Paper Talk
Sergio Ramos has told Real Madrid he wants to join Manchester United.
Tottenham are hoping Aston Villa will accept Emmanuel Adebayor as part of a swap deal for Christian Benteke.
Manchester United's chief executive Ed Woodward has met with Morgan Schneiderlin's representatives but Southampton boss Ronald Koeman says Saints are yet to receive a serious offer for the midfielder.
Bastian Schweinsteiger is ready to snub Manchester United and chase a fourth straight Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich.
Liverpool have added Monaco centre-back Aymen Abdennour to their list of targets.
David de Gea wants his future sorted before he has to return to Manchester United pre-season training.
Stoke manager Mark Hughes is targeting West Ham's Stewart Downing.
Miralem Pjanic wants his Bosnia team-mate Edin Dzeko to join him at Roma.
Aston Villa coach Ray Wilkins admits the club face a battle to hold on to Manchester City target Fabian Delph.
Manchester City are chasing the signature of 21-year-old Brazilian full-back Fabinho from Monaco, who reportedly want £15m.
Chelsea have started negotiations with Stoke City regarding goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
Liverpool are interested in signing Swedish under-21 international Ludwig Augustinsson from Copenhagen in a deal that could cost the Anfield club around £2m.
Southampton have been dealt a blow in their chase for Lille midfielder Idrissa Gueye after he agreed to join Marseille last night in a £7.5m deal.
Cardiff City are leading the race to sign Newcastle winger Sammy Ameobi.
Slaven Bilic has been told to secure a top-eight finish in his first season as West Ham boss, and will be sacked with no compensation if the Hammers go down.
Chelsea expect to seal a £6m deal for Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic by the end of the week.
Petr Cech received online death threats just minutes after leaving Chelsea for Arsenal.
Sergio Ramos has implored Real Madrid to let him join Manchester United.
Nathaniel Clyne moved a step closer to his £12.5m Liverpool move after completing his medical.
David de Gea faces a humiliating return to pre-season training and Manchester United next week - despite telling them he wants to leave.
Wantaway midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin was made to train with the kids on his return to Southampton yesterday.
Liverpool are closing on a triple deal for Southampton's Nathaniel Clyne, Barcelona teenager Bobby Adekanye and Swedish left-back Ludwig Augustinsson.
Atletico Madrid's attacking midfielder Arda Turan could be heading to the Premier League with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal reportedly interested in signing the 28-year-old Turkey international.
Sean O'Driscoll is set to quit as England U-19s coach to join Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool where he could become assistant manager.
Everton could move for Leeds full-back Sam Byram, with Manchester United still keen on Seamus Coleman.
Manchester United will step up their £25m deal for Southampton's Morgan Schneiderlin after they missed out on Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Everton have joined Newcastle and Sunderland in the chase to sign Leeds United right-back Sam Byram.
Shakhtar Donetsk striker Douglas Costa says Bayern Munich want to sign him.
Real Madrid are unhappy that Manchester United want £20m for keeper David de Gea. They believe the figure is too excessive for a player with just one year left on his contract.
Hibs boss Alan Stubbs is unhappy about the way Scottish Championship rivals Rangers have tried to sign their 23-year-old midfielder Scott Allan.
Chelsea made a £6m bid for Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic as a replacement for Petr Cech.
Arsenal are no longer interested in Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal.
West Ham want Liverpool's out-of-favour striker Fabio Borini, but the Anfield club are still considering using the Italian as part of a deal for Aston Villa's Christian Benteke.
