AHMED MUSA TO JOIN LEICESTER CITY

CSKA Moscow have turned down an approach from English Premier League table-toppers Leicester City to secure the signature of Ahmed Musa.

According to the BBC, the amount offered by The Foxes was $5.4 million short of the $27 million valuation of the Super Eagles skipper.

The figure in the release clause in the contract that the 23-year-old penned in the summer of 2015 is $32.5m, the publication has reported.

Leicester City have not given up hope of signing Musa and will make an improved bid before the transfer window closes for business on February 1.

The Kano Pillars product starred for VVV Venlo before joining CSKA Moscow in January 2012.

Photo Credit : pfc-cska.com

IS HE JURGEN FLOPP?

Jurgen Klopp has said that Liverpool must be “patient” with Daniel Sturridge – despite it not being the German’s “best skill”.
Sturridge is currently sidelined with his third injury of the season, having struggled with knocks to his hip, knee and hamstring.
The England international has suffered eight separate injuries since joining Liverpool in January 2013, and has been ruled out for 25 games this season alone.
Some have called for manager Klopp to cut his losses on Sturridge, who has scored four goals in six games this campaign, but the German is insistent that the club must wait for him to regain full fitness.
“What do we have to make a decision about? I have two-and-a-half years left on my contract and have been here three or four months. That’s not a problem,” Klopp said. “I had 15 months with Ilkay Gündogan [at Borussia Dortmund] where we had to all wait but it was his back and we had no chance to force it. It’s not a back problem with Daniel but it’s the muscle.
“Out of responsibility, we have to do everything we can to give him the physical strength to be able to play Premier League football. We all know it’s pretty easy for him when he’s fit but at this moment he isn’t. We cannot change this and I am not thinking about making a general decision [about him] at the moment. To have a player like Daniel in your squad is always a good situation and when it’s not possible to use him it’s not a good situation.
“He’s not with the team at the moment but we have enough games this season when we hopefully can use him but not, if nothing happens, for at least the next 10 days.
“You can’t be nearly fit, then playing, then injured again, then nearly fit, then playing, then injured again, then during training something like injured again, and then you say after five days: ‘Come on!’ to pick the day you get him and then he gets the next injury. We have to be patient. That’s not my best skill but in this case I have no other choice.”

Klopp identifies issue behind lack of goals

Jurgen Klopp has once more offered his backing to Christian Benteke, and has discussed Liverpool’s lack of goals.
Benteke is Liverpool’s top goalscorer this season with seven in 21, but questions have been asked of the suitability of the £32.5million man in this current Reds side.
Roberto Firmino has been favoured in a false nine position in recent games in place of Benteke, but Klopp was pleased with the Belgian’s efforts in the FA Cup third-round replay against Exeter on Wednesday.
“Everyone could see against Exeter he was involved in two of the three goals,” Klopp said. “He’s working hard and his attitude was really good.
“Sometimes he tried too hard but he knows where goal is. It’s something we need to develop together. He knows what we want to do.”
Eleven teams have scored more Premier League goals than Liverpool this season, but Klopp believes that a simple change in decision-making from his players could facilitate a upturn in fortunes.
“We have to take the right decision in the right situation,” Klopp said. “There have been a lot of moments when if we had been cooler we’d have taken the right option.
“When you don’t score a lot of goals you have to have a very disciplined defence.”
He added: “It is better to shoot than not to shoot.”
As Daniel Storey wrote in Winners and Losers:
‘Liverpool have taken 365 shots this season, compared to 387 by Manchester City and 333 by Arsenal. They rank second in the Premier League (behind City), yet 12th for goals scored. That is the problem.
‘It’s not hard to see why. Liverpool have taken 161 shots from outside the area, five more than City and 71 more than Arsenal. They have scored five times from those 161 shots. Only 35 of them (22%) have even been on target.’

