BBC
Arsenal are considering a move for Liverpool and England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The 28-year-old spent six years with the Gunners before moving to Anfield in 2017. (Sun)
Barcelona vice-president Rafael Yuste has played down the chances of the Spanish club being in the market to sign Norway striker Erling Braut Haaland, 21, from Borussia Dortmund next summer. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish)
Brazil forward Neymar, 29, has suggested the 2022 World Cup in Qatar could be his last as the Paris St-Germain forward is unsure if he has "the strength of mind to deal with football any more". (DAZN, via Goal)
Barcelona may offload France winger Ousmane Dembele if the 24-year-old does not extend his contract with them and the Spanish club could then try to sign Manchester City and England forward Raheem Sterling, 26, as his replacement. (Sport - in Spanish)
England captain and forward Harry Kane, 28, "loves Tottenham" and will lead the club's "rebuild", according to Spurs' transfer chief Fabio Paratici. (Sun)
Newcastle United's new owners are considering replacing manager Steve Bruce with Leicester City's Brendan Rodgers, Rangers manager Steven Gerrard or ex-Borussia Dortmund boss
Former RB Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick is also being looked at by the new Newcastle United hierarchy for the role of sporting director. (Telegraph - subscription required)
Newcastle United will target four Manchester United players when the transfer window reopens in January with France striker Anthony Martial, 25, Netherlands midfielder Donny van de Beek, 24, 27-year-old Ivory Coast defender Eric Bailly and England attacker Jesse Lingard, 28, all said to be on their wishlist. (Mirror)
Juventus will use Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey, 30, as a makeweight in their attempt to bring Manchester United and France star Paul Pogba, 28, back to Turin. (Mail)
Ramsey turned down a move to Wolves in the summer, but now plans to leave Juve in January, with Newcastle interested. (Calciomercato - in Italian)
Tottenham are being linked with trying to sign American midfielder Weston McKennie, 23, and 21-year-old Sweden attacking midfielder Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus. (Calciomercato, via Teamtalk)
Tottenham are also eyeing 28-year-old Spain striker Alvaro Morata as a possible replacement for England's Harry Kane, 28. Morata is currently on loan at Juventus from Atletico Madrid. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Liverpool are ready to step up their interest in Wolves and Spain winger Adama Traore, 25. (El Nacional - in Catalan)
Chelsea have agreed a new contract with 25-year-old Denmark defender Andreas Christensen, with the finishing touches being made to the deal before an announcement. (Fabrizio Romano on Twitter)
Italy midfielder Marco Verratti, 28, says he intends to spend the rest of his career at French club Paris St-Germain. (France Info - in French)
Sport Witness
West Ham now ‘testing waters’ for January signing – Club would facilitate transfer
West Ham United have been ‘testing the waters’ for a possible January move for Inter Milan forward Alexis Sanchez.
That’s according to Tuttomercatoweb journalist Nicolo Ceccarini, who says Inter are working on the Chilean’s future.
He’s barely featured for the club this season, and it’s led to a tense situation, with him expressing his unhappiness on several occasions.
It’s led the Italian side to look to get him off the books, with the idea of a farewell in January ‘taking shape’.
Several sides have already expressed an interest, with West Ham and Marseille both ‘testing the waters’ ahead of a possible move.
There is also a chance the opportunity of a return to Spain could present itself, and were he to leave, Inter could decide to bet on a low-cost replacement.
How far West Ham have gone in their probes isn’t mentioned, nor is why they would be interested in a player who definitely wouldn’t fit in under David Moyes and hasn’t been at his best for quite some time.
Still, Ceccarini says they are one of the clubs interested nonetheless, so we’ll have to take his word on that until someone else says otherwise.
C&H
Hammers may get access to £1 billion credit facility
Top-flight clubs are reportedly calling on the Premier League to establish a central loan fund of at least £1 billion to allow them to access cheaper loans than those currently being made available to them.
The fund would be of most benefit to clubs outside the Premier League’s big six including Weest Ham who have ended up borrowing at rates of 7% and above to meet immediate cash flow issues.
The report, in the Financial Times, says the idea of a fund has been discussed by clubs and highlights the difficulty some have in accessing cheaper interest rates from the major global banks – especially clubs outside the ‘big six’ .
The finances of the smaller clubs are considered less stable, particularly with the threat of relegation and loss of Premier League centralised revenues, often hanging over their business plans.
The Premier League is in a stronger position to raise funds at a lower interest rate as it can be secured against the leagues broadcast revenue streams.
Premier League clubs lost an estimated £2 billion in revenue last season given the impact of the pandemic. A number of the smaller clubs have had little choice but to accept high-interest finance.
MSD Partners, the investment fund of technology billionaire Michael Dell, has become prominent in the sector and have a portfolio of clubs they loan to including one agreement with Southampton at an annual interest rate of 9%. West Ham has a credit facility to borrow up to £120m from MSD.
The Hard Tackle
West Ham United set sights on Raul de Tomas
West Ham United have reportedly identified 27-year-old Espanyol striker Raul de Tomas as their latest target to bolster their attack.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Raul de Tomas is the subject of interest from West Ham United over a move in the January transfer window. The Hammers are eyeing the 27-year-old striker as a answer for their long-sought search for a striker.
Raul de Tomas spent most of his formative years with the most recognisable La Liga club in the world Real Madrid, having joined the club in 2004. However, the Spaniard could never really manage to establish a foothold in Los Blancos’ first-team setup despite excelling in their youth and reserves sides.
Instead, he was sent out on loan to three different clubs, impressing the most at Rayo Vallecano. A move to Benfica did not work out but he has been in fine touch since returning to La Liga by joining Espanyol and has started the 2021/22 season strongly, with three goals and an assist in eight games so far. And his progress seems to have attracted West Ham United to the 27-year-old striker.
West Ham have been in search of a striker for the better part of 2021, with the exit of Sebastien Haller leaving David Moyes with Michail Antonio as the only recognised striker at his disposal. While the 30-year-old is in the form of his life and has been a talismanic figure for the Hammers, it goes without saying that they need another centre forward.
Indeed, the added excursions of the UEFA Europa League is bound to increase the workload on the players, more so on someone like Antonio as the season progresses. That is why it is hardly a surprise that West Ham have turned their attention towards Raul de Tomas.
Apart from de Tomas, the east Londoners have also been linked with Youssef En-Nesyri, Mohamed Bayo and Alexandre Lacazette. However, it now looks like the 27-year-old striker has become a key target for West Ham, who will need to offer around €30 million to test Espanyol’s resolve.
Having said that, the Catalonian side are keen on holding on to de Tomas in the midst of a season wherein they will be fighting hard to retain their La Liga status. What now remains to be seen is if West Ham can manage to swoop the former Real Madrid striker away from the RCDE Stadium or if he stays put at Espanyol.
