adminComments made by Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, 24, that he will be staying at Wolfsburg have been played down by his agent, leaving the way open for a possible £50 million move to Manchester City. (Times – subscription required) Chelsea have made a new £30 million bid for Everton defender John Stones, 21, but may have to increase that by a further £10m to sign the England international. (Daily Telegraph)
In addition to Stones, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will be given funds by Russian owner Roman Abramovich to bring in two other top players before the transfer window closes following their disappointing start to the campaign. (Daily Mirror)
Everton will make a move for either Swansea’s centre-half Ashley Williams, 30, or Napoli’s defender Kalidou Koulibaly, 24, if Stones does leave Goodison Park. (Daily Star)
Arsenal and Manchester United have been alerted to the availability of Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 33, who has been told he can leave Paris St-Germain in a cut-price deal. (Daily Mail)
Manchester City have been told they will have to increase their offer for 27-year-old Valencia defender Nicolas Otamendi. (Sky Sports)
City will not let France defender Eliaquim Mangala, 24, go to Valencia as part of any deal for Argentine Otamendi. (Daily Express)
Manchester United’s chief executive Ed Woodward has flown to Barcelona in an attempt to conclude a deal for Spain international forward Pedro, 28. (Daily Mail)
Newcastle have pulled out of the running for QPR striker Charlie Austin, 26, with the Championship club holding out for a £15 million fee. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Austin could be on the move, though, with West Ham keen to sign the former Burnley and Swindon striker. (Evening Standard)
Newcastle are closing in on a £12 million move for Marseille winger Florian Thauvin, 22, in a deal which could see Frenchman Remy Cabella, 25, move in the opposite direction. (Guardian)
Tottenham’s Argentine forward Erik Lamela, 23, could be a target for Juventus if the Italian champions are unable to buy team-mate and Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen, 23. (Evening Standard)
Sunderland want to bring Aston Villa utility player Kieran Richardson, 30, back to the Stadium of Light for a second spell. (Daily Mirror)
Southampton are close to a deal to sign Napoli’s French defender Kalidou Koulibaly, 24, for £8,5m and still have an interest in Celtic’s Dutch centre-back Virgil van Dijk, 24. (Daily Star)
Sunderland fear they will lose out to Inter Milan in their pursuit of Liverpool’s Italian forward Fabio Borini, 24. (Sunderland Echo)
West Bromwich Albion have made a £5 million bid for Tottenham’s Argentina defender Federico Fazio, 28, which leaves questions over 33-year-old Joleon Lescott’s future at the Hawthorns. (Daily Telegraph)
Online Reporter