Plus: West Ham join Hugo Ekitike race; Man Utd want £25m for Donny van de Beek, with Real Sociedad linked; Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne attracting Saudi Arabia interest; Galatasaray to target Tanguy Ndombele
All the top stories and transfer rumours from Friday’s newspapers…
DAILY MIRROR
Julen Lopetegui is considering his position as Wolves manager after losing a series of players this summer without being able to replace any of them with players other than free transfers, and now potentially also seeing Max Kilman sold to Napoli.
West Ham have joined the race to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Hugo Ekitike, who also reportedly has interest from Nottingham Forest, Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus.
Inter Milan are close to securing Shakhtar Donetsk goalkeeper Anatoly Trubin as a replacement for now Manchester United No 1 Andre Onana.
Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie favours a move to Saudi Arabia over a return to Serie A with Juventus.
Warrington Wolves star George Williams has admitted the club’s players are firmly to blame for Daryl Powell’s dismissal as head coach.
THE TIMES
Marcus Rashford is ready to bear the load for Manchester United up front this season with his sights on breaking Wayne Rooney’s scoring record and hitting a 40-goal target.
Marcus Smith is set to go to the Rugby World Cup with England with coach Steve Borthwick keen to have additional support at fly-half.
DAILY MAIL
Nottingham Forest could face legal action from a number of former players and agents who are owed millions of pounds in overdue payments, which could even lead to a winding-up petition being issued if those payments are further delayed.
Manchester United want a fee of £25m for midfielder Donny van de Beek, who continues to be linked with Real Sociedad.
Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne is attracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is considering offers from Besiktas and clubs in Saudi Arabia with an overseas adventure likely next for the former Liverpool forward.
Juventus will turn their attentions to a third spell in Turin for Alvaro Morata if they are unable to bring Romelu Lukaku back to the club from Chelsea.
Galatasaray are set to switch their attentions to Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele after failing to agree a deal with Manchester United outcast Fred.
England’s rugby union players took the chance to quiz Gareth Southgate when the England manager turned up at their training session on Thursday.
BLOOMBERG
Chelsea’s owners Clearlake Capital are considering the possibility of attracting investment as they look to potentially raise in the region of £400m in additional capital.
THE SUN
Chelsea will make another effort to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo with an offer expected to be around £90m.
James Maddison has pleaded with new Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane to stay at the club so they can renew their England partnership.
Arsenal have made their first official bid for Brentford goalkeeper David Raya amid reports that personal terms have already been agreed.
Goncalo Ramos, a former target for a number of Premier League clubs, is likely to be the player Paris Saint-Germain target if they lose Kylian Mbappe this summer.
Sergio Ramos has delayed holding talks with Saudi Arabian clubs in the hope of a reunion with former LaLiga rival and PSG team-mate Lionel Messi.
Inter Milan have interest in Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu according to reports in Italy.
Jake Paul remains certain that he has all the tools and punching power to become a world boxing champion inside the next three years.
DAILY EXPRESS
Reports in Italy claim that talks between Manchester United and Fiorentina over midfield target Sofyan Amrabat could intensify this weekend as the Serie A team is in England for the Sela Cup in Newcastle.
DeAndre Yedlin has revealed it was his call to hand over the Inter Miami captaincy to Lionel Messi with no prompting from Messi himself or head coach Gerardo Martino.
THE GUARDIAN
Willian has agreed terms on a contract with Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab less than two weeks after signing a deal to stay on with Fulham.
David Moyes is trying to reignite West Ham’s move for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse by convincing the club to include Flynn Downes in a player-plus-cash deal.
FIFA’s investigation into alleged misconduct within the Zambia team at the Women’s World Cup surrounds claims coach Bruce Mwape rubbed his hands on the chest of one of his players two days before they played Costa Rica.
EVENING STANDARD
Tottenham are in advanced talks with Wolfsburg defender Micky van de Ven and remain in contact with Bayer Leverkusen about Edmond Tapsoba as they are not ruling out bringing in two new central defenders.
THE ATHLETIC
Tickets for Lionel Messi’s first Inter Miami away game in Dallas on Sunday are being sold on resale sites for up to £7,500 after selling out in only 22 minutes when released earlier on Thursday.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Chelsea should secure a payment of around £13m as part of the deal taking defender Tino Livramento from Southampton to Newcastle United.
England will consider taking fast bowler Jofra Archer to the World Cup in India even if they know he will only be available later in the tournament.
Ben Foakes has admitted to feeling some sense of bitterness after losing his England wicketkeeper role to fit-again Jonny Bairstow ahead of the Ashes.
THE INDEPENDENT
Leeds United have expressed an interest in signing defender Brandon Williams from fierce rivals Manchester United.
DAILY RECORD
Free agent midfielder Haris Belkebla has emerged as a target for Celtic, although they will face competition from Sheffield United for his signature.
Everton are trying to sign Southampton winger Kamaldeen Sulemana on loan.
Napoli sensation Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been left “annoyed” by those linking him with a move to Arsenal, according to reports.