TRANSFER GOSSIP

LIVERPOOL IN FOR ALEX TEIXEIRA
Well, well. The conventional wisdom was that Chelsea were the only club in for Alex Teixeira, but we bring you interesting news. Interesting news via lovely man Tony Barrett.
So there you go. What does that bid say about Daniel Sturridge’s place at Liverpool, given Jurgen Klopp’s public backing of Christian Benteke?

UNITED WEIGH UP CAVANI BID
That’s the claim from ESPN, who have reliable sources within Old Trafford. They believe that Manchester United are considering making a move for the Paris Saint-Germain striker in a bid to increase their threat in front of goal.
The report also says that Edinson Cavani is keen on a move, which doesn’t surprise us one little bit. The Uruguayan has regularly been played out of position in Paris and has largely failed to impress whenever he has operated as a central striker this season.
Cavani has scored ten league goals in 17 matches this season, but it’s hard to judge his record on those numbers given PSG’s domestic domination. Laurent Blanc’s side are 21 points clear after 21 matches, having dropped six league points since March 15, 2015.

ASTON VILLA TO SIGN VIDIC
It’s a line that sounds like good business for Villa until you look at Nemanja Vidic’s recent history. The central defender hasn’t played a league minute this season, and has just left Internazionale by mutual consent.
The suspicion is that Vidic’s legs have gone, hence why Villa have been offered a chance to sign him on a free deal. The Serbian would be better off going to MLS, rather than being made to look foolish in the Premier League. Tarnished legacies and all that.

PEDRO TO LEAVE CHELSEA?
After a wonderful debut away at West Brom, Pedro’s Chelsea career has nosedived before plateauing at a fairly miserable level. He has started the club’s last few games, but only due to Eden Hazard’s injury. The Spaniard was removed at half-time against Everton.
The report comes from David Woods in the Daily Star, the paper’s chief football writer. It claims that Chelsea are not wanting to let Pedro go during the January transfer window, but are considering a summer exit for the £21m signing. It mentions Valencia and Villarreal as possible destinations.
With Kevin de Bruyne, Andre Schurrle, Juan Cuadrado and Mohamed Salah all failing to impress, Chelsea don’t mind struggling to integrate a wide player.

AND THE REST
Spurs have entered the race to sign Alvaro Morata… Chelsea flop Papy Djilobodji has undergone a medical ahead of a loan move to Werder Bremen… Fiorentina want to sign Mauro Zarate from West Ham… West Brom are demanding £30 million for Saido Berahino… Paris Saint-Germain are showing an interest in Chelsea striker Diego Costa… West Ham United are confident of completing a loan deal for Nigeria international Emmanuel Emenike to ease the club’s striker crisis… Victor Valdes has has been offered an escape route from Manchester United with Standard Liege ready to take the goalkeeper on loan until the end of the season… Chelsea did not secure a sell-on clause when negotiating Romelu Lukaku’s move to Everton… Southampton are on the trail of Porto defender Bruno Martins Indi.

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool will “watch the market”, but remained coy on rumours linking the club with Alex Teixeira.
Liverpool emerged as potential suitors for Teixeira after reportedly submitting a bid of around £24million for the Shakhtar Donetsk attacking midfielder.
Reports then broke that Teixeira had pulled a hamstring within hours of the bid, but Klopp had little to say on the links.
“No. I have nothing to say about this,” he said. “I could say a lot about a lot of players.”
He then joked with a reporter to “be careful with your questions,” before continuing: “If you are under pressure people want prices which you think are crazy. It’s not perfect time to buy but we have to watch the market.
“If we find a solution and a player who can help us then we’ll try.
“I think I always said if our situation changed then we would have to change.
“If there’s a good player who can help us then we think about it.”

