks amid fears that it will be too difficult to sign the club’s top target, Southampton’s Sadio Mane.

Bournemouth rejected a £7million bid from Fulham for Ritchie last January, but the 26-year-old would cost significantly less than Mane, who is valued at Southampton at £30million.

PSG TO BATTLE REAL FOR HAZARD

Paris Saint-Germain will battle it out with Real Madrid next summer to sign Eden Hazard from Chelsea.

That is according to the Daily Mail, which says PSG are confident they can persuade Hazard to return to France despite Chelsea’s desire to keep hold of the Belgium playmaker.

The 24-year-old would command a fee in excess of £80million, the newspaper adds, but PSG’s Qatari owners are apparently happy to put up the cash.

Hazard only signed a new five-year contract at Chelsea last season, but the Blues’ disastrous start to the new season is said to have left him seriously considering his future at Stamford Bridge.

AS CHELSEA PLAN JANUARY SPENDING

While Chelsea may eventually face a battle to keep Hazard, their priority in January will be to strengthen their squad to rescue their ailing Champions League qualification bid.

The Blues will reignite their interest in Everton defender John Stones, the Daily Mail says, and also want a ‘short-term fix’ to their goalscoring problems.

AND THE REST

Liverpool are keeping tabs on FC Koln goalkeeper Timo Horn (The Sun)

Bolton want Liverpool’s Joao Teixeira on loan (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham have issued a hands-off warning to Inter Milan over Jan Vertonghen (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino continues to monitor Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford as he fears losing Hugo Lloris (Daily Express)

Southampton will offer Luuk de Jong a return to the Premier League (The Sun/Daily Star)

Saido Berahino is resisting West Brom’s attempts to tie him down to a new £50,000-a-week deal (Daily Mail)

Sunderland midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini is set to make his loan move to Bologna permanent (Daily Mirror)

Bayern Munich fear Pep Guardiola is top of Manchester City’s managerial list this summer (Daily Mirror)

Manchester City want Carlo Ancelotti to become their next boss if Pep Guardiola snubs them (Daily Star)

Norwich striker Kyle Lafferty is a loan target for Leeds United (Daily Mirror)

Middlesbrough want Patrick Bamford back in January if the Chelsea striker triggers a release clause in his season-long loan deal at Crystal Palace (Daily Star)

American billionaire Josh Harris is set to buy an 18 per cent stake in Crystal Palace (The Sun)

Massimo Cellino is trying to engineer a bidding war in the protracted sale of Leeds United amid concerns of the financial clout of one interested party, Steve Parkin (Daily Mail)

David Moyes is the man Steve Parkin wants at Leeds once his £30million takeover goes through (Daily Mirror)

Remi Garde could ban pasta sauce from the menu at Villa Park (Daily Star)

QPR are trying to hijack Paul Lambert’s move to Blackburn (The Sun)

Richard Rufus was on the brink of being sacked by Charlton Athletic last night after he was found to have masterminded a multi-million pound “criminal” fraud (Daily Telegraph)

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