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BBC
Chelsea will bid £60m for Southampton's Netherlands international defender Virgil van Dijk, 25, who is also wanted by Manchester City. (Daily Express)
The Blues' leading scorer Diego Costa, 28, subject of a rumoured £80m bid from Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian, says he is "very happy" at Stamford Bridge. (Daily Mirror)
Manchester United have targeted France forward Antoine Griezmann, 25, and Spain midfielder Saul Niguez, 22. The Atletico Madrid duo have release clauses totalling £145m on contracts that were renewed last summer. (The Times - subscription required)
United manager Jose Mourinho is also thought to want Real Madrid central defender Pepe, 33, but could face competition from clubs in the lucrative Chinese Super League. (Sun)
However, Mourinho will not sign a striker this month, saying he trusts England forward Marcus Rashford, 18. (Sun)
Benfica defender Victor Lindelof, 22, has also been linked with a £38m move to United, which could spell the end of Chris Smalling's time at the club. Everton and Arsenal may bid for England international Smalling, 27. (Daily Star)
An announcement from Benfica about Lindelof, and what would be a club-record £40m sale for the Portuguese club, could be imminent. (A Bola, via Daily Star)
Paul Clement is expected to be appointed Swansea manager on Tuesday and is understood to have been offered a two-and-a-half-year deal. It is unlikely he will take charge for Tuesday's game at Crystal Palace.(Daily Mail)
Sunderland manager David Moyes is concerned he may not be able to attract enough quality players this month.(Daily Telegraph)
Liverpool could turn their attention to RB Leipzig winger Emil Forsberg, 25, after Borussia Dortmund insisted their 18-year-old American attacking midfielder Christian Pulisic is not for sale. (Daily Mirror)
Arsenal want Sevilla's French midfielder Steven N'Zonzi, 28, who is also a target for Chelsea, Manchester City and Juventus. (Daily Express)
Manchester City's England goalkeeper Joe Hart, 29, is unlikely to make a permanent move to Torino because the Serie A side are unable to afford his high wages, club president Urbano Cairo has revealed. (La Stampa, via Daily Mail)
Hart will not be a target for Liverpool in this transfer window or the next. (Sky Sports)
But Liverpool are lining up a move for Benfica's £22m-rated Mexico international striker Raul Jimenez, 25. (Squawka)
Liverpool want to sign 21-year-old Wembley-born winger Jacob Murphy from Norwich, then loan him back to the Canaries in a bid to beat Tottenham to his signature. (Daily Mirror)
Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva, 29, could stay at Anfield beyond this month, despite interest from Inter Milan. The Reds are prepared to sell the Brazilian but the Italian club are thought to want a loan deal. (Liverpool Echo)
Newcastle have made contact with Everton about signing midfielder Tom Cleverley, 27, on loan. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Aberdeen will increase their efforts to keep Niall McGinn, 29, after the winger emerged as a target for Hearts. (Daily Record)
Birmingham have ended their interest in Nottingham Forest captain Henri Lansbury. Former boss Gary Rowett had been preparing a bid for the 26-year-old but successor Gianfranco Zola will not be pursuing the midfielder. (Birmingham Mail)
Brighton are expected to make 33-year-old striker Glenn Murray's loan from Bournemouth a permanent transfer in the January window.(Sky Sports)
Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland, 23, may miss the entire season with an ankle injury.(Guardian)
And finally
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos appeared to irritate team-mate Marcelo by referring to Germany's 7-1 thrashing of hosts Brazil at the 2014 World Cup in his 'Happy 2017' message on social media. Kroos used the Brazil and Germany flags in place of the numbers 1 and 7. (Marca)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Ben Fisher
The January window is only two days old but its alloy wheels are already being oiled for some truly outlandish transfer action. Manchester United are looking pretty dandy at the moment but José Mourinho wants more. £145m worth of more, by the way of Antoine Griezmann and Saúl Ñíguez. Mourinho does not want a striker – saying he trusts Marcus Rashford to put the ball in the net – but he is mulling over whether to give Atlético Madrid the pennies they would demand to trigger the combined release clauses for the services, given they signed new contracts last summer.
Meanwhile, Mourinho has gone stone cold on the idea of bringing defender Victor Lindelof to Old Trafford but he could be set lose centre-back Chris Smalling, with Everton sniffing around the England international.
A good old-fashioned centre-back is all the rage again today, you see, with league leaders Chelsea readying their chequebook to sign Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk from under the noses of Manchester City, who remain keen. Those savvy Saints could cash in on £60m for the man mountain, who has been under-par in the last couple of matches. Chelsea can breathe of a sigh of relief too, with Diego Costa “very happy” at Stamford Bridge and set to snub any lucrative overtures from Chinese Super League outfit Tianjin Quanjian.