Liverpool’s forgotten centre-back Tiago Ilori is determined to learn from the mistakes he has made but has already put his wasted loan spell at Aston Villa behind him.
The Portugal Under-21 international made his Anfield debut – just his second appearance in almost two and a half years – in the comfortable 3-0 FA Cup third-round replay win over League Two Exeter.
Due to a series of loans his first game in a red shirt came just over a week ago in the original encounter after he was recalled from Villa – where he failed to get a first-team match in three months.
Chances may be limited at Liverpool from now until the end of the season, especially as they face Premier League opposition in West Ham in the next round and also because manager Jurgen Klopp has brought in Steven Caulker, a player with proven top flight experience, on loan.
However, it appears the German will reset the youth system in the summer and Ilori, 23 next month, still believes he has a chance to prove himself after being farmed out to Granada and Bordeaux in successive seasons
“You always have to look at the positives but even the negatives you can learn from and that is something I try to work hard on every day and not make the same mistake twice; mistakes maybe like, at times, not working as hard as I needed to, just mistakes in general,” he told Press Association Sport.
“It is not easy [adjusting to loans] but that is part of being a footballer. We have to adapt and do our best.
“I came here a couple of years ago (September 2013) and I wasn’t here more than four months before going on loan.
“I never really got comfortable enough and that is definitely something I needed. Working with the same people every day is important.
“I am not trying to think too far ahead. I am just working hard every day, getting as many minutes as I can and be ready when I am needed to play as there are great players in my position.”
Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Jurgen Klopp and Cafu all welcomed Jon Flanagan’s return after a 20-month injury lay-off on Wednesday.
Full-back Flanagan made his long-awaited return to the Liverpool first team on Wednesday, coming on as a second-half substitute against Exeter in the FA Cup third round.
Flanagan entered the Anfield pitch to a rapturous applause, crowning his comeback from two knee operations.
The 23-year-old last featured in May 2014, and replaced Connor Randall on 51 minutes to mark his return after 20 months on the sidelines.
Jurgen Klopp spoke highly of the defender post-match, telling BT Sport: “When Flanno came in it was a great moment after this long time. To be honest I haven’t had him very often in training until now because we need really to be careful with him and it’s not allowed to be too intensive. It’s always training, break, recovery.
“He had a few minutes in the U21s. Connor Randall had a little muscle problem so we had the chance to bring Flanno and it was a real emotional moment.
“I think nobody deserved it more than him. It’s such a long time, an unbelievable long time. Since I’ve been here he’s always been injured but never in a bad mood.
“That’s unbelievable. He’s a really strong lad, hopefully now it goes on.
“We have to see how he is tomorrow, take it day by day but it’s some of the best news we could get him being back.”
Former captain Steven Gerrard also reserved words of praise for his old team-mate before the game, when Flanagan was named among the substitutes.
“So happy to see this fella close to returning to fitness,” Gerrard said. “He has put so much graft in to get himself back fit.
“I’m sure Anfield will erupt when he runs back onto the pitch after an 18-month lay off. Good luck mate. Great to see you back, and we have missed you. #cafu.”
Flanagan himself posted on Twitter on Wednesday evening, thanking the fans for their support.
“Buzzing to be back. What a reception I received, one I will never forget, fantastic. YNWA,” he said.

CARTHAGE EAGLES AND SUPER EAGLES CANCELS OUT

Super Eagles helmsman Sunday Oliseh made three changes to his starting line for the game with Chisom Chikatara, Austin Obaroakpo and Usman Mohammed all getting their first starts in Rwanda.

In the opening eight minutes, the Carthage Eagles had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for offside.

Ten minutes into the match, Ifeanyi Matthew saw his cut-back almost turned home by the under pressure Tunisian defence. The danger was averted.

One minute later, Chisom Chikatara had his first chance but his effort was blocked after good work from Usman Mohammed.

It was a game that was full of attacking flavour.

Ahmed Akaichi beat Stephen Eze for pace but the Sunshine Stars defender blocked his shot in the fifteenth minute.

The skillful Akaichi was at his tricky best again one minute later. This time his excellent delivery was smartly saved by Ikechukwu Ezenwa.

The Carthage Eagles were more purposeful in the first half and they had two chances to be on the front foot.

Abdelkader Oueslati’s 23 metres strike was palmed away by Super Eagles goalkeeper Ezenwa three minutes to the half-hour mark.

Oueslati missed a close range chance after a good cross from the right in the 28th minute.

