Paper Talk
Jose Mourinho has been told he must guide Chelsea into the Champions league knockout this week to safeguard his position as manager.
Mourinho could be sacked even if Chelsea make it into the last 16 of the Champions League.
Swansea have opened talks with David Moyes about taking over from Garry Monk at the Liberty Stadium.
West Ham have been hit by more injury woe as Manuel Lanzini and Victor Moses are sidelined. The former will miss two weeks while Moses could face six weeks in the treatment room.
Alan Pardew has admitted that Crystal Palace summer signing Connor Wickham remains a work in progress.
Jurgen Klopp is set to sign want away AC Milan goalkeeper Diego Lopez. The former Real Madrid goalkeeper will be brought in to offer further competition for Simon Mignolet.
Pep Guardiola could be prepared to take a 12-month break to make sure he lands the Manchester United job.
Brendan Rodgers could return to the Swansea manager's job if Garry Monk is sacked.
Arsenal are making a second bid to sign Inter Milan captain Mauro Icardi. Chelsea have also been linked with a deal for the Argentinian striker who is rated at £28m.
Louis van Gaal has criticised Bastian Schweinsteiger's recent performances for Manchester United. The German midfielder is facing a possible FA rap for elbowing Winston Reid during Saturday's 0-0 draw with West Ham.
Brighton & Hove Albion and Cardiff City are eyeing a swoop for Sunderland midfielder Liam Bridcutt, who spent four years with Brighton before moving to Wearside in January last year. He is currently on loan at Leeds United.
Tottenham have been blasted by local businesses over the plans for their new £500m, 61,000-seater stadium.
Adrien Rabiot has told PSG that he fancies a loan move in the January transfer window in a bid to get more game time. The 20-year-old midfielder is highly-rated in Paris and has been subject to interest from Arsenal and Tottenham.
Odion Ighalo has revealed the sleepless nights he spent agonising about whether to join Chinese side Hebei China Fortune for £10m in the summer
Louis van Gaal's job is safe even if Manchester United are knocked out of the Champions League this week.
Mauricio Pochettino has warned off Manchester United, telling them that Hugo Lloris is at the heart of Tottenham's future plans.
Nir Bitton's agent has dropped a bombshell on Celtic - just a month after he signed a new deal - by revealing the midfielder will be the latest star to quit Parkhead next summer for no less than £10m.
Jamie Vardy, Saido Berahino and Shakhtar Donetsk forward Alex Teixeira are on Chelsea's radar as they attempt to address their astonishing loss of form with a January spending spree.
Celtic boss Ronny Deila is eyeing swoop on Dinamo Zagreb by keeping tabs on youngster Davor Lovren, the younger brother of Liverpool stopper Dejan. The Anfield side are also weighing up a move for the highly-rated 17-year-old.
BBC
Chelsea could sack manager Jose Mourinho whether or not they beat Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday. (Daily Mirror)
Owner Roman Abramovich may act if the Blues lose to Porto and then against leaders Leicester in the Premier League next weekend. (Sun)
Manchester United are planning to make a £50m move for Tottenham striker Harry Kane, 22, in the summer transfer window. (Daily Star)
Red Devils midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, 31, could face a three-match ban for his clash with West Ham defender Winston Reid, 27, on Saturday. (Daily Mirror)
United boss Louis van Gaal's job is not under threat should they exit the Champions League on Tuesday. (Daily Express)
However, United will start their search for Van Gaal's successor at the end of the season if, as expected, the Dutchman confirms he will retire at the end of his contract in 18 months. (Daily Telegraph)
However, the club will sit down with the Dutch manager in the new year to determine whether the 64-year-old wishes to depart in the summer of 2017 or sign a fresh contract. (Guardian)
Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola could be prepared to take a 12-month break from football to make sure he lands the Manchester United job. (Sun)
Swansea have opened talks with former Everton and Manchester United boss David Moyes about taking over from Garry Monk, who will be sacked after a run of seven defeats in 11 league games. (Daily Mirror)
Alternatively, if Swansea decide to sack Monk, they could turn to former manager Brendan Rodgers, who has been out of work since his October departure from Liverpool. (Sun)
Former Arsenal winger Robert Pires feels the Gunners should sign Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama, 24, who is "world-class material". (Evening Standard)
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has warned off any potential interest for Hugo Lloris, 28, by saying the goalkeeper is key to the future of the club. (Express)
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish says the Eagles - who are set for American investment - can win the Premier League in the next 10 years. (Sun)
Everton winger Gerard Deulofeu, 21, is taking intensive English lessons in order to conduct all media interviews in his adopted language. (Liverpool Echo)
Arsenal target Adrien Rabiot, 20, has requested a loan move away from Paris St-Germain as he struggles to get game time at the Ligue 1 leaders. (Telefoot, via L'Equipe - in French)
Watford striker Odion Ighalo almost joined Chinese side Hebei China Fortune for £10m in the summer, but is delighted that he instead stayed with the Hornets, for whom he has scored nine goals this season. (Daily Mail)
And finally
Tottenham's plans to build a new 61,000 capacity-stadium have been labelled "an act of pure vandalism" due to the planned demolition of three Victorian and Edwardian heritage buildings. (Evening Standard)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Jacob Steinberg
Chelsea are after a player who can lift their morale and bring the dressing room together with his all-action game, lung-busting effort and unifying spirit. And they’re in luck, because that man is available on a free
transfer! Step forward, Emmanuel Adebayor.
