Tuesday News (includes West Ham)
Posted: 03 Feb 2026, 11:40
BBC
Marcus Rashford, 28, does not want to return to Manchester United when his loan deal at Barcelona expires and the England striker is prepared to take a pay cut to stay. (Mirror), external
Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is expected to feature on a three-man shortlist of potential successors to Pep Guardiola amid growing belief that this will be the Manchester City head coach's final season in charge. (Telegraph - subscription required), external
France centre-back Dayot Upamecano, 27, is set to sign a new contract with Bayern Munich. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Manchester United's Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia, 26, is angry with the club's director of football Jason Wilcox for blocking a deadline-day move away from Old Trafford. (Mirror), external
Malacia was about to board a plane bound for Turkey before completing a move to Besiktas only for Wilcox to tell the left-back he must stay with Manchester United. (Talksport), external
Former Chelsea and England forward Raheem Sterling, 31, was offered to Bundesliga club Union Berlin in the past few days but they opted not to pursue a deal. (Florian Plettenberg), external
France striker Karim Benzema, 38, is set to leave Al-Ittihad for fellow Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal. Benzema joined Al-Ittihad on a three-year deal upon leaving Real Madrid in the summer of 2023. (The Athletic), external
Tottenham were unable to finalise a deal with Monaco for Maghnes Akliouche, 23, but might go back in for the France midfielder in the summer. (Teamtalk)
Sky Paper Talk
PREMIER LEAGUE
Xabi Alonso is expected to feature on a three-man shortlist of potential successors to Pep Guardiola - along with Enzo Maresca and Cesc Fabregas - amid growing belief that this will be the Manchester City head coach's final season in charge at the Etihad - Daily Telegraph
Newcastle are gearing up for a Sandro Tonali transfer tug-of-war, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City all keen this summer - The Sun
Marcus Rashford has no intention of returning to Manchester United from Barcelona this summer - Daily Mirror
Tyrell Malacia is thought to be fuming with Manchester United after Jason Wilcox blocked a deadline day move away from Old Trafford - Daily Mirror
Aston Villa and Liverpool are set to hold talks over the terms of Harvey Elliott's season-long loan move at Villa Park - Daily Mail
WORLD FOOTBALL
Cristiano Ronaldo is on an extraordinary collision course with the Saudi Pro League after Karim Benzema was allowed to switch to his club's closest title rivals - Daily Telegraph
FORMULA 1
Lewis Hamilton has parted company with Marc Hynes ahead of the upcoming Formula 1 season - for a second time - Daily Mail
Guardian Rumour mill
Luke McLaughlin
Karim Benzema’s move to Al-Hilal has cast fresh doubt on the future of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. The 40-year-old was missing from Monday’s 1-0 Saudi Pro League win at Al-Riyadh, the day Benzema’s move from Al-Ittihad to Al-Hilal was confirmed. Ronaldo is reportedly dissatisfied with how Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which also has a stake in Newcastle, is controlling the affairs of both Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, unhappy that a rival club have signed his former Real Madrid teammate. Sounds plausible?
Dwight McNeil was all set to sign for Crystal Palace from Everton before Jean-Philippe Mateta’s switch to Milan fell through. The Eagles lodged a very late £20m bid for the former Burnley schemer, but reportedly moved the goalposts after failing to offload Mateta, preferring a loan deal with an option to buy instead.
The agent Giuseppe Riso has scotched reports that his client, the Italy international Sandro Tonali, was offered to Arsenal before the transfer window slammed shut. Reports on Monday stated that an intermediary had dangled the midfielder’s services in front of the Premier League-leading Gunners but Riso has dismissed the story as “nonsense.”
Tottenham failed to get a deal for the Monaco forward Maghnes Akliouche over the line – but may revisit the deal in the summer. Will that do anything to placate Spurs’ furious club captain Cristian Romero, who condemned the “disgraceful” lack of transfer activity at the north London club in a social media post on deadline-night? It seems unlikely.
Tyrell Malacia, Manchester United’s left-back, is supposedly angry with the club’s director of football Jason Wilcox for putting the kibosh on a move to Besiktas. The plane due to take Malacia to Turkey was reportedly on the tarmac before Wilcox made it clear the 26-year-old Dutchman would be staying in England.
Meanwhile, is Marcus Rashford happy in Barcelona? We’ve all wondered about that question and now it seems we have an answer. The on-loan Manchester United forward is said to be determined not to return to Old Trafford, and wants to make his move to Catalonia permanent. The United interim Michael Carrick was interested in getting him back, but the England international intends to move to another club if Barcelona don’t sign him.
Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fàbregas and Enzo Maresca could form a three-man shortlist to replace Pep Guardiola, should Manchester City be on the hunt for a new manager this summer. Speculation is growing that the 55-year-old Guardiola will leave at the end of the season, and while the club have apparently called it just that – “pure speculation” – there is a growing sense that Guardiola will end his contract one year early.
And before the Mill returns to cold storage until the summer, Horst Heldt, the manager director at Bundesliga club Union Berlin, claims he was offered the chance to sign Raheem Sterling. The former England forward left Chelsea last week, terminating his £325,000-a-week contract 18 months early. “Sometimes you have to rub your eyes,” Heldt said. “In this case it didn’t really seem serious. We didn’t pursue it any further.”
The Athletic
West Ham sign Axel Disasi on loan deal from Chelsea
By Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, Simon Johnson and Roshane Thomas
Axel Disasi has joined West Ham United on a loan deal from Chelsea for the remainder of the season.
The 27-year-old, who had not made a senior appearance for Chelsea this campaign, has been a long-standing target for the east London club this window.
The centre-back has only played 161 minutes in youth competition this campaign and has been training away from the first team.
The Athletic reported that signing a centre-back was a priority for head coach Nuno Espirito Santo this window.
Toulouse’s Charlie Cresswell and Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis were among their other defensive targets. Last week on Thursday, the Championship side rejected West Ham’s £18million bid for Harwood-Bellis.
After the termination of Igor Julio’s season-long loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham’s recognised central defensive options are Jean-Clair Todibo — set to serve a three-match ban for his dismissal in the 3-2 defeat against Chelsea — Max Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Disasi spent the second half of the 2024-25 season on loan at Aston Villa, where he made ten appearances including three in the Champions League, but did not feature in their final four league games and he returned to Stamford Bridge last summer.
The France international joined Chelsea from Monaco in the summer of 2023 on a six-year contract, off the back of a season where he registered six goals and four assists in 49 appearances from centre-back.
He made 44 appearances in all competitions in his first campaign at Stamford Bridge but failed to solidify himself as a regular starter in the 2024-25 season before going on loan.
Disasi has made five appearances for the senior national team, the last of which was in November 2023.