Super Eagles launched a foray upfront, with Osas Okoro crossing to the path of Chikatara. However the Tunisian defence line cleared to safety.

The Tunisians were denied a legitimate goal by the match referee in the 45th minute. Ali Malloul’s teasing cross was headed home by Akaichi but the goal was ruled out.

The assistant referee thought the ball had crossed the line when the cross was whipped to the path of Akaichi. Replays showed the match officials were wrong.

Seven minutes into the second half, Nigeria went ahead against the run of play and it was Chikatara the goal scorer after he was set up by Osas Okoro for his 4th goal of the tournament.

On the hour mark, Prince Aggreh failed to make the most of a through ball by Mohammed.

The mobile Akaichi came close for Tunisia, but his header was off target in the 63rd minute of explosive action.

Tunisia deservedly drew level twenty minutes from time. Akaichi turned inside the box and scored his third goal of the tournament.

The Carthage Eagles came close to taking the lead fro the again, but Kalu cleared it off the line as Tunisia piled on more pressure.

Ikechukwu Ibenegbu came close but his final effort missed target in the 81st minute. Ezenwa saved a strike from Mathlouthi as Tunisia searched for the winner one minute from time

The game ended one-all with the Tunisians the better side.

How The Two Teams Lined Up

Super Eagles: Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Matthew Etim, Chima Akas, Austin Obaroakpo, Stephen Eze (Orji Kalu 46’), Paul Onobi, Ifeanyi Matthew, Osas Okoro, Prince Aggreh (Ezekiel Bassey 81’), Usman Mohammed (Ikechukwu Ibenegbu 71’), Chisom Chikatara

Tunisia: Rami Jeridi, Hamza Mathlouthi, Zied Boughattas, Zied Derbali, Ali Maaloul, Karim Aouadhi, Marouane Tej, Abdelkader Oueslati, Amine Ben Amor, Mohamed Ali Moncer, Ahmed Akaichi

EMENIKE TO JOIN WEST HAM UNITED.

West Ham manager, Slaven Bilic, has confirmed that the Hammers are working on a deal to sign former Nigeria national - teamer Emmanuel Emenike from Fenerbahce before the close of the transfer market.

The 28-year-old will not have work permit problems as he was an important member of the Super Eagles until October when he called time on his international career after a dispute with the powers that be.

“There is a new situation with a couple of our players might leave the club and if that happens then we are going to try to get one in - and Emenike is one of them. But is not a done deal, ” said Slaven Bilic.
 
“Of course he is a good player. He is one of the players we have been linked with and we will see.”

Emenike spent the first half of this season at Al Ain, scoring 7 goals in 11 appearances for the United Arab Emirates team in the league.

TRANSFER GOSSIP..

MANE TO UNITED FOR £62.5M? BUT NOT REALLY
‘Louis van Gaal has been told that Sadio Mane will cost a stunning £62.5m,’ reads the first line of The Sun’s Sunday morning claim.
It’s mostly ‘stunning’ that The Sun occasionally choose to add on the wages when discussing a player’s fee and other times don’t. It’s normally when they have the same story as other papers and want to shift some copies and garner some clicks, he said cynically.
This £62.5m is comprised of a £30m transfer fee – which isn’t particularly stunning – and a wage of £125,000 per week. That’s less than half the amount of Manchester United’s highest earner.
Head to the calculator, where £125,000 x 52 weeks x 5 years = £32.5m.
So yes, Mane will cost United that. Just so long as a) he does move, b) that is the right fee, c) that is the right wage and d) he stays for the entire length of the deal.
You forgot National Insurance and petrol money for driving him up to Old Trafford from Southampton, lads.

