Paper Talk
Manchester United will offer Northern Ireland defender Jonny Evans plus cash to Everton in their attempts to sign John Stones.
Liverpool flop Mario Balotelli has been offered an escape route by Italian Serie A side Bologna.
Reds striker Rickie Lambert is also edging nearer to an Anfield exit after West Brom made a move for him.
Striker Glenn Murray, 31, is ready to quit Crystal Palace with Premier League newcomers Bournemouth ready to snap him up.
Paul Pogba, who has been linked with Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and PSG, is reportedly ready to head to the courts in order to seal a transfer away from Juventus.
Hull's £3.5m offer for Moses Odubajo has triggered the release clause in the Brentford defender's contract.
Striker Mario Balotelli, 24, has been told he has no future at Liverpool and has not been included in the squad for this weekend's games against HJK Helsinki or Swindon Town - plus he must train separately from the first team.
England winger Ashley Young could leave Manchester United if they do not extend his contract, with Tottenham, Liverpool and Newcastle all interested.
Sunderland are ready to table an improved offer after a £12.5m bid for Fenerbahce striker Moussa Sow was turned down.
Palermo want to sign Arsenal striker Joel Campbell, 23, but are struggling with the £7m valuation.
John Terry believes Manchester United flop Radamel Falcao will be a hit at Chelsea this season.
Kevin De Bruyne has dropped a huge hint he could yet join Manchester City this summer, after German side Wolfsburg had appeared to rule out any sale of the £45m-rated midfielder.
Liverpool will find out next week whether they can sign Real Madrid's Russian winger Denis Cheryshev, 24, after making a £15m bid.
West Ham are on the verge of signing Atletico Madrid striker Raul Jimenez, 24, for £10m.
Manchester United's attempt to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo has collapsed after being told he will cost over £80m.
Meanwhile, United boss Louis van Gaal says the talk surrounding keeper David De Gea's potential move to Real Madrid is not good for the club.
Manchester United are close to agreeing a £40m deal with Paris Saint-Germain for the sale of winger Angel di Maria with another £5m due as add ons.
Leicester have made a £5.6million offer 24-year-old for Caen midfielder N'Golo Kante and proposed a four-year contract.
West Ham are exploring a loan deal for 24-year-old Atletico Madrid and Mexico forward Raul Jimenez.
Celtic have told striker Anthony Stokes his Parkhead career is effectively over with Hull, Sheffield Wednesday and Wigan all interested.
Liverpool are close to agreeing a deal for Barcelona youngster Adama Traore, according to reports.
Meawnhile, Real Madrid midfielder Asier Illarramendi has rejected the chance to move to Anfield this summer.
Angel Di Maria is set to seal a move to PSG - but not before Manchester United dock him two weeks wages - £360,000 - for his 'no-show' on their pre-season tour of the USA.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has ruled out moving fixtures to Friday night to help teams prepare for Champions League matches.
Arsenal youngster Isaac Hayden is on the verge of completing a season-long loan deal to Hull City.
Chelsea have attempted to smooth their bid to sign John Stones by holding talks with Everton about how the two clubs can avoid any more mud-slinging over the central defender.
Sunderland striker Connor Wickham, 22, is set to sign for Crystal Palace after the London club agreed a fee of more than £8m for the England Under-21 international.
Tottenham will open talks with Stuttgart over signing German teenager Timo Werner.
