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BBC
Manchester United have made a £25m bid to sign Arsenal's 28-year-old Chile forward Alexis Sanchez. (Guardian)
Sanchez would prefer to join Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola's side have only bid £20m. (Independent)
Manchester United have also made initial inquiries about two other forwards - Leicester's 30-year-old England international Jamie Vardy and West Ham's 29-year-old Mexican striker Javier Hernandez, who was at Old Trafford from 2010-2015. (Telegraph)
New MLS side Los Angeles FC are also interested in signing Hernandez. (Talksport)
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is likely to leave the club at the end of the season. Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri and former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique are the leading contenders to replace him. (Mail)
Manchester United and Chelsea are both interested in signing Brazilian playmaker Arthur Melo, 21, from Gremio. (Star)
Liverpool are in talks with Leicester and Algeria winger Riyad Mahrez, but the 26-year-old would prefer to sign for Arsenal. (Express)
Liverpool are in official contact with RB Leipzig as they attempt to bring forward Naby Keïta's arrival as Philippe Coutinho's replacement. A deal has already been agreed for the 22-year-old midfielder to join in July. (Times)
Liverpool are willing to sell their 28-year-old striker Daniel Sturridge, but they will demand £30m for the England international. (Liverpool Echo)
However, no club in the Premier League is prepared to meet Sturridge's valuation, and his £150,000-a-week wages are another obstacle. (Mail)
Italian Carlo Ancelotti is the preferred candidate to take over from Arsene Wenger as Arsenal boss at the end of the season. The former Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain manager has agreed a four-year deal worth 40 million euros (£35.5m). (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian)
Everton are set to make a £20m bid for Arsenal's 28-year-old England forward Theo Walcott. (Telegraph)
Espanyol are not aware of any interest from Stoke City in their Spanish manager Quique Sanchez Flores. (Marca - in Spanish)
Crystal Palace are targeting two new strikers. They have agreed a £12m fee for West Ham's 28-year-old Senegalese striker Diafra Sakho and will bid £13m for Everton's 27-year-old Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse. (Evening Standard)
Claude Puel has confirmed striker Kelechi Iheanacho will not be leaving Leicester City in the January transfer window. The Foxes manager has urged the 20-year-old to improve in all areas. (Leicester Mercury)
West Ham have been dealt a blow by Swansea boss Carlos Carvalhal who has stressed he is determined to keep defender Alfie Mawson, 23, suggesting the club would only consider selling him if they received an offer in the region of £50m. (Star)
Manchester United will match Liverpool's interest in 19-year-old United States and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Christian Pulisic if their Premier League rivals make a bid. (Independent)
Manchester United are considering making a bid for Shakhtar Donetsk's Brazilian midfielder Fred, 24, who is also a target for Manchester City. (Record)
Everton are considering recalling their 21-year-old England U21 left-back Brendan Galloway from his loan at Sunderland. (Liverpool Echo)
Liverpool and Tottenham want to sign Norwich's England U21 attacking midfielder James Maddison. (Mirror)
Wolves are also interested in signing the 21-year-old from their Championship rivals. (Express and Star)
Inter Milan have made a loan offer for Barcelona and Brazil midfielder Rafinha, 24, with an option to buy him for £17.7m. (Sky Sport Italia - in Italian)
Former Chelsea midfielder Ramires hopes to join Inter Milan this month. The 30-year-old Brazilian plays in China for Jiangsu Suning. (Sky Sport Italia)
Manchester City are set to send England U20 winger Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, 19, on loan to Oxford United after recalling him from FC Twente. (HITC)
Nottingham Forest's new manager Aitor Karanka wants to sign Chelsea's Belgian forward Charly Musonda, 21, on loan. (Telegraph)
Two Premier League clubs want to sign Changchun Yatai, Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo and the 28-year-old former Watford player says he is open to a Premier League return. (Sky Sports)
Manager Rafa Benitez is becoming increasingly frustrated at Newcastle United's inaction in the transfer window. (Shields Gazette)
Newcastle are set to open talks with 17-year-old Young Boys striker Yannick Toure, who plays for Switzerland Under-17s, in the next 24 hours. (Mail)
A second Middle East investor is looking to make an offer for Newcastle United. (Mail)
Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino wants permanent January deals rather than loan signings. (Daily Echo)
Best of Thursday's gossip
West Ham are ready to listen to offers of £17m for Mexico striker Javier Hernandez, 29, and they could replace him with Krasnodar forward Fyodor Smolov. The 27-year-old Russia captain is said to be interested in a move to the club. (Mirror)
Manchester United would be willing to let Henrikh Mkhitaryan, 28, return to Borussia Dortmund this month if a deal can be agreed that suits all parties. The Armenian playmaker's current wages are thought to be a potential stumbling block. (Independent)
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has asked 18-year-old Ajax striker Justin Kluivert, son of Netherlands legend Patrick, to stay with the Dutch club this month as he hopes to bring him to England in the summer. (Sport - in Spanish)
Liverpool plan to offer Brazilian attacker Roberto Firmino, 26, a contract that would see him spend the rest of his career at the club. (Telegraph)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Simon Burnton
Manchester United’s interest in Alexis Sánchez may be the lead story in most newspaper sports sections – even if, as the Express puts it, “the general belief, both at Old Trafford and the Emirates, remains that City are strong favourites to sign him” – but the Telegraph goes not one but two better, revealing that José Mourinho has also enquired about Leicester’s Jamie Vardy and West Ham’s former Old Trafford favourite Javier Hernández – and that he didn’t stop there, with “a range of strikers” under consideration. Vardy, they say, would cost at least £35m but would need the express permission of the Leicester chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, before he departs, while the Hammers would seek to recoup the £17m they lavished on Hernández in the summer, nearly £10m more than United sold him for less than three years ago. David Moyes, however, seems determined to get rid of the Mexican – Los Angeles FC are also keen – and is lining up Krasnodar’s Fyodor Smolov as a replacement.
