BBC
Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann, 25, has been offered £220,000 a week at Manchester United - the same amount as France team-mate Paul Pogba. (Sun)
United are set to offer £32.5m for Roma defender Kostas Manolas, 25, after a deal to sign Victor Lindelof, 22, from Benfica fell through. (Sun)
Juventus left-back Patrice Evra, 35, has held talks with West Ham and his former club Manchester United over a potential January move. (Calciomercato.com)
West Ham have added Celtic striker Moussa Dembele to their transfer shortlist and are willing to spend £20m on the 20-year-old. (Goal)
However, the Hammers will have to up their bid to £30m to land the French forward. (Daily Mail)
Chelsea are still in talks with Atalanta over the possible signing of Franck Kessie, 20, but the Premier League club may have to wait until the summer before a transfer can be concluded. (Guardian)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is interested in signing Torino striker Andrea Belotti, but is concerned by the 23-year-old's £50m price tag. (Sun)
Striker Odion Ighalo, 27, is set to leave Watford, with the Hornets hoping to cash in on fresh interest from Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua. (Mirror)
Swansea City stalwart Alan Curtis was told by text message he was no longer part of the club's coaching team. (Daily Mail)
With James Rodriguez' Real Madrid future in the balance, Italian journalist Mina Rzouki believes Manchester United could be one of a number of possible destinations for the 25-year-old Colombian. (BBC Radio 5 live)
Chelsea striker Diego Costa, 28, has said that he would be suspended for "four or five games" if he gave his true opinion of English referees. (Onda Cero)
Bayer Leverkusen have not received an offer from Chelsea for striker Javier Hernandez, 28, according to the German club's sporting director. (Talksport)
Liverpool are set to sell 23-year-old defender Tiago Ilori to Reading for £3.75m. (Liverpool Echo)
Forward Bojan, 26, is ready to leave Stoke City in order to secure regular first-team football. (Stoke Sentinel)
New Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce could make Motherwell striker Louis Moult, 24, his first signing, with the club lining up a £500,000 offer. (Talksport)
Slaven Bilic's job at West Ham is not as safe as people think, according to journalist Tony Evans. (BBC Radio 5 live)
Aston Villa have been told they must pay at least £10m to sign Jordan Rhodes, 26, from Middlesbrough. (Mirror)
New Hull manager Marco Silva has been promised he can make "key additions" to his squad during the January transfer window. (Daily Mail)
Millwall may be forced to leave their south London home and relocate to Kent. (Guardian)
Birmingham City have made enquiries about taking West Brom midfielder Craig Gardner, 30, on loan until the end of the season. (Birmingham Mail)
And finally
Morgan Schneiderlin, 27, who has been told he can leave Manchester United, has posted a video of himself training alone in a country park. (Daily Star)
London-born LA Lakers small forward Luol Deng has revealed that one of the first things he would do if he became a billionaire would be to buy Crystal Palace. (Daily Express)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Moussa Dembélé and Patrice Evra to West Ham?
Simon Burnton
West Ham have given the world license to gossip after printing an anonymous article on their website, bylined “The Insider”, which reveals that “the board … have allocated significant funds to bolstering the squad. To that end, a bid of £20m was submitted for a player from Scotland. Meanwhile, an £8m bid was made for a player who currently plies his trade in the Championship, and a £6m bid for a current Premier League player. It is my understanding that the board will do their best to bring their selected targets to London Stadium, if at all possible.”
So who could these mystery targets be, readers? The Mirror have put two and two together and announced that Celtic’s Moussa Dembélé is the £20m man, even though “sources at Parkhead are adamant no official bid has been made” – and want at least £30m – while the Frenchman, while currently plying his trade there, is very clearly not “from Scotland”. Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe was presumably the subject of the £6m offer, though it was turned down on Wednesday – the Express exclusively reveal today that they have “more than doubled their offer to £13m”, while the Mail on the other hand say they “intend to bid £7m”. The remaining mystery man might be Brentford’s Scott Hogan, though there seems some debate about the precise level of their bid for the Championship’s fourth-best marksman, with the Express suggesting the offer was in fact £10m, and that anyway it was rejected. It seems the Bees are confident of having some money to spend this month, though: they’re rumoured to have slapped in a £850,000 offer for Wigan’s Max Power. And in all this talk of West Ham targets there is no mention anywhere of Patrice Evra, who has apparently started talks with the Hammers even if, the Sun reveals, he has “his heart set on a return to Old Trafford”.
