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Paper Talk
Manchester United are edging closer to a double deal for world-class wingers Gareth Bale and Arjen Robben worth £150m.
Famous fan and boxer Amir Khan and former ace Dean Holdsworth will complete their £15m takeover of Bolton this week.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is reportedly looking to sign Galatasaray midfielder Wesley Sneijder.
Jackson Martinez says he will not quit Atletico Madrid at the end of the season despite speculation again linking him with the Premier League.
Arsenal forward Joel Campbell is at the centre of a transfer battle between Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.
PSG striker Edinson Cavani is wanted by Chelsea as they look to offload loan flop Radamel Falcao.
Hull City defender Curtis Davies is a target for Bournemouth.
Cheick Tiote is wanted by MLS outfit New England Revolution
Crystal Palace are ready to reward Damien Delaney with a new deal.
Juventus are weighing up offers for Premier League duo Oscar and Graziano Pelle - but may be priced out of the market.
Former Everton star Tim Cahill scored a 31-minute hat-trick to keep Australia on course for the 2018 World Cup with a 4-0 win over Bangladesh in Dhaka.
Chelsea have added West Brom star Saido Berahino to their list of striker targets and are considering a £20m bid in January.
Antony Martial is a major injury doubt for Manchester United's trip to Watford on Saturday after leaving Wembley on crutches last night with a foot injury.
Turkey fans booed during the minute's silence for the victims of the Paris attacks before their national team drew 0-0 with Greece in Tuesday's friendly.
Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara will be out of action for three to four weeks because of a knee injury.
Bolton chairman Phil Gartside has stepped away from his duties at the club after it was confirmed that he was 'seriously ill'.
West Brom boss Tony Pulis has told unsettled defender James Chester that he will not be sold in January and he should be patient in his pursuit of first-team football.
Liverpool are keen to arrange a reunion with Steven Gerrard - but he will not be returning to Anfield as a player.
Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo has admitted he has no problem with Louis van Gaal despite reports of a strained relationship between the pair.
Liverpool will return to the United States for their 2016 summer tour and chief executive Ian Ayre admits a friendly against Steven Gerrard's team LA Galaxy is under consideration.
Arsenal's Arsene Wenger warns FIFA "it's now or never" to avoid a potential schedule stand-off with clubs.
Dundee United boss Mixu Paatelainen is lining up a move for free agent Florent Sinama Pongolle after handing the former Liverpool striker a Tannadice trial.
BBC
West Brom striker Saido Berahino, 22, is a £20m transfer target for Chelsea. (Daily Telegraph)
Aston Villa midfielder Joe Cole, 34, is set to extend his loan spell with Coventry City until January, after which there could be further discussions to stay on at the Ricoh Arena. (Birmingham Mail)
Chelsea are hoping to beat Manchester United to the signing of Valencia's Algeria winger Sofiane Feghouli, 25. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard, 22, says Liverpool made an offer for his services before he arrived at Old Trafford as a youngster. (Sky Sports)
AC Milan's Italy striker Mario Balotelli will be out until the New Year as the 25-year-old, on loan from Liverpool, is sent to Germany for a groin operation. (Daily Mail)
Former Bolton Wanderers striker Dean Holdsworth and boxer Amir Khan are set to complete a £15m takeover of the Trotters this week. (Daily Star)
Chelsea are favourites to sign Bologna's Guinean midfielder Amadou Diawara, 18, after the player's representative reached an agreement with an agent close to owner Roman Abramovich. (Di Marzio via Metro)
Celtic have joined clubs in England, Italy and Belgium in tracking the progress of Slovakia Under-21 midfielder Matus Bero, 20, who could leave domestic champions Trencin in January despite recently signing a new three-year contract. (The Sun)
Striker Daniel Sturridge, 26, has returned to full training with Liverpool - but boss Jurgen Klopp has still to decide if he can face Manchester City on Saturday. (Daily Mirror)
Chelsea and Valencia are among "the top 15" clubs in the world chasing Lyon's Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi, 22. (le10sport via Daily Express)
England scout Alan Cork, who was in Hannover last night, found himself at the centre of a terrorist incident for the second time in five days. (Sun)
Chelsea are ready to sign Galatasaray's Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder, 31, in January by paying his release clause. (Fanatik - in Turkish)
Liverpool have made an offer for Lazio captain and Argentine midfielder Lucas Biglia, 29. (Gazetta World)
Costa Rica forward Joel Campbell's Arsenal future is in doubt as Fenerbahce and Galatasaray track the 23-year-old. (Talksport)
Hull defender Curtis Davies, 30, is a £3m target for Premier League strugglers Bournemouth. (Daily Mirror)
Real Madrid v Barcelona on Saturday is set for extra security after the Paris attacks, with even sandwiches to be examined before El Clasico. (Daily Mail)
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial, 19, left Wembley on crutches after France's friendly against England. (Evening Standard)
Dundee United take former Liverpool and Atletico Madrid striker Florent Sinama Pongolle, 31, on trial. (Daily Record)
Swansea City defend their boss Garry Monk following comments in the media attributed to midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, 26, which appear to criticise the maligned manager. (Wales Online)
Best of social media
Burnley midfielder Joey Barton tweeted his praise of Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli after his opener in England's 2-0 win over France.