BBC
Chelsea have made a £6m bid for Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, 28, as a replacement for 33-year-old Petr Cech, who has moved to Arsenal. (Telegraph)
Tottenham could offer 31-year-old Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor to Aston Villa as part of a deal to sign their 24-year-old Belgium forward Christian Benteke. (Daily Mirror)
West Ham may move for Liverpool's out-of-favour Italy forward Fabio Borini, 24, but the Anfield club could still look to use the striker as part of a deal for Villa's Benteke. (Independent)
Liverpool manager Brendan Rogers is closing in on a triple deal for Southampton's England right-back Nathaniel Clyne, 24, Barcelona's 16-year-old Dutch winger Bobby Adekanye and FC Copenhagen's Swedish left-back Ludwig Augustinsson, 21. (Daily Star)
Manchester City are considering a move for Monaco's Brazilian right-back Fabinho. The 21-year-old would cost the Blues £15m. (Daily Mail)
Meanwhile, City's Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko is considering taking a pay cut in order to sign for Roma. (Daily Mirror)
Manchester United target Bastian Schweinsteiger wants to stay at Bayern Munich. The 30-year-old Germany midfielder says he wants to win the Champions League and a fourth consecutive title with the Bundesliga champions. (Sport1 - in German)
After missing out on Schweinsteiger, United will move to secure the £25m signing of Southampton's France midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin. (Daily Express)
Meanwhile, Brazil and Shakhtar Donetsk forward Douglas Costa says German champions Bayern are interested in signing him. (Guardian)
Arsenal have ended their interest in Juventus' 28-year-old Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal. (Telegraph)
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger prefers Sporting Lisbon's Portugal midfielder William Carvalho, 23. (London Evening Standard)
Everton are monitoring Leeds United's English right-back Sam Byram, 21, as Manchester United consider a move for Toffees defender Seamus Coleman, 26. (Daily Express)
New West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has been told to secure a top-eight finish in his first season in charge and will be sacked without compensation if the club are relegated. (Sun - subscription required)
The Hammers are working to sign Monaco's Tunisia centre-back Aymen Abdennour, 25, and Barcelona's Cameroon midfielder Alex Song, 27. Song spent last season on loan at Upton Park. (Daily Mail)
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has told 24-year-old goalkeeper David De Gea, who wants to join Real Madrid, to report back for pre-season training on Monday. (Daily Star)
Turkish midfielder Arda Turan is set to leave Atletico Madrid, with an announcement on his future to be made in the next four days, according to his agent. Barcelona, Paris St-Germain and Manchester United have been linked with the 28-year-old. (NTVSpor - in Turkish)
Stoke are the latest team to show interest in £7m West Ham winger Stewart Downing, 30, along with Newcastle, Leicester, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. (Sun - subscription required)
West Brom could make QPR striker Charlie Austin, 25, the club's record signing. Manager Tony Pulis is interested in signing the England international, who is valued at £15m. (Birmingham Mail)
Best of social media
Former England captain Rio Ferdinand used Instagram to wish Andy Murray good luck at Wimbledon, saying the Scot must reach the final as a minimum. The ex-Manchester United and QPR defender wants Murray to play Roger Federer in his "dream final".
Manchester United's new Dutch winger Memphis Depay is ready to start training at his new club. He posted a picture on Instagram and wrote: "Had an amazing holiday. Now focus, and off to Manchester."
And finally
West Ham midfielder Mark Noble followed the example set by Manchester United forward Robin van Persie by catching a shark while fishing off the coast of Florida. (whufc.com)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Simon Burnton
Tottenham are hoping to rekindle Tim Sherwood’s memorable bromance with Emmanuel Adebayor, by offering the Togo striker, who smashed a measly two goals last season in all competitions but who flourished during the Englishman’s brief spell in charge at White Hart Lane, in part exchange for Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke, who has flourished during the Englishman’s as-yet brief spell at Villa but who also tries a bit for other managers.
West Brom are also in search of a striker, and their hopes of snapping up the former Newcastle and Chelsea hotshot Demba Ba ended when the player decided to move to Shanghai instead, so they have moved smoothly to the next name on their target list – QPR’s Charlie Austin. The 25-year-old is definitely available, but could cost as much as £15m and has already been linked with approximately half the Premier League, with Newcastle, Southampton, West Ham and Chelsea the most frequently recurring names.
Talking of West Ham, the new manager Slaven Bilic’s contract stipulates that if he guides them to relegation he can be sacked without notice or compensation, and also that he won’t qualify for a bonus unless the Hammers finish the season in the top eight. In other words, he’d better have negotiated himself a decent basic salary, because that’s all he’s getting. And he might have to manage without the former England winger Stewart Downing, who is a £7m target for Newcastle, Leicester, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and now Stoke, who have entered the race after becoming tired of Yevhen Konoplyanka’s procrastination, the out-of-contract Dnipro wideman having stalled for weeks and now appearing to favour Atlético Madrid.
Boro obviously have some money to spend despite their narrow failure to win promotion to the Premier League, and in addition to Downing are also linked to the Dundee United striker Nadir Ciftci, who is likely to cost around £1.7m. In other striker news, Bournemouth and Norwich are ready to battle each other for the Crystal Palace striker Glenn Murray, who the Eagles might allow to leave for around £5m to help fund a deal for someone more expensive. And Leicester’s Chris Wood is apparently on the very verge of signing a £2m deal with Leeds, having turned down Wolves.