ARSENAL IN FOR AUBAMEYANG
It’s a rumour that has been mentioned before, but we still can’t see it happening. Again, it’s in The Sun.
The story is that Arsenal will need to pay £42m for Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Why are his wages not included in this one, eh? Yet the price is still ‘staggering’.
The Sun say that an ‘intermediary’ is talking to Dortmund on Arsenal’s behalf. Reckon it’s probably worth doing your own dealings on this one.
We are also told that Aubameyang has ‘told friends’ that he wants to play in the Premier League, yet the quotes given from a source say nothing of the sort.
“Wenger knows the fee is very high,” the source says. “Yet this is a striker who can make a massive difference for him and help win the title for the first time in 12 years. But there is a lot of interest in him.” Cheers, Sherlock.

LIVERPOOL PRICED OUT OF TER STEGEN MOVE
After two rumours of things that probably won’t happen, here’s a rumour that says something certainly won’t. What fun.
The Daily Mirror report that Liverpool fear that they have been priced out of a move for Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
Liverpool are reportedly prepared to offer £12m for Ter Stegen, who is Barca’s reserve goalkeeper in La Liga but plays in the Champions League. Unfortunately, Barca want £20m.
Klopp has continuously insisted that he is happy with his goalkeeping options, but the thought is that this is merely a smokescreen to protect Simon Mignolet.

AND THE REST
Manchester United could try and sign Lazio’s Brazilian forward Felipe Anderson, 22, and are prepared to pay £30m… Bojan could leave Stoke as he has a £10m release fee… Paul Pogba says that life at Manchester United was like a holiday compared to the work at Juventus… Swansea will target Charlie Austin and Patrick Bamford… Newcastle also want Austin… Norwich have joined the race for Loic Remy… Celta Vigo’s Nolito will snub Arsenal (did they even offer?) for Barcelona… AC Milan want Isco, rivalling Manchester City for the midfielder.

CLEAR THE SHELVES
Everyone is a winner. Shelvey has been pretty much frozen out at Swansea, Palace could do with options in central midfield, and Alan Pardew gets to help the 23-year-old realise his potential of the ‘next Steven Gerrard’. And we get to watch it all.

FELLAINI TO MILAN
Oh hey there rumour we really didn’t see coming. Italian outlets Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica both say that AC Milan are interested in taking Marouane Fellaini on loan from Manchester United.
That’s all very well, but would United really bother loaning him out? If they’re going to get rid of Fellaini then they will at least want some money for him, rather than freezing him out of the first-team picture before getting him back in the summer.
In fact, the stories say that loan bids have indeed been rejected, but that the club do not have the money (or want?) to pay an asking price of close to £20m. Nor us.

REMY TO NEWCASTLE
The Newcastle Chronicle says that Chelsea have offered Newcastle the chance to take striker Loic Remy on loan. It’s a move that does make some sense, given that Remy was pretty successful at Newcastle, and has been a load of old toss at Chelsea.
The Chronicle say that Chelsea have made the first move regarding the deal, but that the player would be keen.
In relaying the story, the Daily Express give us this line: ‘Remy is keen for games in an effort to force his way into Didier Deschamps’ squad for Euro 2016.’
Talk about walking before you can run.

LUKAKU TO UNITED
Oh, transfer window, how we’ve missed you. It’s set to be a fun month, folks.
We start Monday morning with news from foreign lands. According to Dutch daily newspaper De Telegraaf, Louis van Gaal has identified the striker he wants to cure Manchester United’s goalscoring problems.
‘Manchester United is ready to pull the purse strings open for an extra striker,’ claims the outlet. They add that United scouts are constantly watching Everton striker Romelu Lukaku. And so they should. Lukaku has 18 goals and five assists in 24 starts for the Toffees this season; he’s quite good.
The Dutch paper, typically reliable on their Van Gaal information, also say Lukaku will cost ‘at least 50million euros’, or £37m. Everton signed him for a club-record £28million in the summer of 2014. The 22-year-old has scored 38 goals in 71 appearances since. His price has probably gone up more than ‘at least’ £9m.

