BBC
Liverpool and Real Madrid want Paris St-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe, who is out of contract at the end of the season. The 25-year-old France international is free to sign for another club this month. (Le Parisian)
Paris St-Germain are the leading contenders to sign England midfielder Kalvin Phillips, 27, from Manchester City this month. (Telegraph)
Manchester United and Liverpool head the queue of clubs who want 28-year-old Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich when his Bayern Munich contract runs out at the end of the season. (AS)
Liverpool and Tottenham are weighing up summer moves for Wolves' 27-year-old South Korea forward Hwang Hee-Chan. (Football Insider)
Tottenham are pushing to complete the signing of Genoa centre-back Radu Dragusin, 21, by the end of the week. (Mail)
West Ham have contacted Tottenham about a deal for England defender Eric Dier, who has been out of favour since Ange Postecoglou's arrival. (Football Transfers)
Manchester City are among a host of teams tracking 18-year-old defender Leny Yoro, but Lille want at least £78m. (Le 10 Sport via Manchester Evening News)
Morocco winger Hakim Ziyech, 30, could return to Chelsea this month as Galatasaray are planning to terminate his season-long loan. (NTV Spor - in Turkish)
Liverpool are monitoring Genoa's Danish midfielder Morten Frendrup, 22, but a January move is unlikely. (Liverpool Echo)
Nottingham Forest have opened talks with Paris St-Germain about re-signing 37-year-old Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who spent the second half of last season on loan at the City Ground. (Football Insider)
Newcastle United want Chelsea's 19-year-old Brazilian defender Andrey Santos, whose loan at Nottingham Forest is expected to be terminated this month. (Ben Jacobs via Football 365)
Newcastle have made contact with representatives of Sporting Lisbon's 20-year-old Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande regarding a potential summer deal. (Football Insider)
Burnley winger Manuel Benson, 26, is in talks with Hull City after the clubs verbally agreed a loan deal until the end of the season. (Hull Daily Mail)
Fulham have triggered a one-year contract extension for club captain and Scotland midfielder Tom Cairney, 32, after his impressive recent form. (Sun)
West Ham are willing to allow Algeria winger Said Benrahma, 28, to leave the club for around £20m, with Fulham and Lyon interested. (Mail)
Chelsea have started the process of signing 24-year-old Nice and France defender Jean-Clair Todibo, who is also wanted by Manchester United and Tottenham. (Teamtalk)
Arsenal could recall Scotland left-back Kieran Tierney, 26, from his loan at Real Sociedad following Ukraine international Oleksandr Zinchenko's injury. (Express)
Chelsea are keen on Germany's Under-17 World Cup winner David Odogu. The 17-year-old Wolfsburg defender, who has not played a senior game in the Bundesliga, is also interesting Leicester City. (Sun)
Former Arsenal striker Carlos Vela, 34, could return to Real Sociedad on a short-term deal. The Mexican also has an offer from Cruz Azul after his contract at Los Angeles FC expired. (AS Diario)
Sky Paper Talk
THE SUN
Liverpool have emerged as "serious candidates" to sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer. (Le Parisien)
Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci has waxed lyrical about "nasty and tough" England defenders John Stones and Harry Maguire. Bonucci has also revealed he does not regret turning down Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
Hakim Ziyech could see his spell in Turkey come to an end after just a handful of games. The forgotten Chelsea star was loaned out to Galatasaray in the summer after falling out of favour at Stamford Bridge.
DAILY MAIL
Roberto De Zerbi believes James Milner has the passion, attitude and energy to keep playing until he becomes the Premier League's all-time record appearance maker.
Derby are interested in Reading midfielder Charlie Savage - son of former Wales star Robbie.
Manchester United fans turning to the first page of the club's official 2024 calendar were greeted by a picture of someone who has been banished from the squad since September. Jadon Sancho was the surprise choice for January's player picture given he might not even be a United player come the end of the month.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Jack Grealish has laid bare the devastating impact of a £1m burglary of his new home while his loved ones were inside watching him play on television.
Nikita Parris "hates" stretching so she has surprised herself by finding enjoyment in yoga and the Manchester United winger is now hoping the benefits will lead to an England recall.
DAILY EXPRESS
Declan Rice insists there is "no time to panic" amid Arsenal's mid-season dip in form. The Gunners were top of the Premier League table at Christmas but back-to-back defeats to West Ham and Fulham have seen Mikel Arteta's men slip to fourth behind league leaders Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City.
Chelsea appear to have dodged a bullet by failing to sign Brazilian starlet Gabriel Moscardo after the midfielder revealed that he will miss the next three months due to foot surgery. Moscardo reportedly opted to join Paris Saint-Germain just days ago but will now be absent until April.
Frenkie de Jong has left the door open for a potential switch to Manchester United but insists he remains happy at Barcelona.