BBC
Manchester City's Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko, 29, is set to join Roma after agreeing personal terms, but the two clubs are yet to agree a fee. (Sky Sports)
Manchester United face a dilemma over what to do with goalkeeper David De Gea, 24, just a week before the start of the new season after their hopes of signing Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, 29, ended. (Manchester Evening News)
Spain international Ramos is on the verge of signing a new deal worth £6m a year, plus a £1m bonus. ( Marca )
Barcelona will allow Spain striker Pedro, 28, to join Manchester United, but only after their Uefa Super Cup match against Sevilla on August 11. (Marca)
Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria, 27, will join Paris St-Germain in the next 48 hours for £44m. United have also fined the Argentine two weeks' wages worth £360,000 for failing to attend their US tour. Di Maria's exit will pave the way for United to sign Pedro for £22m. (Daily Express)
Former Manchester United boss David Moyes, now at Real Sociedad, believes his former assistant at United and now Valencia assistant coach Phil Neville could one day be England manager. ( Daily Telegraph )
Chelsea are prepared to bid up to £30m to land Everton's England defender John Stones. But the Toffees hope interest from Manchester United in the 21-year-old will push the price up closer to their valuation of £34m. (London Evening Standard)
United will offer Northern Ireland defender Jonny Evans, 27, plus cash in their attempts to sign Stones. (Daily Mirror)
Chelsea are attempting to smooth their bid to sign Stones by holding talks with Everton to avoid any more public disagreements over the England defender. ( Daily Telegraph )
Chelsea captain John Terry has backed new signing Radamel Falcao, 29, to succeed at Stamford Bridge, saying the striker - who was on-loan at Manchester United last season - was one of the best players he came up against last season. (Guardian)
Italy striker Mario Balotelli, 24, has been told he has no future at Liverpool and has not been included in the squads for friendly games against HJK Helsinki in Finland on Friday or Swindon Town on Sunday. The player has been asked by manager Brendan Rodgers to train away from the first-team squad. (Independent)
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has dismissed rumours that the club are trying to sign Manchester United's Mexican striker Javier Hernandez, 27. (ESPN)
England winger Ashley Young could leave Manchester United if they do not extend his contract, with Tottenham, Liverpool and Newcastle all interested in the 30-year-old. (Daily Star)
West Ham are on the verge of signing Atletico Madrid striker Raul Jimenez, 24, for £10m. ( The Sun - subscription required )
Sunderland striker Connor Wickham, 22, is set to sign for Crystal Palace after the London club agreed a fee of more than £8m for the England Under-21 international. (Daily Telegraph)
Nantes's French midfielder Jordan Veretout, 22, will have a medical at Aston Villa on Friday before a proposed move. (Sky Sports)
West Brom boss Tony Pulis has tipped Liverpool striker Rickie Lambert to make an instant impact should the 33-year-old complete a £3m move. ( Express & Star )
Glenn Murray, 31, will quit Crystal Palace with Bournemouth ready to sign the English striker. (Daily Mirror)
Aston Villa are in talks with Blackburn regarding the potential £7m sale of striker Rudy Gestede, 26. The fee has been agreed with a medical for the Benin international possible at the weekend. ( Birmingham Mail )
Palermo want to sign Arsenal's Costa Rica striker Joel Campbell but are struggling with the £7m valuation. Real Sociedad and Trabzonspor are also keen on the 23-year-old. (Daily Star)
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has ruled out moving fixtures to Friday night to help teams prepare for Champions League matches. ( The Guardian )
Best of social media
Manchester United and Paris St-Germain players posted pictures with One Direction star Niall Horan following their friendly in Chicago. Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney were pictured on their club's Instagram account with the singer, while PSG defender David Luiz managed to get a selfie with Niall.
And United legend Bryan Robson made sure he got in on the act, posting a picture on Twitter of him with Niall alongside former red Quinton Fortune.
And finally...
A Manchester City fan had a tattoo of his bitter rivals Manchester United inscribed to raise money for charity. (Manchester Evening News)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Jacob Steinberg
Mario Balotelli has no future at Liverpool. Bologna want him.
Rickie Lambert has no future at Liverpool. West Brom want him.
The Mill has no future at Liverpool. No one wants the Mill.
But Liverpool want Real Madrid’s Asier Illarramendi! And they might get him!
Sunderland’s Connor Wickham is heading to Crystal Palace for £8m. Remember when he was good for five minutes?
Bournemouth are going to sign Palace’s Glenn Murray.
Manchester United will offer Everton Jonny Evans in exchange for John Stones. They’re doing them a bargain!
Ángel di María is jetting off to Paris Saint-Germain. That worked out well, didn’t it?
And Arsenal legend Joel Campbell is inching closer to a move to Palermo.