The former Tottenham Hotspur striker is not the only player who Chelsea are targeting as they look to spend their way out of a slump more inexplicably lame than the big reveal in London Spy. Also on their January wishlist are
Shakhtar Donetsk’s Alex Texeira, West Bromwich Albion’s Saido Berahino, Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain and, of course, Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy, who will probably never score again if he signs for Chelsea. They will look to
fund those moves by selling Juan Cuadrado to Juventus and gently ushering Radamel Falcao to the exit, hailing the nearest cab and sending him off towards the glue factory.
However, José Mourinho might not be there to see all these changes happen if Chelsea lose to Porto and crash out of the Champions League on Tuesday night. Mourinho, a 52-year-old teenager, finds himself on the verge of the sack again.
Manchester United are eager to see just how boring Louis van Gamsm’fvefkml’lmfvfm … sorry, the Mill fell asleep at the keyboard there.
Manchester United are set to hold talks with Clever Lou over his future, with the Dutchman’s contract set to run out in 2017, and they’re so enamoured with The Philosophy that they’re ruling themselves out of the
race for Pep Guardiola.
Also on his way out of Bayern Munich is Robert Lewandowski, who’s apparently off to Real Madrid. Christmas has come early for Rafa Benítez, who will undoubtedly be delighted about getting another attacker. With Arsenal just a couple of injuries away from having to field a midfield of Kyrstian Bielik and Steve Bould, Arsène Wenger is eyeing some January signings. Paris Saint-Germain’s Adrien Rabiot could be available on loan, while Ilkay Gundogan, Lars Bender and Christoph Kramer are options. What’s Kim Kallstrom up to?
And finally, David Moyes is set to replace Garry Monk at Swansea City. Won’t someone think of the chips?
London24
West Ham chief provides injury update on Manuel Lanzini and Victor Moses
Pete Evans
Manuel Lanzini looks likely to return for West Ham against Stoke this weekend but chairman David Gold says winger Victor Moses will undergo a scan on his hamstring injury.
Moses suffered a hamstring injury in the 0-0 draw with Manchester United on Saturday and was taken off after 37 minutes in the game at Old Trafford with what was clearly a muscular problem.
And Gold revealed they will find out the extent of the injury on Tuesday but there is better news for Argentine Lanzini. The in-form attacker missed the draw against Louis Van Gaal’s side but Gold is confident he will feature against Stoke on Saturday. “I’m optimistic that Lanzini will be available for Stoke but we must wait till Tuesday for the scan on Victor,” he tweeted on Sunday night.
Sport Witness
West Ham looking to thwart Arsenal with hugely ambitious transfer
West Ham United once again had someone watch a game in Portugal over the weekend. As the winter transfer window approaches, the number of scouts at games increases and what started as simply checking out players out turns into something rather more serious.
Even clubs who may not plan to spend in the January window will need to make sure they have future targets identified and are ready to move in if another club tries to take them. An injury during the transfer window can also make a quick transfer a necessity and it's better to have a range of options before that happens, rather than diving into total panic when it does.
Portuguese newspaper O Jogo say that Arsenal and West Ham both watched Porto beat Paços de Ferreira on Saturday. There's no shock there, Arsenal have watched every Porto match since the extent of Francis Coquelin's injury was known, with Ruben Neves the target.
However, O Jogo say that West Ham are also watching Neves. That would be a hugely ambitious aim, and a potential transfer which would be a record for West Ham.
Whilst it had to be considered unlikely, if West Ham managed to get Neves ahead of Arsenal, there would be quite a few disappointed Arsenal supporters.
West Ham interest in a player who would likely sell for around €30m or more may have once been written off by the European media, but the Premier League's increased TV money has changed the landscape, and perception of what's possible.