LIVERPOOL AND SPURS WANT WONDERKID
‘Liverpool and Tottenham are battling it out to sign record-breaking Venezuelan wonderkid Adalberto Penaranda,’ reads the headline on The Sun’s website on Monday morning. Big news, that. Can’t say we’ve heard of the kid, but a record-breaker? A wonderkid? Consider our interest piqued.
For those who know not of the vast wonders of Football Manager, Penaranda is a striker for La Liga side Granada, on loan from Udinese, and surely soon to be on loan at Watford. The 18-year-old has scored four goals in seven league games this season, becoming the youngest player in Granada’s history, and the youngest foreigner to score a double. Sounds decent. He only scored four goals in two years at Deportivo La Guaira, mind.
The Sun also cover an incident which occurred with regards to Penaranda in early 2015. ‘Penaranda’s meteoric rise is even more remarkable considering he was incredibly SHOT last year,’ they say. How can you be ‘incredibly shot?’
Interesting to note is that The Sun attribute this to ‘reports in Spain’. That would be the infamous Fichajes.net. Unreliable and untrustworthy enough to not name, but reliable and trustworthy enough to take transfer rumours from? Weird.

MANCHESTER CITY ‘HOT HOT’ ON SANE
Another transfer rumour from faraway lands here; Manchester City want Leroy Sane.
City have been previously linked with the Schalke forward, and German newspaper Bild are back for more. They claim that the winger will be the subject of an ‘imminent formal offer’. 55million euros, or £40million, will be the initial offer.
Bild add that City’s interest in Sane is ‘hot hot’, but that Schalke are unlikely to part with one of their ‘crown jewels’. The 19-year-old has become a regular fixture in the German club’s first team this season, scoring four and assisting four in 17 Bundesliga games. Considering City are the top scorers in the Premier League, and are hardly lacking attacking options, an offer looks doubtful.

AND THE REST
Arsenal will recall winger Serge Gnabry from his loan at West Brom, and send him out to the Championship… Manchester United scouts have been watching Benfica starlet Renato Sanches – and have given Louis van Gaal a glowing report…AC Milan want to sign Branislav Ivanovic from Chelsea this month…Marko Grujic has arrived on Merseyside to undergo a medical examination before completing a £5.1million move to Liverpool from Red Star Belgrade…Arsenal will complete the £5million capture of Basel midfielder Mohamed Elneny next week…Manchester United have been wholly unconvinced for the past three months that Southampton would sell them Sadio Mane, whom they are still interested in adding to their strike force, in the January transfer window…Ronald Koeman will hold talks with Mane today with Southampton insistent that the midfielder will not be sold this month…Mane expects to stay at Southampton this month but is likely to leave at the end of the season…Andros Townsend looks set to leave Tottenham after being left out of their squad at Everton.
Manchester United will let Nick Powell go out on loan for the rest of the season…Norwich City have made a £7.3million bid for Inter Milan defender Andrea Ranocchia…Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew has Angers midfielder Cheikh N’Doye in his sights…Watford want Malaga goalkeeper Carlos Kameni to battle for the No.1 spot at Vicarage Road. The 31-year-old has a £1million release clause…West Ham forward Mauro Zarate has been targeted by Spanish club Malaga…Charlton are closing on a double deal for West Ham midfielder Diego Poyet and free agent Roger Johnson…Sam Allardyce plans a mini-clearout of his Sunderland fringe players this month. Will Buckley, Danny Graham and Charis Mavris have been told they can leave, while Liam Bridcutt and Valentin Roberge are also available…Swansea City will soon find out whether Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli wants to be their new boss as he enters crunch talks with his current employees.

HERRERA TO CITY
New year, same old bullsh*t. Ander Herrera to Manchester City, anyone?
That is the line peddled by Spanish publication Don Balon, which is predictably picked up by the Daily Mirror and Daily Express, among other journalistic luminaries. The claim is that Pep Guardiola, favourite for the City manager role in the summer, wants to take the Spanish midfielder across the city to the Etihad.
It remains a mystery as to how rumours from Don Balon, a relatively new Spanish website which has only recently emerged, are treated with a sense of reliability. A list of Don Balon transfer rumours in recent weeks:
* Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United.
* Alexis Sanchez to Real Madrid.
* Javier Hernandez to Arsenal.
* Falcao to Barcelona.
* Mesut Ozil to Real Madrid.
* Memphis Depay to Real Madrid.
* Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Manchester United. And Chelsea. And Arsenal.
The whole ‘ooo, a Spanish outlet reporting transfer rumours’ shtick wears off after a while. For what it’s worth, the website is registered in London, not Spain. Weird…

