Paper Talk: Pulisic cools Liverpool links; West Ham denials

Christian Pulisic: Happy at Dortmund

Christian Pulisic: Happy at Dortmund

Christian Pulisic has played down talk of a move to Liverpool, while West Ham have vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the transfer of third-party owned Enner Valencia, according to Wednesday’s newspapers.

 

PULISIC INSISTS HIS FOCUS REMAINS ON DORTMUND

Christian Pulisic says he is completely focused on Borussia Dortmund, despite interest from Liverpool.

The young American was the subject of a failed £11million bid this summer and has since continued to flourish in the Dortmund line-up.

“I’m absolutely focused on the season, performing well and winning games with our team,” Pulisic told The Set Pieces.

Liverpool are reportedly considering returning for a second bid in the January transfer window, with reports suggesting they could raise their offer to £18million for a man already considered to be the most important player in the USA’s footballing history.

 

AND THE REST

Enner Valencia: Surplus to requirements at West Ham

Jose Fonte has put Manchester United on alert by raising fresh doubts over his Southampton future (Daily Mirror)

Nigel Pearson will be sacked by Derby after an astonishing bust-up with the club’s owner Mel Morris (Daily Mirror)

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney is not finished despite being axed by Jose Mourinho, insists former team-mate Quinton Fortune (Daily Mirror)

Promotion-chasing Norwich City face paying the in-demand Murphy twins £15,000-a-week to keep them on new long-term deals (Daily Mirror)

Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group insist Ian Ayre will remain as the club’s chief executive until the end of the season when he will head to German second tier outfit 1860 Munich as general manager (Daily Mirror)

Eight current or former Premier League managers stand accused of receiving ‘bungs’ for player transfers (Daily Telegraph)

Sunderland manager David Moyes has the full support of the club’s board, despite the Black Cats being bottom of the Premier League after failing to win any of their opening six games (Daily Telegraph)

Burnley defender Michael Keane could have been playing Champions League this week, but says he’s happy to bide his time to join the European elite (Daily Telegraph)

Former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva says the club’s fans should look at Manchester United’s struggles since Sir Alex Ferguson left before calling for Gunners boss Arsene Wenger to be replaced (Daily Express)

Manchester United defender Phil Jones is closing in on a comeback from a knee injury and could return to the first-team squad next week (Daily Mail)

The West Ham squad are looking to turnaround their Premier League fortunes as the players enjoyed a team-bonding night out on Monday (Daily Mail)

Theo Walcott admits last season was a ‘wake-up call’ and the Arsenal forward is finally ready to fulfil his potential (Daily Mail)

West Ham have vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the transfer of third-party owned Enner Valencia from Pachuca in 2014 (The Sun)

Jamie Vardy says he turned down a move to Arsenal to help Leicester build on their Premier League success last season (The Sun)

Manchester United are targeting a move for Sporting Lisbon winger Gelson Martins (Daily Star)

Swansea City’s American owners are flying in to watch the home match against Liverpool on Saturday in what is seen as a pivotal game for boss Francesco Guidolin (The Guardian)

Rangers manager Mark Warburton is priced lower than his Celtic counterpart Brendan Rodgers in the running to be the next England manager (Daily Record)

Ian Wright has blasted the Old Firm fixture as being ‘vile’ and ‘fuelled by hatred’ (Daily Record)

Former Hull City manager Steve Bruce should become the next England manager following Sam Allardyce’s departure, says ex-Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour (The Sun)