Dimitri Payet is supposedly fed up of being West Ham United’s most valuable asset, and the Frenchman could return to his homeland, if Marseille can seal a sensational return for the winger. Payet, who only signed a new five-and-a-half year contract in February, is the subject of a “crazy project”, headed up by American businessman Frank McCourt. Marseille reckon a £32m bid could see him back at Stade Vélodrome.
Liverpool have been whetting their appetite for new players too, supposedly scouting Norwich City’s Jacob Murphy for the past few months, with the aim of landing him in next couple of weeks before sending him back on loan. They are not in for Joe Hart, though, with the wacky races between Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet all part of Jürgen Klopp’s fun and games on Merseyside.
Elsewhere, Henri Lansbury could send the East Midlands into a bit of a frenzy by swapping Nottingham Forest for Derby County in a £2.5m deal. The only stumbling block for Steve McClaren is that Watford have the eyes for the former Arsenal playmaker too. Meanwhile, Brighton goal-machine Glenn Murray could make his loan move from Bournemouth permanent for a cut-price £1.5m, and Peter Crouch could sign a new contract with Stoke City.
Sport Witness
€30m to €40m West Ham transfer making front page news: ‘It is not impossible’
French newspaper L’Equipe have fully flung themselves into the transfer rumour mill and their Monday edition has Dimitri Payet on the cover.
The link is to Marseille, and with the French club having new owners it’s suggested a huge transfer like bringing Payet back could be on the cards.
That potential transfer is priced at around €30m to €40, and L’Equipe say of the Marseille dream: ‘It is not impossible’
Despite the huge space given to the claims, the first two inside page of L’Equipe also cover it today, there doesn’t appear to be anything really concrete.
It’s already known that Marseille have more money now, it’s already known that Payet has previously spoken warmly about the French club, and it’s already known that West Ham United simply wouldn’t be keen to sell.
On a contract until June 2021, the power all belongs to West Ham, and there’s a possibility these L’Equipe claims are more about exciting Marseille fans, about possibilities under their new ownership, than anything else.
OS
Preview - Manchester United
When and where?
West Ham United v Manchester United
Premier League
Monday 2 January 2017, 5.15pm GMT
London Stadium
What’s the story?
2017 begins for West Ham United with a home game against Manchester United on Monday evening.
The Hammers closed 2016 with a narrow loss at Leicester City on New Year’s Eve and will be striving to show that was merely a blip when they take on the Red Devils.
Slaven Bilic’s men did end the year strongly, winning three in a row prior to their trip to King Power Stadium, and Manchester United have also been in fine form.
Since drawing 1-1 with the Hammers at the end of November, they have taken 16 points from a possible 18 – winning their last five in a row.
Their last assignment of 2016 was a home game against Middlesbrough, and it looked as though their winning run was coming to an end when Grant Leadbitter gave the visitors a second half lead.
But late goals from Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba turned the game around and ensured the final score was 2-1.
The Red Devils’ good run has brought them back in touch with the top four and they currently sit sixth in the table with 36 points at the halfway stage.
West Ham, meanwhile, are twelfth with 22 points to their name.
Team news
Slaven Bilic could shuffle his pack as his team face their second game in a little over 48 hours, with Mark Noble needing to be assessed after being forced off on Saturday.
Manuel Lanzini and Pedro Obiang returned to the bench at Leicester, so might earn a recall to the starting XI on Monday.
However, Diafra Sakho, James Collins, Alvaro Arbeloa, Arthur Masuaku and Gokhan Tore are all sidelined.
For Manchester United, defender Eric Bailly has already departed for the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, but Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney could be involved after missing the game against Middlesbrough.
Any links between the two?
Ashley Fletcher came through the Academy ranks at Manchester United and scored his first West Ham goal on his return to Old Trafford in the EFL Cup defeat to the Red Devils in November.
Manchester United’s Michael Carrick began his career with the Hammers and has gone on to play for Tottenham Hotspur and the Red Devils, earning 34 England caps along the way.
How do I get to the game?
Please be aware that there are some alterations to walking routes from Stratford station for this game.
The ticket office at London Stadium will open at 10am on matchday.
How can I watch the game?
The match is being broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports. You can also follow all the action as it happens on the whufc.com match centre with live audio commentary, social media updates, in-running stats, photos and more. Join the conversation on social media using #WHUMUN
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