Former England striker Gary Lineker tweeted following the 2-0 win over France: "Next summer in France will probably be a little too soon for this young side, but England could be very competitive in Russia."
And finally
Liverpool are running a unique competition to allow one fan to become the club's official number five for a day. (Metro)
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale, Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney and Aston Villa defender Alan Hutton are included in French paper L'Equipe's Great Britain XI. (Talksport)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Sachin Nakrani
The Mill used to have this lawnmower. It was given to The Mill by neighbours shortly after moving into its new house a few years back. A lovely gesture and a lovely mower. Snooker table green and powerful. With the gentlest of pushes it would cut The Mill’s lawn to within an inch of its life, leaving all those who enjoyed The Mill’s lawn feeling more than satisfied.
But then something happened. The mower got damaged, wear and tear took hold, as did age, and suddenly it was not as good as it once was. It still moved up and down and side to side, but there was next-to-no cutting, no lovely looking lawn. This once mighty mower had become useless.
Which brings us onto Radamel Falcao. If you’re of a certain age you’ll remember that he, too, was mighty once. Oh so mighty, in fact. But due to the ravages of damage and time he, too, has become useless, so much so in fact that Chelsea are keen on releasing the Colombian in January having signed him on loan from Monaco just four months ago. In that time the 29-year-old has scored once in 11 appearances – adding to the four goals in 29 appearances he got while on loan at Manchester United last season – and generally shown the predatory instincts of a stoned goldfish.
So really it’s no surprise Chelsea want to get rid of Falcao and bring in an upgrade – a Flymo Glide Master 340 if you’ll allow The Mill to stretch the tortured mower analogy a little longer. And who is the upgrade they have in mind? None other than Saido Berahino.
According to those in the know, Chelsea are willing to pay up to £20m during the next transfer window to acquire the striker from West Bromwich Albion, with the hope that he can score the goals that will once and for all end the champions’ remarkable, and somewhat comical, fight against relegation.
Berahino certainly knows how to score goals, having got 20 of them for West Brom last season. He also knows how to cause trouble (which, The Mill wonders, may be the real reason José Mourinho is keen on signing him) as was seen when the 22-year-old handed in a transfer request and lashed out at Jeremy Peace, the West Brom chairman, on Twitter while trying to force through a move to Tottenham in the summer. Berahino didn’t get his way, but should Chelsea indeed come calling at the turn of the year he will surely not allow himself to be denied again.
As Berahino edges towards Stamford Bridge, Oscar appears to be gently shuffling the other way, with Juventus interested in signing the Brazilian playmaker. His is another somewhat strange, sad decline given the 24-year-old was once integral to Chelsea’s attacking thrust. This season, however, Oscar has looked a shadow of his former self, failing to score since the middle of September and generally looking less than thrilling when on the pitch. A move to Italy may be just what he needs.
Also set to leave these shores is Cheick Tioté, once the heartbeat of Newcastle’s midfield but now more like a scab on the back of their ankle. New England Revolution are keen on bringing the 29-year-old to Major League Soccer and he is no doubt keen on getting away from St James’ Park as quickly as possible.
