Paper Talk: New Depay suitors; Chelsea chase £30m-rated CB
Memphis Depay: Is Lyon the best fit?
Everton face fresh competition for Manchester United flop Memphis Depay while Antonio Conte still has plans to beef up his Chelsea defence – according to Friday’s papers.
TOFFEES IN STICKY SITUATION
Everton and Tottenham could be going head-to-head for a second consecutive transfer window as Mauricio Pochettino has reportedly declared an interest in Manchester United winger Memphis Depay, according to the Liverpool Echo.
The Premier League duo were involved in a last-minute scrap to sign Moussa Sissoko from Newcastle for £30million, with the Frenchman opting to join the North London club after initially holding with the Toffees.
Now Tottenham want to steal Everton’s yet again by making a move for the Dutchman who looks all set leave Old Trafford after failing to make an impact since moving from PSV in 2015.
Roma, Wolfsburg and Nice are all reportedly interested, too, but one glimmer of hope for Everton if Depay does want to prove himself in the Premier League is that Tottenham may play the waiting game and move for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha instead.
Zaha was a strong target for Tottenham in the summer and they have also been tipped to reignite their interest within the next six weeks.
BLUES STEP UP INTEREST IN GERMAN DEFENDER
Chelsea are ready to rest Hoffenheim’s resolve by launching a £30million bid for centre-back Niklas Sule, according to the Daily Star.
After switching to a 3-4-3 formation following the error-ridden defeat at Arsenal, Antonio Conte has lead his Chelsea side to 10 consecutive Premier League victories – a run which has seen the Blues concede twice and keep eight clean sheets in the process.
However, the remarkable record does not mean the Italian is completely happy with the defensive options he has at his disposal.
Chelsea are set to be in an even stronger financial position in January with the reportedly imminent £60million deal which will see out-of-favour midfielder Oscar join Chinese side Shanghai SIPG, and will re-invest the cash almost immediately to strengthen his squad for the title run-in.
Hoffenheim are said to be reluctant to sell their star defender in January, but the the departures of Roberto Firmino to Liverpool and Kevin Volland to Bayer Leverkusen for £29million and £16million respectively show that the Bundesliga club do sell once their valuation is met.
AND THE REST
Brazil midfielder Oscar, 25, will earn £400,000 a week after tax when he moves to China to join Shanghai SIPG in January (Times)
Manchester City would have signed Sanchez had it not been for Financial Fair Play regulations, according to former manager Manuel Pellegrini (ADN, via Daily Mirror)
Pellegrini’s new club in China, Hebei China Fortune. are ready to offer a Sanchez a £500,000-a-week deal (Sun)
Former Manchester United and Bulgaria striker Dimitar Berbatov, 35, is to return to train with his old club to prepare himself for any potential Premier League interest (Manchester Evening News)
Manchester United’s France midfielder Paul Pogba, who joined for a world record £89m fee in August, misses life at Juventus, according to the Italian side’s Argentina striker Paulo Dybala (Corriere dello Sport, via 101 Great Goals)
Everton will compete with West Ham to sign Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson, 24, in January (Daily Mirror)
Everton are set to offer England left-back Leighton Baines, 32, a new two-year contract (Guardian)
Southampton are lining up a January move for Valencia’s £16.7m-rated Spanish midfielder Dani Parejo, 27 (Daily Star)
Manchester City are set to make a new £20m bid for Benfica and Brazil goalkeeper Ederson Moraes, 23, next summer (Sun)
City manager Pep Guardiola is likely to name Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure, 33, in his revised Champions League squad, following Ilkay Gundogan’s serious knee injury (Daily Express)
City’s Argentine defender Pablo Zabaleta, 31, says there have been no discussions with the club about extending his current contract, which runs out this summer (Manchester Evening News)
West Brom midfielder Chris Brunt expects Baggies striker Salomon Rondon, 27, to be a transfer target for other clubs following his strong start to the season (Daily Star)
Stoke City want to make 33-year-old goalkeeper Lee Grant’s loan from Derby County permanent – but the price tag could be a stumbling block (Telegraph)
Former Liverpool midfielder Joao Carlos Teixeira, 23, is set to join Brighton on loan after an indifferent start to the Portuguese’s time at Porto (Zero Zero)