Mail
West Ham 2-2 Astra Giurgiu: James Collins red card sees Hammers throw away two-goal lead in first leg of Europa League qualifier
Enner Valencia nets first-half opener for West Ham before going off injured in Europa League
Mauro Zarate doubles Hammers advantage before James Collins gets sent off
Fernando Boldrin pulls one back for Astra Giurgiu with 20 minutes to go
Angelo Ogbonna then puts through his own net on West Ham debut to level score
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic sent to the stands late on by the referee
By Sami Mokbel
You couldn't help but smile at the irony of it all.
West Ham, who were handed their route into European football courtesy of the Fair Play League, received their third red card in five Europa League qualifiers.
This time it was James Collins who was given his marching orders - following the same path as Diafra Sakho and James Tomkins in previous rounds.
Enner Valencia rose at the far post to open the scoring for West Ham after 23 minutes at Upton Park
Mauro Zarate (left) then struck to double West Ham's lead after half-time as they appeared to be cruising
Zarate jumping for joy in front of the West Ham fans after striking against Astra Giurgiu to make it 2-0
James Collins being shown a red card for a second bookable offence during the second half
Fernando Boldrin celebrating pulling one back for Astra Giurgiu with just under 20 minutes to go at Upton Park
West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna (left) then beat his own goalkeeper Adrian to level the score in the closing stages
And to complete the farce, manager Slaven Bilic was sent to the stands in the closing stages for arguing with referee Adrien Jaccottet over a challenge on Dimitri Payet.
Bilic must be pondering whether this European football malarkey is worth the hassle.
The Croatian watched his side throw away a two-goal lead against Astra Giurgiu to set up a nervy second-leg next week.
And, just nine days before the Premier League kicks off, both Joey O'Brien and Enner Valencia sustained injuries to leave Bilic nursing a headache.
Bilic is hopeful O'Brien can shake off a slight hamstring strain ahead of next week's second leg.
However, the Hammers boss admits he is fearing the worst for Valencia, who suffered damaged knee ligaments.
The Ecuadorian will undergo a scan on Friday to determine the seriousness of the injury, but he looks certain to miss the opening weeks of the new season.
The injuries served to compound the misery for Bilic on a difficult night.
Bilic, who felt Collins' sending off was harsh, refused to criticise the referee despite being sent to the stands.
The former West Ham defender, who insisted he didn't swear at the Swiss official in the incident that led to his dismissal, admitted the result makes hits life difficult ahead of the visit to the Emirates Stadium on August 9.
'This is not ideal, we are preparing for the Premier League, but it's not the way we would do it,' said Bilic.
'But, in some ways, it helps because we are playing competitive games. The travelling is also a problem.'
And it started swimmingly for the Hammers as they took a 17th minute lead.
West Ham midfielder Mark Noble (left) battles for possession with Takayuki Seto of Astra Giurgiu
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic watches on from the sidelines while surrounded by bubbles
West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet tackles Filipe Teixeira of Astra Giurgiu during the open minutes
West Ham striker Valencia (right) rises at the far post to head home and put his side in front
Striker Valencia (left) celebrates with his team-mates after giving West Ham the lead
But the striker went down injured just a few minutes later before being forced off
The Ecuadorian left the field on a stretcher as West Ham were forced into their second early change
Zarate (right) kisses his fist as his team-mates join him in celebration as West Ham appeared to be easing to victory
Collins looks frustrated as he pulls his shirt up to his face as he trudges off the pitch following his red card
Payet directly assisted 17 goals for Marseille last season, the fourth best record in Europe.
So, on his competitive Hammers debut, perhaps it was no surprise to see the France international at the centre of the home side's opener; his pinpoint cross powerfully headed home by Valencia.
The 28-year-old could easily have had three more assists before the break; Ogbonna, Collins and Modibo Maiga all going close with headers from Payet crosses.
Bilic didn't have all his own way, though, losing O'Brien and Valencia inside two first half minutes.