ISCO INFERNO
This is a transfer rumour which is slowly boiling under the radar: Isco to Manchester City.
The Spaniard has fallen out of favour with Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez this season, and Manuel Pellegrini, former manager of the midfielder while at Malaga, is interested.
The Daily Mirror are reporting that Isco will seek ‘showdown talks’ with the Spanish club next Tuesday, and is open to moving to the Etihad if they prove fruitless. His representatives have even ‘sounded out’ City over a potential loan move this January, with a permanent £25million deal to follow in the summer.
City could face competition from neighbours United or Chelsea for the 23-year-old, who has started just nine of Real’s 17 La Liga games so far this season. Isco joined Real in the summer of 2013, amid intense interest from City, for £23million. He may be struggling this season, but has his valuation really only increased by £2million?

SECRET AGENT
“PSG and Arsenal are clubs at the top of the world and their interest is certainly gratifying, but right now Lorenzo is only thinking about Napoli.”
Excellent work from Antonio Ottaiano, agent of Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne. It bears the hallmarks of a perfect agent comment:
* ‘Revealing’ previously unreported interest from other clubs.
* Complimenting said clubs, and admitting the interest is welcome.
* Maintaining loyalty to the current club, but adding a “right now” for effect.
* Making such comments just as the transfer window re-opens.
Ottaiano made similar comments on the Italian winger last summer, saying his client was “honoured” to be linked to the Gunners. The 24-year-old has 23 goals in 138 appearances for Napoli. Thanks, but no thanks, says Arsene.


‘Cesc Fabregas has been left battling for his future at Chelsea,’ is the first paragraph in a piece by John Cross in the Daily Mirror.
‘Mirror Sport understands that Fabregas, 28, is still central to Guus Hiddink’s plans,’ is the fifth paragraph in the exact same piece by John Cross in the Daily Mirror.
Wait, what?
In an effort to re-hash claims earlier this week regarding Italian interest in Fabregas, the Mirror have got themselves all confused. Cross insists that Fabregas is ‘fighting for his future’, yet ‘is central to Hiddink’s plans’. No wonder Fabregas is playing like s**t if he is being told that his future is uncertain but he is a key player under the new manager.
Cross claims Hiddink is eager to play more defensive midfielders in defensive midfield. Shocker. Nemanja Matic and John Obi Mikel will therefore anchor Chelsea’s midfield for the foreseeable, which is a hilarious thought. As a result, Fabregas must fight for his place further up the pitch, most likely in the No 10 role. Only Oscar and Willian have played more often there this season. This is turning out to be a rather underwhelming ‘battle’.

LIVERPOOL WANT A LEFT-BACK
We kick off Wednesday morning’s gossip with a lovely little EXCLUSIVE from the Daily Telegraph: Liverpool will bid £4million for a left-back. Poor Alberto Moreno.
Oh, but this is a signing for the future, it seems. Jurgen Klopp is heavily interested in Leicester youngster Ben Chilwell, 19 years of age, and wanted by Arsenal and Spurs. The Gunners even had a £3.5million bid rejected for him in the summer.
Klopp has been chatting to his close friend David Wagner, formerly of Borussia Dortmund himself, and now Huddersfield Town manager. Chilwell has impressed on loan with the Terriers this season. Wagner has ‘given glowing reports’ on his progress, and Klopp is suitably interested.
Chilwell is likely to be recalled by Claudio Ranieri in January after injury to Jeffrey Schlupp, but Liverpool remain confident of a deal. According to the Telegraph’s John Percy, the left-back ‘is now emerging as a priority’, and ‘Klopp has been told that he would be ready for the first-team if a deal was struck’. He’s the new Joe Gomez, basically.