THE TIMES
David Moyes says he is "comfortable" that his contract situation as West Ham United manager will be sorted "at the right time" after a year that he hailed as the best of his managerial career.
Dele has suffered another fitness setback to further delay his Everton comeback.
Birmingham manager Wayne Rooney has blasted 'unacceptable' taunts and has vowed to fight on at St Andrew's following another defeat at Leeds.
DAILY RECORD
Brendan Rodgers insists he's focused on recruiting more quality to his Celtic squad this month despite the boost of keeping Kyogo Furuhashi on home soil.
Rangers are interested in bringing former Hibs star Josh Doig back to Scotland from Serie A to solve their looming left-back problem.
SCOTTISH SUN
St Johnstone are set to sign ex-Sunderland striker Benjamin Kimpioka. The 23-year-old has become a free agent after agreeing to terminate his contract with AIK in Sweden.
Liverpool have dealt Dundee a hammer blow by recalling star left-back Owen Beck. The 21-year-old has been outstanding for Tony Docherty's side this season and the Dens Park club hoped to keep him through to summer.
The Athletic
‘He was captain, team-mates loved him’: Mavropanos’ disjointed path from Greece to West Ham
By Roshane Thomas
“It is a historical failure the way they treated Dinos. Why Apollon never gave him a chance I will never know. Dinos was our most talented player in the academy. I’d be encouraging the coaches to have a look at him, but they didn’t listen to me.”
Theodoros Antonopoulos, the assistant coach at MLS side Chicago Fire, is midway through recalling his fondest memories of Konstantinos Mavropanos when he pauses and launches a passionate rant about why Apollon Smyrnis failed to get the best out of the defender.
The Greek side, based in Athens, was Mavropanos’ boyhood club. They operate in the third tier and Antonopoulos coached the centre-back during his spell in the academy. But he remains perplexed over the club’s poor handling of Mavropanos.
“Dinos is fulfilling the dream of all the kids who didn’t get a chance at Apollon,” he says. “He struggled to go from the academy to the first team. The club hardly gave young players an opportunity, it was always only experienced players. So many kids were deserving of a chance in the first team. In the end many of those kids ended up joining other academies.
“Dinos was very loyal to Apollon as a kid. Olympiacos and Panathinaikos wanted to sign him. The technical director told me that Dinos cried because he didn’t want to leave the academy. Dinos was captain and his team-mates loved him. He deserved to play in the first team. It still surprises me till this day.”
Mavropanos was at Apollon from six to 18, but joined PAS Giannina in 2016 in search of first-team opportunities. Antonopoulos is not surprised Mavropanos’ development has culminated in the defender returning to the Premier League.
The Greece international, now 26, joined West Ham United in the summer from Stuttgart for £17million ($21.6m) from German side Stuttgart on a five-year deal. Tim Steidten, the technical director, recommended Mavropanos after watching the defender in his previous role at Bayer Leverkusen.
Gus Poyet, the Greece manager, backed the defender to impress.
“Physically, Mavropanos is a typical Premier League player,” he said. “He won’t need time to adapt. Some foreign players need six months, a season or two, that won’t be the case for Mavropanos. He’s ready to shine.”
Mavropanos, who was on the books at Arsenal from 2018-2022, made his debut against Sheffield United and scored his first goal for West Ham against his former side. But the defender has had to remain patient for opportunities, with captain Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd the preferred defensive pairing. He has bounced back from setbacks having scored an own goal in the loss against Brentford and being at fault for the equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.
Antonopoulos believes Apollon would have been rewarded financially had they been patient with Mavropanos.
“Dinos was a kid who was always standing out from the rest,” says Antonopoulos. “Not only for his athletic and technical characteristics, which were outstanding, but also for his character and behaviour. He was the captain in all his age groups and a quiet leader. All the big teams wanted to sign him throughout the years, but he was loyal to Apollon, it was his dream to play for them.
“Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. Apollon was a team that was always struggling, either to be promoted from the second to the first division or to avoid relegation. This football environment of constant pressure never gave the opportunity to these players who were standing out to play in the senior team. And this made me feel very sad as an academy coach. The club could have earned so much money from selling Dinos if they’d given him a chance.”
PAS Giannina is a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Apollon Smyrnis. It meant Mavropanos left the family home in Athens, but it was a move that had the desired effect. The defender made 16 league appearances from 2016-18 and scored three goals. His form attracted interest from Arsenal who signed him in January 2018. He only made seven league appearances during his four-year spell, which included loans at Nuremberg and Stuttgart.
But Mavropanos had unfinished in the Premier League — and Antonopoulos recalls a match that illustrates the defender’s mindset.
