Paper Talk: Zaza’s Valencia link; Liverpool eye £40m Saints duo

Virgil van Dijk: Man City target

Virgil van Dijk: Man City target

Liverpool want to sign two more players from Southampton in a £40m double deal, while West Ham flop Simone Zaza could be heading to La Liga in January, according to Tuesday’s papers.

 

LIVERPOOL WANT £40M-RATED SOUTHAMPTON PAIR

How Southampton must be sick of the sight of Liverpool. Not content with signing Sadio Mane, Dejan Lovren, Adam Lallana, Nathanial Clyne and even Rickie Lambert from them in recent years, the Reds are now being tipped for a further swoop on St Mary’s for Virgil van Dijk and Sam McQueen.

Both The Sun and the Daily Star suggest Liverpool boss Klopp sees Dutchman Van Dijk as the answer to the Reds’ creaky defence and will give them solidity ahead of a possible title challenge.

The former Celtic centre back only signed a new six-year-deal at St Mary’s in May but Klopp is confident he can prise him away from the south coast.

Van Dijk put in a man of the match display on Saturday as Southampton shut out Liverpool in a 0-0 draw – and that is believed to have convinced Klopp that Van Dijk should be his No 1 priority.

Klopp is also sweet on academy ace McQueen, 21, to solve the Merseysiders’ left-back dilemma.

McQueen, 21, only made his Premier League debut in mid-October after coming on as sub in Saints’ 3-1 win over Burnley – but the player has since put in a string of impressive performances to draw comparisons with both Luke Shaw and Gareth Bale.

Klopp has lost faith in Spaniard Alberto Moreno, forcing James Milner to play out of position.

McQueen’s contract is up at the end of the season and he is stalling on accepting the offer of an extension.

Liverpool are planning to test Saints’ resolve with a bid for the pair in the New Year.

 

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ZAZA TO GET VALENCIA ESCAPE ROUTE

Simone Zaza: Linked with AC Milan switch
Simone Zaza: Linked with AC Milan switch

Valencia are reportedly preparing to offer Simone Zaza a way out of West Ham in the upcoming January transfer window.

The Italian striker has been a massive disappointment since signing for the Hammers over the summer and has failed to score a goal in 10 appearances for the club.

Under the terms of his loan move from Juventus, his move to the Hammers is due to become permanent once he has played 14 times for the club – a deal which will reportedly cost West Ham £14million.

And according to reports in Italy, Valencia are reportedly preparing to offer Simone Zaza a way out of West Ham in the upcoming January transfer window.

According to website Gazza Mercato – an affiliate of Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport – La Liga side Valencia are very keen on a January loan deal.

For that to happen Juve would have to agree to cancel Zaza’s loan agreement with West Ham.

However, by doing so they would potentially miss out on a lucrative sale of a player they have no plans to retain.

Valencia may therefore need to agree to the same terms West Ham settled for in the summer.

Another option is for West Ham to trigger the permanent move for Zaza and then offload him straight on to Valencia on loan.

 

 

AND THE REST

Gelson Martins

Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United have sent scouts to watch Sporting Lisbon starlet Gelson Martins against Real Madrid on Tuesday (The Sun)

An unnamed club has offered Lionel Messi an incredible £85m signing-on fee to join them at the end of his Barcelona contract (The Sun)

Former Manchester United striker Federico Macheda is set to go on trial at Serie B side Bari (The Sun)

Steven Gerrard is targeting a coaching role at Liverpool after turning down the chance to become manager of Sky Bet League One club Milton Keynes Dons (Daily Mirror)

Hugo Lloris has put his Tottenham contract talks on hold in order to focus on their crucial Champions League clash against Monaco (Daily Mirror)

Swansea could be facing a fight to keep hold of Modou Barrow, with Premier League rivals Leicester and Southampton weighing up moves for the winger (Daily Mirror)

Slaven Bilic is coming under increasing pressure following West Ham’s poor start to the season, with the club’s owners considering other managerial options (Daily Telegraph)

The Football Association are expected to appoint Gareth Southgate as England manager a week on Wednesday (Daily Mail)

Arsene Wenger plans to give Alexis Sanchez a winter break to ensure he is firing for the season finale (Daily Mail)

Arsenal and Liverpool scouts were taking a look at Port Vale youngster Nathan Smith in action against Charlton on Saturday (Daily Star)

Arsenal are reportedly stepping up their interest for Hull defender Josh Tymon (Daily Star)

Lucas Perez: Will be out until at least mid-December

Lucas Perez’s agent has dismissed speculation linking the forward with a move away from Arsenal (Daily Express)

Jon Flanagan hopes his loan spell at Burnley will develop into a first-team role at Liverpool next season (Daily Express)

Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, 36, has rejected the chance to manage League One MK Dons – and wants a coaching role at Anfield (Daily Mirror)

Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew, 55, faces the sack if his team loses to Swansea City on Saturday. Former England manager Sam Allardyce and Wales boss Chris Coleman could replace him (The Sun)

Leicester City have made a £15.5m offer for Genk’s 19-year-old Nigeria midfielder Wilfred Ndidi (Het Laatste Nieuws)

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is concerned about Anthony Martial’s state of mind. The 20-year-old forward has scored one Premier League goal this season (Daily Telegraph)

Huddersfield Town's Nahki Wells celebrates his goal
Nahki Wells: On target for Huddersfield

Huddersfield Town will seek £8m for 26-year-old Nahki Wells in January after the forward turned down a new contract to stay at the Championship club (Daily Telegraph)

Brighton, Bristol City, Norwich, Wolves and Brentford are all interested in signing Watford striker Jerome Sinclair, 20, in January (Watford Observer)