Paper Talk: Man Utd in contact for £32.4m Greece star; Liverpool exits

Manchester United are willing to meet the exit clause in the contract of a Roma star, while Liverpool could start January by allowing two players to move on, according to Monday’s newspapers.

 

MAN UTD ASK ROMA ABOUT MANOLAS SWOOP

Manchester United have been in contact with Roma about a possible January deal for defender Kostas Manolas.

That’s according to Tuttomercatoweb, via the Daily Express, who claim Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has settled on the Greece centre-half as the answer to their defensive shortcomings.

United have improved significantly under the Norwegian, but he admitted on Sunday he remains unhappy with their inability to keep a clean sheet, with the club shipping goals in all three of his matches in charge so far.

And with the transfer window due to open in less than 24 hours, it’s claimed United have told Roma they intend to meet the €36million (£32.4m) exit clause in his contract.

The 27-year-old has earned himself a reputation as one of Serie A’s most realible defenders and is seen as a cheaper, more obtainable option than Toby Alderweireld, Kalidou Koulibaly and Eder Militao, who have also been linked with United.

Roma are keen to retain Manolas’ services, but will be powerless to act if United meet his exit clause and the defender wishes to make the move.

 

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AND THE REST

Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke has had a medical with Crystal Palace ahead of his loan move (Daily Mail)

Sevilla have asked Liverpool about the possibility of re-signing defender Alberto Moreno (Daily Mirror)

Manchester City are tracking Real Betis left-back Junior Firpo – but will have to beat Real Madrid to get him (Daily Mirror)

Xherdan Shaqiri says his Liverpool side are proving they can cope with the pressure of being title favourites (Daily Mirror)

Domagoj Vida Besiktas

Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri is keen on Croatia World Cup defender Domagoj Vida, with his club Besiktas believed to be ready to cash in on him (Daily Mirror)

Premier League target Jarrod Bowen will not be allowed to leave Hull City on the cheap, boss Nigel Adkins has warned (Daily Mirror)

Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha could leave Selhurst Park in the summer but not in January, says chairman Steve Parish (Daily Mirror)

Watford will not sell Abdoulaye Doucoure to Paris Saint-Germain, or anyone else, in January – at any price (Daily Mirror)

Christian Pulisic TEAMtalk

Christian Pulisic’s prospective transfer to Chelsea might have been inadvertently ‘announced’ by former Fulham and USA forward Eddie Johnson on Instagram (Daily Mirror)

Valencia are hoping to sign West Ham striker Javier Hernandez in January with a view to a £7m permanent move in the summer (Daily Mirror)

Paul Pogba revealed the wristband he wore in Manchester United’s 4-1 win against Bournemouth was in support of Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly (The Sun)

Celtic skipper Scott Brown will open talks with Western Melbourne this week as they look to lure him to Australia’s A-League (The Sun)

Sadio Mane has escaped FA action after appearing to put his hands round Arsenal defender Stephan Lichtsteiner’s neck (The Sun)

Southampton’s Charlie Austin could face an FA investigation after aiming an obscene gesture at Manchester City fans (The Sun)

Gary Rowett’s future at Stoke is in question with additional pressure coming from fans upset by his style of play (The Sun)

Bolton are waiting on the future of loan winger Yanic Wildschut before making plans for the January transfer window as they need to free up wages (The Sun)

Mason Mount is targeting a top-two finish with Derby County after an extraordinary end to 2018 (Daily Telegraph)

Mason Mount TEAMtalk

Aston Villa are set to recall Jed Steer from his loan spell at Charlton – possibly only for their midweek game against QPR – in the wake of Orjan Nyland’s season-ending injury. New signing Lovre Kalinic is not eligible until Saturday (Daily Telegraph)

A section of Chelsea fans continued to defy the club’s wishes by singing an anti-semitic chant during Sunday’s clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park (The Times)

Sunderland should know this week whether exciting forward Josh Maja will accept the club’s offer of a new contract or decide to cash in and move on (The Times)

Southampton midfielder Steven Davis could be back in Glasgow this week to complete a move to Rangers if the club can finance his £60,000-a-week wages (Daily Record)