Having attempted to hijack Sánchez’s move to Manchester City, United have got the taste for snaffling their rivals’ targets and the Independent reports that they will “strongly challenge Liverpool if the Anfield club go in for Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic in the summer”, hoping to get their mitts not just on his youthful footballing stylings but also “all the commercial value” that would follow from the American becoming his homeland’s first genuine footballing superstar.
Talking of Liverpool, having started only five Premier League games this season and none in Europe, Daniel Sturridge is fretting about his place in the England World Cup squad and has come to the conclusion that his only choice is to leave Liverpool before the month is out. His employers are determined to extract maximum value from the 28-year-old, and will only let him go if someone coughs up £30m. A loan is not being considered although, according to the Liverpool Echo, “that position could change later in the window if the asking price isn’t met and there’s a hefty loan fee on the table”. He could end up replacing Hernández at West Ham, or travelling the well-trodden path between Anfield and Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium, only in an unusual direction.
Chelsea are in the market for a manager, says the Mail, with Antonio Conte “preparing to move on” come the summer – they make Max Allegri and Luis Enrique the favourites to replace the Italian in the Stamford Bridge hotseat, though other names are being considered. The Mirror, meanwhile, is already looking a step further, speculating that Conte will in due course duke it out for the Paris St-Germain job with his great friend and serial striker-considerer José Mourinho.
Thomas Lemar latest: the Arsenal and Liverpool target may leave Monaco this month, but then he might not. Don’t ask Leonardo Jardim, though, with the Frenchman’s manager admitting that “the numbers today are incredibly big”, so big that despite his preference for keeping hold of the forward “everything can change” and “the things I can say today are not true tomorrow”. Riyad Mahrez, meanwhile, is being linked with the same two clubs but finds himelf in a particularly confusing place: Liverpool would prefer not to buy him but might; he would prefer not to join them but could; he wants to sign for Arsenal but probably won’t; Arsenal’s intentions are uncertain.
Sportslens
Leander Dendoncker wants to join West Ham
West Ham have been linked with a move for the highly-rated Belgian midfielder Leander Dendoncker.
According to Daily Mail, the Hammers are set to hold further talks with Anderlecht for the defensive midfielder who is valued at £27m.
The 22-year-old has been linked with a move to Manchester United as well.
According to the report from Mail, Dendoncker wants to join West Ham and play for David Moyes. Apparently, the player’s agent has a good rapport with the West Ham boss.
It will be interesting to see whether the Hammers meet Anderlecht’s asking price for the player now.
Dendoncker is a top-class talent who is expected to become a leading star in future. In the current market, £27m could prove to be a bargain for the Belgian.
West Ham could certainly use a defensive midfielder like him and he could improve them at the back as well as in attack. His presence will give the midfielders more license to venture forward. Also, he is adept at shielding the back four.
Furthermore, the midfielder can operate as a centre back as well. West Ham must do everything in their power to land him.
C&H
Arnie/Antonio update for Huddersfield
Marko Arnautovic will be back for tomorrow (Sat) Premier Leaue clash with Huddersfield at the Kirklees Stadium but Michail Antonio is unlikely to appear despite recovering from injury and returning to training.
Arnie has been suffering from a tight hamstring issue but is all set – given no further problems in training – to make the team for the match.
The game against Town is the start of a series of clashes which could easily define the outcome to the Irons season and it’s a boost for manager David Moyes and the fans that the Austria international will be back in action.
However, Antonio looks set to require further training ground improvement in fitness before being involved in the upcoming games. His last appearance was against Newcastle on December 23.
Winston Reid is also a major doubt which means that Declan Rice and Angelo Ogbonna are set to continue at the heart of defence whilst upfront the manager will make the decision on whether Chicharito or Andre Ayew takes up an attacking role.
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