Paper Talk: £25m Roma misfit up for sale as Spurs, Chelsea eye bids
Tottenham and Chelsea are ready to do battle for a £25million star made available by Roma, while Marco Silva is ready to axe three top stars at Everton, according to Thursday’s papers.
TOTTENHAM, CHELSEA IN BATTLE FOR ROMA STAR
Tottenham and Chelsea have been alerted by the news that Roma have put Radja Nainggolan on the transfer list.
The midfielder was surprisingly left out of Belgium’s World Cup squad by manager Roberto Martinez, despite a superb season that saw him guide the Serie A outfit to the Champions League semi-finals.
Chelsea have been long-term admirers of the 30-year-old and are pushing ahead with transfer business despite continued doubts over boss Antonio Conte’s future at the club.
The Blues are in the market for a new midfield partner for N’Golo Kante and they view Nainggolan as the perfect foil for the France star.
Spurs, meanwhile, are in the hunt for a replacement for Mousa Dembele, who seems increasingly likely to quit the club this summer.
The Belgium star is set for a move to Italy, with Juventus said to be leading the chase for his signature, despite being a key member of Mauricio Pochettino’s first-team squad.
As for Nainggolan, Roma are said to have run out of patience with the combative midfielder’s outlandish off-field behaviour, as reported in the Daily Star.
The Italian giants value Nainggolan, who scored six goals and laid on 11 assists in 42 games last season, at £25million – which could represent a real bargain in today’s inflated market.
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AND THE REST
Manchester United star Ander Herrera wants talks with boss Jose Mourinho over his future this summer (The Sun)
Manchester City wonderkid Brahim Diaz is wanted by West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini on a season-long loan deal (The Sun)
Paris Saint-Germain have been cleared of breaking Financial Fair Play rules after an eight-month investigation (The Sun)
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri says he was approached by Real Madrid as a potential replacement for Zinedine Zidane – but turned it down (The Sun)
Napoli are willing to drop the price for Maurizio Sarri to £4.5m to encourage Chelsea to appoint their former coach (Daily Mirror)
Newcastle’s Congo defender Chancel Mbemba, 23, has agreed a four-year deal with Porto worth £8m (Daily Mirror)
Everton are battling with West Ham to sign Toulouse centre-back Issa Diop (Daily Mirror)
New Hebei China Fortune boss Chris Coleman wants to offer Christian Benteke an escape route from Crystal Palace (Daily Mirror)
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho’s decision to shelve an immediate move for a left-back has bought him time to monitor the progress of two players who can fill that position – Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon and Celtic’s Kieran Tierney (MEN)
Liverpool forward Sadio Mane says he is happy at the club after speculation linked him with a move to Real Madrid (Evening Standard)
Everton boss Marco Silva is keen to give Morgan Scheiderlin a fresh start at the club (Daily Telegraph)
Davy Klaassen, Ashley Williams and Kevin Mirallas have been told to find new clubs by Everton, however (Daily Telegraph)
Chelsea face a straight choice between sacking Antonio Conte and paying him up to £9m compensation or letting him see out the final year of his contract (Daily Telegraph)
England are in pole position to host the 2030 World Cup (Daily Mail)
England fans have been warned not to violate war memorials in Volgograd by Russia fans (Daily Mail)
Burnley want to sign both English defender Craig Dawson and striker Jay Rodriguez from West Brom for a combined £28m (Daily Mail)
Nice’s new manager Patrick Vieira is set to offer Joe Hart an escape from Manchester City (Daily Mail)
Everton midfielder Mo Besic will happily join Middlesbrough on loan again if he feels he will have limited opportunity at Goodison Park (Northern Echo)