Talking of Manchester United, the Red Devils have already discussed personal terms with Antoine Griezmann, says the Sun, and the diminutive Atlético Madrid forward will probably have liked what he heard: United are willing to match the £220,000 a week plus generous bonuses they already pay Paul Pogba in an effort to entice his fellow Frenchman to Old Trafford. Sadly Atlético are less keen on the transfer, demanding payment in full of the player’s £86m buy-out, but some sort of deal is expected to be reached. Not, though, until the summer, with the Mail insisting the club have “shelved their transfer plans” for this window, except that is for allowing Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay to leave. The Manchester Evening News still think Victor Lindelof could arrive, though, should his current club, Benfica, agree some kind of deal with his former club, Vasteras, over the 20% sell-on clause that has rather complicated the negotiations.
Watford’s Odion Ighalo, who has twice rejected offers from China, might have another one to deal with shortly with Gus Poyet’s Shanghai Shenhua apparently keen on the misfiring Nigerian, who has scored one goal in his 17 league appearances this season. Whether it will be as lucrative as the £37.5m bid from Shanghai SIPG that was turned down in the summer seems extremely doubtful, though you never know. In September the striker said his previous refusal to depart was down to the fact that “I love playing in the Premier League” and “I still have unfinished business in England”, and indeed his lack of finishing has turned out to be an issue. He also said that “when the right time comes I will go”, so anything’s possible.
Aston Villa want to sign Middlesbrough’s Jordan Rhodes, but are being told that they must match the £10m Boro paid to steal him away from Blackburn a year ago and are not entirely convinced that this season’s record of two starts, four substitute appearances and no goals or assists merits such outlandish spendthriftery.
Chelsea loan latest: Izzy Brown, the 19-year-old striker who has scored three goals in 20 appearances on loan for Rotherham so far this season, is wanted by both Birmingham and Huddersfield for the second bit of it. And Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s lengthy list of suitors has expanded following Stoke’s decision to get involved. Mark Hughes is also ready to battle Leicester for BR Leipzig’s 21-year-old striker Davie Selke, even though he has only started one league game this season for the Bundesliga’s surprise package.
And finally, Raheem Sterling has been shopping at Poundworld. “The £180,000-a-week winger held a white plastic bag and pulled a blue Poundworld trolley basket,” reports the Mirror. “The 22-year-old international was looking for toiletries.”
Mail
West Ham told to pay £30m by Celtic for Moussa Dembele as they also eye up Scott Hogan and Jermain Defoe
West Ham transfer news: All the latest from London Stadium
West Ham had talks with Celtic this week and said were willing to offer £20m
But Celtic will demand a much higher formal bid for their young striker
West Ham have been frustrated in their bid for a new right-back in January
Al Ain have offered West Ham's Andre Ayew a deal worth £200,000 a week
By Sami Mokbel
Celtic have told West Ham they will have to pay £30million to land striker Moussa Dembele.
West Ham are desperate to add a striker and have also discussed a £10m offer for Brentford’s Scott Hogan and intend to bid £7m for Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe after their second bid of £6m was rejected.
The London club had talks with Celtic about Dembele this week and indicated they were willing to offer £20m for the former Fulham forward, who cost a mere £500,000 in compensation last summer.
Celtic insist it was not a formal bid and will demand a much higher figure for the 20-year-old, who has scored 19 goals in 36 games.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers hopes to keep Dembele until the summer at least.
Hogan, 24, is desperate to force through a move from Championship club Brentford. Defoe, 34, is committed to Sunderland’s relegation fight, but he has told friends that returning to West Ham would be an enticing proposition.
But Sunderland boss David Moyes has told his board he does not want to lose his top scorer under any circumstance this month and Defoe is unlikely to demand a move.
West Ham, who face Manchester City in the FA Cup third round on Friday, have also been frustrated in their search for a right back.