The Mill has also heard talk of Curtis Davis leaving Hull and joining Bournemouth. The defender, once of West Brom, Aston Villa and Birmingham, is viewed by the Bournemouth manager, Eddie Howe, as a possible solution to their relentless inability to keep clean sheets and is willing to pay £3m to bring the 30-year-old to the south coast.
And finally Southampton are on the verge of making a £50,000 bid for Cheltenham’s 16-year-old winger Luke Thomas. The teenager has attracted interest from Benfica but is keen on moving to St Mary’s and continuing his education at a club renowned for bringing the best out of young talent before selling them for a massive amount of money to Arsenal.
C&H
Hammers reveal Ogbonna’s future
Suggestions that Angelo Ogbonna may be loaned out in January has been firmly ruled out by West Ham.
A claim in the Italian media that Fiorentina are set to move in for the £8 million signing from Juventus appeared yesterday.
And former Irons employee Gianluca Nani said: “It can happen if he cannot immerse himself in this world [English football]. A return to Italy in January is strong.”
Nani worked at West Ham under Zola between 2008 and 2010 as technical director and had responsibility for the academy, scouting,transfers and for the training ground department.
He was dismissed when David Gold and David Sullivan took over the club and although it’s well known Ogbonna is recovering from injury Nani has suggested the central defender has not adapted to English football or life in this country.
But a highly placed source inside the club told ClaretandHugh tonight: “There’s zero chance of Angelo being loaned anywhere in January.
He’s been unlucky with injuries, so we haven’t seen the best of him, but he’s a key member of our squad and hopefully will be playing in the first team soon.”
Squawka
From Italy: West Ham’s Mauro Zarate wants Serie A return
By Callum Burroughs
West Ham United’s Mauro Zarate is looking to return to Italy in order to secure more playing time, according to Gazzetta World.
Having made eight appearances in total this season, the 28-year-old has scored two goals in three starts under Slaven Bilic, though he is yet to play for a full 90 minutes this term.
The Argentine attacker is competing with Diafra Sakho, Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia for a starting spot at Upton Park and it seems Zarate is keen to move back to Italy, where he has previously played for Lazio and Inter Milan.
The aforementioned source claims that his agent has already had ‘preliminary contact’ with Serie A sides Hellas Verona, Genoa and Torino as they search for a potential destination.
Zarate has somewhat of a controversial history in Italy, as his transfer to Lazio in 2009 lead to the suspension of the club’s president Claudio Lotito for financial irregularities.
Furthermore, he was disciplined for making a fascist salute during a game against Bari and the final straw came when he travelled to the Maldives for a holiday after telling Lazio that he was receiving treatment in his homeland of Argentina.
Zarate made just four appearances for Queens Park Rangers last season, with an impressive passing accuracy of 88%.
West Ham have been excellent going forward this season, scoring 23 goals so far in the Premier League, the third highest in the division.
The Hammers currently occupy sixth place in the Premier League and their next fixture is away to Tottenham Hotspur on November 22nd.
Mauro Zarate has created five chances for West Ham this season in the Premier League.
HITC
Report: Spaniard Pablo Vazquez impresses on trial at West Ham, deal likely
West Ham are hoping to sign young goalkeeper Pablo Vazquez.
Dan Coombs
West Ham are closing in on a deal for young goalkeeper Pablo Vazquez, report Spanish newspaper Estadio Deportivo.
Vazquez is a 17-year-old goalkeeper currently with La Liga giants Sevilla, but the Hammers are close to luring him away.
Estadio Deportivo report Vazquez has been on trial at West Ham during the international break, and has impressed with his displays.
It is claimed that Vazquez's mind has been made up that he wants to leave for West Ham, and while a deal is likely, it may not be done until next summer.
The reasons for the delay are unclear from the report, but to speculate, it would make sense if the Hammers could be waiting for his contract to expire.
If Vazquez can go onto emulate Spanish stopper Adrian at West Ham then it could be a very smart addition, but initially he would be likely to feature for the under-21 side and continue his development.
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