TRANSFER RUMOURS
Manchester City are to step up their efforts to secure 26-year-old England winger Raheem Sterling, who has been linked with a move to Barcelona, to a long term contract. (Telegraph – subscription required)
Manchester United have joined a number of clubs, including Tottenham and Newcastle United, in wanting to sign 21-year-old Serbia forward Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina. (Mail)
Paris St-Germain held talks with Zinedine Zidane as they prepare for the possibility of manager Mauricio Pochettino joining Manchester United. (Le Parisien, via Metro)
Ralf Rangnick is set to become interim manager of Manchester United but initially rejected an offer from the Old Trafford club before agreeing to the new terms of a deal. (Manchester Evening News)
Manchester United still want Pochettino to take over as manager next summer, despite the prospective arrival of Rangnick. (90 Min)
Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, 26, is a target for Manchester United as a possible replacement for 28-year-old France midfielder Paul Pogba, whose contract with the Old Trafford club runs out in the summer. (Fichajes – in Spanish)
Barcelona are looking at making a move for Basel striker Arthur Cabral but will have to sell some players before making a move for the 23-year-old Brazilian. (Goal)
Croatia winger Ivan Perisic’s contract at Inter Milan runs out in June 2022 and the 32-year-old says “everything is possible, we will see in a couple of weeks” when asked about his future. (Mediaset Infinity, via Football Italia)
Inter Milan are hopeful that Croatia midfielder Marcelo Brozovic will sign a new contract, with the 29-year-old’s current deal running out in the summer. (90 Min)
AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli, 56, will sign a new contract for a further two years with the Serie A club on Friday. (Calciomercato, via Football Italia)
TRANSFER CENTRE
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Manchester City will step up their attempts to secure Raheem Sterling to a long-term contract following his goalscoring return to Pep Guardiola’s team and interest from Barcelona.
Ralf Rangnick was Manchester United’s overwhelming choice to take over as interim manager after making a huge impression during an interview for which he had less than 24 hours to prepare.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has spoken with Arsene Wenger about a possible return to the club, with the Spaniard hoping to bring his former coach “much closer” to his old team.
Some senior figures at Leicester are rumoured to also share the concerns of fans, and feel their drop-off extends further back than this season.
Leading scientists have rejected speculation that the Covid vaccine is linked to the recent on-field collapses of three footballers, as sporting pundits came under attack for fuelling hesitancy about the jab.
Golf’s simmering power struggle is set to detonate with the European Tour ready to refuse requests from some of its top players to accept seven-figure appearance fees to play in Saudi Arabia next year.
THE SUN
Ralf Rangnick had a painful introduction to English football 42 years ago – three broken ribs and a punctured lung.
Ugly scenes broke out in Leicester’s Europa League win over Legia Warsaw as away fans attacked police.
Liverpool and Juventus have sent scouts to watch Olympiacos wonderkid Aguibou Camara in action against Fenerbahce.
Tyson Fury has again urged Anthony Joshua to step aside and allow him to fight Oleksandr Usyk.
DAILY MAIL
Oleksandr Zinchenko is on Newcastle’s list of January targets as Eddie Howe attempts to keep them in the Premier League.
The EFL is considering abandoning the 3pm Saturday TV blackout and making every match available for broadcast from the 2024/25 season in a dramatic change of approach.
BT Sport’s plans for their live Ashes coverage have been thrown into turmoil only 12 days before the first Test in Brisbane, due to the ongoing furore surrounding Michael Vaughan.
The new regime at UK Athletics have pulled a U-turn by rehiring one of the key members of staff who departed under the previous CEO Joanna Coates.
Exeter are highly likely to ditch their Native American-style logo after ‘overwhelming’ support for change from their members – but will keep their ‘Chiefs’ name.
THE TIMES
Fifa is set to announce that it will test technology to automatically detect when players are offside at next week’s Arab Cup in Qatar, in what is being seen as a dry run for the 2022 World Cup.
Bath are to appoint a defence coach as they seek to turn around a miserable start to the season that has left them bottom of Gallagher Premiership table after losing their first seven games.
Doubts are growing over the future of Johanna Konta because of uncertainty surrounding the former British No 1’s participation in the Australian Open.
DAILY MIRROR
Raphinha has reaffirmed his commitment to Leeds, claiming he can fulfil his ambitions at Elland Road.
Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly opened negotiations to appoint Zinedine Zidane as their next manager in an update of great importance to Manchester United.
Oxford boss Karl Robinson has called up women’s player Beth Lumsden to train with the men after going without 13 players during a crisis time for the club.