In London-based top-flight club midfield news, Arsenal have suddenly gone off Arturo Vidal and are determined to sign William Carvalho, star of Portugal’s European Under-21 Championship success, instead. And Internazionale could come a-calling for Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel, but only if they can’t sign Galatasaray’s Felipe Melo, who they think is better.
Defender latest: Sergio Ramos is still angling to move to Manchester United (and no surprise either if rumours of a £230,000-a-week contract offer are to be believed), and Roma’s 31-year-old Greek defender José Holebas is apparently a £2m target for Watford.
Talking of Roma, Edin Dzeko has apparently become a bit fed up with being only an occasional starter at Manchester City, leading his Bosnia team-mate Miralem Pjanic to suggest he “would run to Roma” to join him in Serie A, adding “the wages won’t be a problem”. The bad news is that Roma can’t afford his £20m asking price – they want Manuel Pellegrini to accept the Serbian midfielder Adem Ljajic in part-exchange.
The Monaco right-back Fabinho is, says the Sun, available for £20m (£15m if you ask the Mail), news which they suggest may interest City. They also suggest “a new right-back was not on their list of priorities” and “the asking price is considered too high”, so let’s not get too excited, eh? Aymen Abdennour, another member of the Monégasque back-line, is equally available, with his agent merrily trilling about interest from Barcelona, Internazionale, Juventus and Liverpool. “I want to play for one of the biggest clubs spoken about soon,” the player said t’other day. “I’m ready.”
Also on Liverpool’s shortlist is Ludwig Augustinsson, a left-back and Swedish Under-21 international whose sudden appearance on the radar of one of England’s most cash-flashy clubs is somewhat ironic given that it’s barely a week since he called our own Under-21 side “overrated” (with some justification, to be fair) and fumed: “Some players go for such sick amounts of money in England and are a bit more expensive than they are good.” Augustinsson would apparently cost £2m, though where that stands on the expensive/good scale remains to be seen.
Ineffective rumour-snuffing dept: Ronald Koeman – who is hoping to bring the £7m Juventus defender Angelo Ogbonna to Southampton – says that “until now we have not had a serious bid for [Morgan] Schneiderlin from United” (though “until now” seem to be key words there), and the Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero insists “Mario Balotelli is a player of extraordinary talent but, no, we won’t be signing him” (which is what Brendan Rodgers was saying a year ago).
ESPN
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan sets Slaven Bilic top-eight goal
West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has set new Irons boss Slaven Bilic the target of a top-eight finish next season in the Premier League.
Bilic, who joined West Ham at the beginning of June, had also agreed to walk away from the club without a payout if they are relegated.
"Slaven knows what is expected of him," Sullivan said according to the The Sun. "He gets no bonus unless we finish top eight or above. He has accepted that."
"We also insisted he agrees to being sacked with no pay-off if we get relegated.
"If he utterly fails, it's his responsibility. But Bilic sees this as his big chance and has an amazingly positive attitude."
Sullivan also revealed that new Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez was originally the man chosen to replace Sam Allardyce in the Hammers hot-seat, before being offered the Bernabeu job.
"We spoke to several coaches ahead of Slaven and had everything sorted out with Rafa," he said.
"Then he got a call from Real Madrid and called to say sorry but he was going there, as it was his dream.
"But Slaven should not feel bad that he wasn't first choice. In fact, he has told us he will prove that he should have been. You can't argue with that."
Sky
Dimitri Payet: What will West Ham signing bring to Slaven Bilic’s side?
Adam Bate
We examine the qualities of West Ham’s Dimitri Payet following his arrival from Marseille...
Marcelo Bielsa or Slaven Bilic? There was much speculation this summer that the two men were rivals for the vacancy at West Ham manager.
Ultimately, the Hammers went with the latter but they’ve bagged the former’s star man from Marseille nevertheless. And that could prove crucial for the club as they look to move on from the Sam Allardyce era in style.
At £10.7million, France international Dimitri Payet represents a significant investment for West Ham and a considerable coup too given his remarkable season under Bielsa at Marseille. The statistics are stunning and will already have Hammers fans convinced that their team can prove a more exciting proposition in the final third next season.
Payet’s tally of 17 assists was the best in France and the fourth best in any major European league in 2014/15. That’s the headline statistic but the underlying data was arguably even more impressive. His total of 134 chances created was more than anyone else. Indeed, only two other players – Kevin de Bruyne and former Lille team-mate Eden Hazard – topped 100.
