Paper Talk: Liverpool make Norwich star a priority summer signing

Todd Cantwell, Teemu Pukki TEAMtalk

Liverpool are readying a £30m approach for a Norwich star who has impressed Jurgen Klopp, while Man Utd could be forced to accept a shockingly-low transfer fee for Paul Pogba, according to Wednesday’s Paper Talk.

 

LIVERPOOL PREPARE TEMPTING PACKAGE FOR TODD CANTWELL

Liverpool have decided to make Norwich City midfielder Todd Cantwell one of their summer transfer window priorities, according to reports.

The 21-year-old star was already on Jurgen Klopp’s transfer radar, but the Daily Star claims such was his impressive display against the Reds, that he has leapt to the top of the German’s wish-list.

They claim Klopp was impressed by the way Cantwell was able to carry the ball up the field and transition the play from defence to attack and believes, with a bit of fine-tuning, he can become one of the best midfielders in the English game.

It’s claimed Liverpool are preparing a £30million approach for Cantwell at the end of the season and could even make their move sooner should the Canaries’ relegation be confirmed before too long. That’s the fee Norwich value the midfielder at and it’s thought they would be unlikely to stand in his way should their asking price be met.

And it’s claimed that while Liverpool are not alone in their pursuit of Cantwell, the midfielder has hinted he wants to stay in the Premier League at the end of the season whether Norwich remain there or not.

“I think I’m improving game by game and I feel like I’m becoming a better footballer. On a personal note, I’m loving it, playing in the Premier League against the best,” he said after City’s 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday evening.

Norwich may have struggled in the Premier League this season with the Canaries bottom of the pile with just four wins from their 26 matches played so far. Cantwell, however, has been their leading light, the homegrown talent having scored six goals in 26 appearances, while he has also picked up two assists.

Speaking about the 1-0 defeat to the Reds, the England Under-21 man said: “We showed a lot of resilience again. They are the best team in the world at the moment but they came to Carrow Road and didn’t have an easy game – that’s a credit to everyone.

 

 

“The resilience we’ve shown at home is something positive we can take but it’s a shame we’ve got nothing to show for it again. It’s been a bit of a reoccurring event.

“The way Sadio Mane takes that out of the air and the way he snaps at it with his weaker foot is frightening.

“We knew we were up against some of the best players in the world. Any sniff of a chance and you’ve got a horrible feeling they’re going to take it.

“When we get our chances, we really need to capitalise because we knew we weren’t going to have spells in the game where we would control the ball how we like.

“The resilience we showed against the ball, I feel like we deserved something from the game.”

 

AND THE REST

Paul.Pogba_.Man_.Utd_.TEAMtalk

Manchester United might be forced to accept as little as £50m for Paul Pogba in the summer because of his contractual situation at Old Trafford (Daily Mail)

The majority of Premier League teams do not want referees to use pitchside monitors to check VAR decisions as they fear they would favour bigger clubs (Daily Mail)

Stoke City midfielder Giannelli Imbula, 27, is discussing a move to Lokomotiv Moscow (Daily Mail)

Elseid Hysaj’s agent says his client had his self-esteem crushed by Carlo Ancelotti when the Italian was in charge at Napoli (Daily Mail)

Frank Lampard is coming under increased scrutiny from his Chelsea bosses, with concern coming over his treatment of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (Daily Telegraph)

Kepa Arrizabalaga TEAMtalk

Manchester City are set to sell Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich in the summer because of their need for extra earnings in the wake of their two-year European ban (Daily Star)

Dwight Gayle is set for a Newcastle recall as Steve Bruce ponders dropping record signing Joelinton over his continuing struggles in front of goal (Daily Star)

Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, who most recently played for Chinese side Qingdao Huanghai, is reportedly close to joining Brazilian side Botafogo (Daily Star)

Arsene Wenger is the driving force behind a move to rewrite the offside law in a bid to bring an end to controversial VAR decisions (Daily Mirror)

Chelsea have reportedly made their first move in their pursuit of Jadon Sancho by opening talks with the Borussia Dortmund star’s representatives (Daily Mirror)

Andy Robertson slammed Atletico Madrid’s stars for “falling over” all game as Liverpool fell to a Champions League defeat on Tuesday night (Daily Mirror)

 

 

Manchester City could face further investigation by UEFA into the levels of Abu Dhabi sponsorship they have declared for the years since 2016, with their impending European ban only relating to income from 2012 up until 2016 (The Guardian)

US investment firm Silver Lake are to put £369m straight into Manchester City’s coffers, more than covering the revenue the club would lose if they are unable to compete in Europe for two seasons (The Sun)

Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are keen on 16-year-old Chelsea product Samuel Iling-Junior as he approaches the end of his youth contract with the club (The Sun)

Manchester City could make a summer move for Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry and use Leroy Sane as part of a potential swap deal (The Sun)