Stoke’s 32-year-old defender Glen Johnson — like Defoe a former player — has been ruled out while Tottenham are refusing to do a deal for Kieran Trippier.
Hull City’s Ahmed Elmohamady and Dominic Iorfa of Wolves have also been discussed.
United Arab Emirates club Al Ain have offered West Ham’s Ghanaian striker Andre Ayew a deal worth £200,000 a week.
HITC
Manager admits Scott Hogan could be on his way to West Ham, backs him to be a success
Damien Lucas
Slaven Bilic has not hidden his admiration for either player, as reported by Sky Sports, but the Hammers have seen bids of £8million for Hogan and £6million for Defoe turned down.
The Hammers know all about Defoe, who started his career with the club as a teenager, while Hogan, 24, has scored 14 goals in 26 appearances this season.
While Sunderland are understandably digging their heels in over their star man as they prepare for another season-long battle against relegation, luring Hogan could prove a smoother path.
That's after Bees boss Dean Smith told reporters he may be powerless to stop Hogan leaving if West Ham come back with a bigger bid.
"We don't want to lose him but we also know that if people put the sort of numbers being talked about to us, we'd have to listen," Smith said in a press conference broadcast on Sky Sports News.
"If Scott was to go then the club would try and get as much as they could because you look at the marketplace at the moment, and the valuations out there, and Scott has outscored a lot of players.
"I believe he is (capable of playing in the Premier League), he's a natural goalscorer, he makes great runs, he's got pace, he's got strength."
Some West Ham fans are concerned the club is paying over the odds for a Championship striker and question why the owners did not deliver the marquee signing promised in the summer.
But supporters must remember two of the club's biggest success stories of recent seasons are Aaron Cresswell and Michail Antonio, signed from Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest respectively.
While Cresswell was a bargain at £3million, the club shelled out £7.5million for Antonio in what was also seen as a big gamble and one that has certainly paid off.
OS
Manager on Matchday
Good morning everyone,
This evening we embark on what will hopefully be a successful FA Cup journey this season when we take on Manchester City at London Stadium, and we are all excited for the game.
In some countries, the status of the domestic cup has changed, but not in England. In other counties, sometimes they dream only of being in the Champions League, but in England and Germany the Cup has always been very important.
Before the Champions League, it was just the league and Cup and then when European competitions came in like the Champions League and the Cup Winners’ Cup disappeared, the Cup went down in some teams’ priorities. Here, that’s not the case.
We want to do our best to progress in this season’s competition, so that’s why we both sides I’m sure will be fielding strong teams this evening. When I played in the competition and watched it on the TV before I was manager here, for me it has never lost its size.
Of course we have had a busy schedule over Christmas and it could help if we had a week off or a couple of weeks before the game, like you see in Germany, Italy, Spain or wherever. I think it would help the standard of the Premier League and the national team.
On the other hand, I enjoy having those three games in a few days, especially because it is Christmas!
Manchester City are a good side and it will be a tough game tonight. The manager, Pep Guardiola, has a philosophy there and he will guide them on everything, but at the end of the day, as a player it’s your decisions that count.
If you are in the box, for example, no manager is telling you what to do. It’s what happens at the time; it’s your decision. So I don’t think Guardiola is different to another manager in that respect. I have seen so many times Gerard Pique putting the ball in the stands when it’s necessary. It’s the player’s decision.
Here for Guardiola, it is different to anywhere else he has worked. He’s never worked in a smaller club, never fought against relegation or midtable or anything other than trying to win the league. With Barcelona and Bayern Munich, it’s the same. Even if they didn’t win in style but still won, sometimes it’s a problem.
In Germany, it was a two horse race but in one year Dortmund were not so good and it wasn’t very interesting. It’s different here. There are about six clubs all going for the title.
I am always asked about Dimitri Payet’s situation, and when you have a good player playing well every week, there is always going to be speculation about him. But the player and the club has to cope with that.
To be fair, if I was a player now, I would use that as an extra motivation or extra proof to show that I was a good player. I don’t find it unsettling to us or to Dimitri.
Hopefully we can put on a great performance this evening and get ourselves a place in the fourth round draw.
Enjoy the football.
Slaven Bilic