Dimitri Payet created more chances than anyone in a top European league
It’s a reflection of the work Payet has put in under Bielsa. The ruthless streak that was once lacking is now there. “What he gave me in one season, I know it will serve me for the rest of my career but also my life,” said Payet earlier this month. “When you have worked with him, you come away a different man.”
As a result, Bilic is getting a player who has fused quality with a work ethic – “there's so much intensity in training and in matches, especially mentally” – and that means half the battle for his new coach has already been won. There was a minor issue in December but Bielsa soon defended his “outstanding” player. Put simply, the penny has dropped.
There have been tactical changes too. Although he enjoyed the freedom to come off the left wing at Lille, his influence was restricted to the right flank for much of his first year at Marseille. It’s since switching to a No 10 role under Bielsa that he has blossomed. “He repositioned me as the playmaker and brought me the regularity I’d been lacking.”
Only three players in top European leagues had more assists than Dimitri Payet
It’s brought a new dimension to Payet’s game and one that earned him a France recall by Didier Deschamps. “Today, what he does with his club is very interesting,” said Deschamps in October. “He’s in a different role – a playmaker at the axis, where he is very influential. He has been very efficient and effective in terms of goals and assists with Marseille.”
The decision-making has improved as well. There were 10 successful through-balls in 2014/15, the most of anyone in France, as Payet evidently enjoyed the increased options available with the ball at his feet in a central position. While Marseille’s title bid faded, Payet either scored or assisted in eight of his last 10 appearances for the club.
So how will Bilic look to use Payet? Sticking with the midfield diamond would limit the options, while the 4-4-2 that the Croat opted for occasionally at Besiktas would preclude playing Payet in his best position altogether. The 4-2-3-1 utilised in the Europa League triumph over Liverpool – with wingers switching flanks – would offer most flexibility.
That would open up the wings as possibilities, but while Bilic is not a manager keen to get bogged down in tactical formations, it would seem certain that he intends to play the Frenchman in the position in which he flourished at Marseille. It would surely be counter-productive to do anything else when paying a large fee for a 28-year-old of his capabilities.
Payet seems optimistic on that score. “He made it clear that he wanted me to sign and that was important in my choice,” he said of Bilic upon signing a five-year contract. “I’m an attacking footballer and that they’re counting on me to help achieve that gives me a sense of responsibility.”
As West Ham begin their final campaign at the Boleyn Ground, they’ll need their high-profile new acquisition to thrive on that responsibility. Payet made relatively slow starts to his spells at both Lille and Marseille. Hammers fans will be hoping the adjustment period won’t be necessary this time – thanks in part to the man they didn’t appoint as their new manager.
Mail
West Ham do have an interest in Liverpool striker Fabio Borini but he is not their prime target.
Liverpool value the 24-year-old Italy international at £8million and West Ham would prefer a loan.
Their priority targets remain Loic Remy of Chelsea and QPR's Charlie Austin, whichever one they can strike a better bargain for.
Manchester United's Javier Hernandez has also been discussed but he has several other options to consider.
West Ham are working against strong competition to bring in Monaco centre-back Aymen Abdennour and Alex Song from Barcelona.
Song has agreed personal terms but West Ham hope to get the player out of Barcelona on a free transfer and the Spanish are holding out for a fee.
Abdennour has confirmed interest from AC Milan and Newcastle while Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal have also been credited with an interest but have yet to make offers. Abdennour is keen on the Premier League.
Stoke have joined Leicester and Sunderland in showing interest for West Ham midfielder Stewart Downing.
The England international is interested in a return north and West Ham may consider selling if the bidding goes beyond £7million.
Turkish Football
West Ham make €7m bid for Tolgay Arslan
West Ham United have made a €7 million bid for Besiktas’ midfielder Tolgay Arslan according to the Turkish newspaper Fanatik.
Arslan joined Beşiktaş from HSV in January for just €500,000 in January and has already established himself as a first team player.
The 24-year-old scored against Liverpool in the Europa League Round of 32 clash against Liverpool.
The report goes onto state that the highly rated midfielder has also attracted attention from Italy and Germany.
Newly appointed West Ham manager Slaven Bilic is a fan of the Germany U21 international following his time at Besiktas.
Bilic resigned from his position as Beşiktaş manager at the end of the season after failing to win the league title.
The former Croatia national team manager did not win any silverware in the two seasons he spent at the Black Eagles.
Tolgay – who has three years remaining on his contract – made 16 Turkish Super Lig appearances since joining Besiktas.
I'll put his Youtube link in again - worth a watch.
Tolgay Arslan Youtube
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