Football Rumours From The Media

02 January 2018 09:12

What the papers say

Barcelona may have to be willing to pay an "astronomical" fee if they want to bring Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho to the Nou Camp, according to the Telegraph. It comes after Nike reportedly advertised a Barcelona shirt for sale with the Brazilian's name on it - fuelling speculation of a January move. But Liverpool do not seem prepared to allow their star player to leave unless Barcelona can come up with an offer to beat last summer's bid of £115million.

Negotiations between Everton and Besiktas look uncertain following reports the Turkish club have upped their asking price to £27million for Cenk Tosun, the Daily Mail claims. The Toffees were hoping to land the 26-year-old for £25million and are said to be reluctant to increase their bid, with boss Sam Allardyce saying "we've done all we can", the paper reports.

Swansea may be looking to West Ham's Diafra Sakho as part of their strategy to bring in out-of-favour players who are looking for more play time ahead of the World Cup, according to the Guardian. But any potential move by Sakho, who has not yet made the starting XI for the Hammers this season, may rely on any possible agreement by Swansea to lose Alfie Mawson and Ki Sung-yueng, who are said to be on West Ham's radar.

Speculation linking Moussa Dembele to Brighton appears to be growing - but the club are keen to know his level of interest in any potential move before making an offer, the Daily Mail says. It comes as several other Premier League teams also seem keen on targeting the Celtic star, including Stoke, West Ham and Southampton.

Manchester United are reportedly in discussions with Paris St Germain to bring Lucas Moura to the Premier League. According to The Sun, contact has been made regarding the 25-year-old Brazilian, but China's Hebei Fortune are also said to be interested in the winger.

Social media round-up

@BBCSport - 'Who else is going to do it?' - Mark Hughes is confident about keeping his job as Stoke boss

@TeleFootball - West Brom make a formal complaint to the Premier League over their "terrible" fixture congestion

Players to watch

Monaco defender Terence Kongolo could be heading for Huddersfield on loan, it is reported. The Huddersfield Examiner said boss David Wagner confirmed a deal was "close" to being met for the 23-year-old.

The near completion of Alejandro Grimaldo's move with Napoli could open up the possibility of Faouzi Ghoulam's move to Manchester United, according to Portugal's Record newspaper. The club appears set to trigger his £53million release clause now that 22-year-old Grimaldo could replace him at the Italian club.

Source: PA-WIRE