BARCA PAIR TO LONDON
Heading into 2016, Arsenal are top of the Premier League, and Tottenham are fourth. Just four points separates the two bitter rivals, with the January transfer window providing plenty of opportunity to strengthen for either side. Reports in Spain suggest they’ll do exactly that.
Mind you, ‘strengthen’ may not be the word. The familiar line, this from Spanish newspaper Sport, is that Barcelona pair Sandro Ramirez and Sergi Samper could be sold this winter. The former, Sandro, will be a target of Spurs in January, if only to confuse their whole fanbase. He is no giant, combative central midfielder, he’s a forward. Sport say that Sandro, who has a release clause of €12million, has already been offered a four-and-a-half-year contract at White Hart Lane. All Spurs need to do now is sort out that little thing called a ‘transfer fee’. Remember when tapping up was a thing?
On to Samper now, who has been linked with Arsenal since the dawn of time. The central midfielder’s release clause is also €12million. Naturally, Arsenal are willing to offer just €6million. They prefer Kim Kallstrom, clearly (please make it happen).
Sandro has three goals in 18 appearances this season for Barcelona, a hat-trick against a lower-league side in the cup his only offering. Samper has played nine games in the Barca first team since breaking through in 2014. ‘Uninspiring’ is not the word.

THE END FOR TOWNSEND
Sunderland look to have beaten Newcastle in the most underwhelming transfer race of the year: the battle to sign Andros Townsend.
The Independent claim Sam Allardyce’s side are willing to take Townsend off Spurs, with the north London club hoping to offload the out-of-favour winger this January. Chairman Daniel Levy has put a £14million price tag on Townsend, which is the most Daniel Levy thing to have ever happened. This is a player who has started three games in all competitions this season, none of which have come in the Premier League.
Anyway, Sunderland have persuaded Townsend to move to the sunny north-east by offering him a lot of money, basically. The 24-year-old will see his current £40,000-a-week salary ‘significantly increase’ at the Stadium of Light. We’re in the wrong job.
Watford and West Brom were also interested in Townsend, who is said to be eager to leave Spurs as he is worried that his place in England’s Euro 2016 squad is in jeopardy. That ship has sailed, fella.

AND THE REST
Manchester City are keeping tabs on the contract situation of young Liverpool forward Jerome Sinclair, who could be available as a free agent in the summer…Manchester United are monitoring Everton’s emerging midfielder Joe Williams…Swansea City will consider offloading Bafetimbi Gomis to Qatari club Lekhwiya next month as the club prepare to overhaul their squad, with a loan move for Chelsea’s Patrick Bamford expected to be considered…Patrick Bamford is ready to disappoint Middlesbrough by seeking to stay in the Premier League…Newcastle United are considering a £10million swoop for CSKA Moscow and Russia playmaker Alan Dzagoev…West Brom are set to hold talks with Arsenal over the possibility of scrapping Serge Gnabry’s season-long loan move…Norwich City have agreed a deal in principle with Everton for the £8m purchase of Steven Naismith, but they may face competition from Sunderland, Swansea City, Aston Villa and Newcastle United…Leicester City’s £9million striker Andrej Kramaric is wanted by Torino.

RAFA OUT, ZIZOU IN.
Real Madrid  have decided to sack Rafael Benitez  following the club's strings of poor performances.

Spanish publication Marca have indicated that Madrid president Fiorentino Perez is expected to officially announce the news on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, Los Blancos legend and Madrid's B-team Castilla coach Zinedine Zidane is touted as the favourite to succeed the outgoing Benitez.

Another reason for the Spanish tactian's dismasal is believed to be his quarrelsome relationship with some of the big-name players in the dressing room.
The Spanish giants are currently one point adrift of La Liga leaders and arch rivals Barcelona, with 21 points from nine games, but were notably disqualified from the Copa Del Rey - depsite a 3-1 first-leg victory - for fielding an inelligible player against Cadiz.