“After his first training at Giannina, the coach phoned me and said, ‘I have to put this kid in the team no matter what’,” says Antonopoulos. “All it took was one training session. They are a totally different club to Apollon. Giannina play in the first division, there is less anxiety about relegation and Dinos had an experienced coach in Giannis Petrakis.
“Dinos was becoming the talk of the league. When he faced Apollon he made them regret not giving him a chance big time. I was still the academy coach and we tried our best to make it difficult for him to score from a set play. I remember having a conversation with a player about how he should man-mark Dinos. He was 5ft 10in and all week I was telling him about Dinos and how he had to be ready to mark him. The player was about 19 and on the day of the game, he told the manager, ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t mark him’.
“He was scared of Dinos. He marked him for a corner but Dinos towered over him to score. It was crazy game and Apollon won 4-3 but the result didn’t really matter — it was a case of, ‘How on the hell did we let a talented player like Dinos leave?’.”
When Mavropanos joined West Ham, he became the first Greek player to sign for the club, and credited their Europa Conference League win against Fiorentina as a key factor in his decision. Against Arsenal, the defender produced his best performance in a West Ham jersey. Although his return to England has been filled with setbacks and doubts over his ability, Mavropanos has shown the adage “slow and steady wins the race” best describes his journey.
“Words can’t describe how happy I am for Dinos,” says Antonopoulos. “I backed him from the start. He knew he had the potential to reach the top. He represents all those kids who didn’t have an opportunity to shine. Young kids in Greece look up to him. He is doing well and will continue to improve at West Ham. I am sure of it. Look at all the challenges he has already overcome. That requires a lot of mental strength, which he has.
“As a character and person, he is still and always will remain humble, hard-working and loyal as he was as an academy player. We all are proud of his career so far and also for his presence with our national team. Hand on my heart, I wish Dinos nothing but the best. He deserves all his success.”
TeamTalk
West Ham receive explosive Saudi interest in Salah alternative who’s wanted immediately for big fee
Ciaran McCarthy
West Ham star Lucas Paqueta has emerged as a top target for a number of Saudi Pro League clubs in January, sources have told TEAMtalk.
Paqueta has been a standout performer for West Ham this season and his performances have brought him onto the radar of several of the big-spending Saudi Pro League sides.
The skilful playmaker has scored five goals and provided five assists in 26 games across all competitions so far this season.
That includes three goals in the Europa League, a better tally than he managed in the Hammers’ Europa Conference League triumph last season.
Manchester City tried to sign Paqueta in the summer, but the move collapsed after it was revealed the Brazilian was being investigated by the Football Association for potential betting rule breaches.
Paqueta only joined West Ham from Lyon in the summer of 2022 for a club record £51m and a much higher fee would be demanded by the Hammers to even consider selling him.
It was reported in the summer than City were preparing a £95million bid, and £85million is also a figure that’s been floated since then.
The price tag would be no issue for the Saudi clubs who are targeting a move for Paqueta as a marquee signing as they know other top targets such as Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne are unlikely to leave Liverpool and Manchester City respectively in the New Year.
That said, the potential of Salah leaving Liverpool continues to mentioned, with Jermaine Pennant recently stating £100-150million would be hard to turn down.
But it seems more likely any such bid would come in the summer, while Paqueta’s a man that’s wanted right now.
Standard
Colchester linked with West Ham striker Callum Marshall
COLCHESTER United have been linked with a loan move for West Ham United's highly-rated striker Callum Marshall.
The U's are interested in signing the 19-year-old forward, according to reports in the Belfast Telegraph.
Marshall is yet to make his senior debut for West Ham but has already played three times for the Northern Ireland senior team, having also represented their under-21, under-19 and under-18 teams.
The Glengormley-born youngster, who can play both as a striker and a winger, joined West Ham in January, 2022 and was a member of their FA Youth Cup-winning team, last season.
Marshall, who signed his first professional contract in November 2022, has been a regular for the Hammers' under-21 side this season and impressed in their 4-0 win at Colchester United in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy game at the JobServe Community Stadium, at the start of last month.
The 5ft 8in striker is a player who U's sporting director Dmitri Halajko will be aware of from his time as academy boss, at the London Stadium.
The Belfast Telegraph has also reported that West Ham are preparing to hold contract talks with Marshall, ahead of a possible January loan move.
Marshall’s existing deal with the Hammers runs until the end of the 2024-05 season.
Colchester are set to reinforce their forward options, following the news that top goalscorer Joe Taylor is to be recalled by his parent club Luton Town.
The U's are hoping to complete a deal for a new striker this week, with a view to them being involved in their League Two trip to play Swindon Town, on Saturday.
Taylor will be a tough act to follow, after the former Peterborough United striker hit 12 goals in the first half of the campaign for Colchester despite their struggles in the bottom end of the table.