Mauro Zarate looked to have killed the tie, waltzing through the Romanian defence before capping off a brilliant solo effort by coolly sliding past Silviu Lung in the 51st minute.
But the balance shifted in the 59th minute after Collins was sent off for two bookings following two clumsy challenges.
And Astra took full advantage.
First, Fernando Boldrin stunned Upton Park with a 25 yard piledriver to throw the tie back into the balance.
And, eight minutes from time, Ogbonna - on his debut - notched an unfortunate own goal to leave Bilic heartbroken before being sent to the stands in injury time.
Defender Ogbonna walks back for the restart after putting through his own goal to level the score at 2-2
West Ham boss Bilic (left) was sent to the stands late on by the referee to compound a miserable evening at Upton Park
MATCH FACTS
West Ham (4-2-3-1): Adrian 6; O'Brien 6 (Burke 35, 6.5), Collins 5, Ogbonna 7, Cresswell 6.5; Noble 6.5, Oxford 7, Kouyate 7.5; Payet 8, Valencia 6,5 (Maiga 37, 6); Zarate 7.5 (Jarvis 75, 6)
Subs not used: Spiegel, Nolan, Poyet, Samuelsen
Booked: O'Brien, Noble, Payet
Sent off: Collins
Goals: Valencia 23' Zarate 51'
Astra Giurgiu (4-4-2): Lung 8; Quieros 6.5, Alves 6.5, Gaman 6.5, Morais 6.5; Boldrin 7.5 (Dandea 86), Enache 7, Seto 7, De Amorim 6 (Florea 77); Teixeira 6, Budescu 6.5 (Lovin 90)
Subs not used: Gavrilas, Oros, Alves, Stan
Booked: Budescu, Enache
Goals: Boldrin 71' Ogbonna (o.g.) 82'
Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Switzerland)
Mail
West Ham eyeing Raul Jimenez loan deal as Slaven Bilic looks to bring Atletico Madrid striker to Upton Park
West Ham interested in signing Atletico Madrid striker on loan
Raul Jimenez made just four La Liga starts for Spanish side last season
Slaven Bilic looking for striker with Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia out
By Simon Jones
West Ham are exploring a loan deal for Atletico Madrid and Mexico forward Raul Jimenez.
The 24-year-old made just four La Liga starts for Atletico last season with most of his appearances coming off the bench as he scored only one goal for Atletico.
He played for Mexico at this summer's Copa America, scoring twice, then was left out of the squad that won the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday.
West Ham are interested in signing Atletico Madrid striker Raul Jimenez (pictured) on loan
Jimenez joined Atletico Madrid from Mexican side Club America last August.
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic is looking to bring in a new striker before the close of the transfer window and he has considered a number of names including Javier Hernandez of Manchester United, Liverpool's Fabio Borini, Mattia Destro of Roma and Charlie Austin at QPR. They have also been rebuffed in two bids for Everton's Kevin Mirallas.
Striker Andy Carroll is out until November while Enner Valencia picked up an injury on Thursday night and they need extra firepower with the season approaching.
Inside Futbol
West Ham Set Up Agent Meeting For Inter Full-Back
West Ham are set to meet Inter Milan full-back Danilo D'Ambrosio’s agent next week to discuss a potential deal for his client.
The 26-year-old full-back is claimed to be looking for a new club this summer in search of regular football and a number of clubs are believed to be his suitors.
While Serie A sides Napoli and Roma are also keeping a close watch on the right-back, West Ham are said to be leading the chase at the moment for D'Ambrosio.
According to Sky Italia, the player’s agent is expected to meet the Hammers next week to discuss a potential deal that will see the Italian arrive at Upton Park this summer.
While West Ham already have Arsenal loanee Carl Jenkinson in their ranks, Slaven Bilic is keen to have more options at right-back, hence his interest in D’Ambrosio
The 26-year-old joined Inter from Torino in January last year and though he has made 43 appearances for the Nerazzurri, he is yet to secure his spot as a certain starter in Roberto Mancini’s team.
He still has three years left on his contract and Inter are expected to drive a tough bargain if they allow the player to leave the club this summer.
