Manchester United’s interest in Alexis Sánchez may be the lead story in most newspaper sports sections – even if, as the Express puts it, “the general belief, both at Old Trafford and the Emirates, remains that City are strong favourites to sign him” – but the Telegraph goes not one but two better, revealing that José Mourinho has also enquired about Leicester’s Jamie Vardy and West Ham’s former Old Trafford favourite Javier Hernández – and that he didn’t stop there, with “a range of strikers” under consideration. Vardy, they say, would cost at least £35m but would need the express permission of the Leicester chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, before he departs, while the Hammers would seek to recoup the £17m they lavished on Hernández in the summer, nearly £10m more than United sold him for less than three years ago. David Moyes, however, seems determined to get rid of the Mexican – Los Angeles FC are also keen – and is lining up Krasnodar’s Fyodor Smolov as a replacement.
Having attempted to hijack Sánchez’s move to Manchester City, United have got the taste for snaffling their rivals’ targets and the Independent reports that they will “strongly challenge Liverpool if the Anfield club go in for Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic in the summer”, hoping to get their mitts not just on his youthful footballing stylings but also “all the commercial value” that would follow from the American becoming his homeland’s first genuine footballing superstar.
Talking of Liverpool, having started only five Premier League games this season and none in Europe, Daniel Sturridge is fretting about his place in the England World Cup squad and has come to the conclusion that his only choice is to leave Liverpool before the month is out. His employers are determined to extract maximum value from the 28-year-old, and will only let him go if someone coughs up £30m. A loan is not being considered although, according to the Liverpool Echo, “that position could change later in the window if the asking price isn’t met and there’s a hefty loan fee on the table”. He could end up replacing Hernández at West Ham, or travelling the well-trodden path between Anfield and Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium, only in an unusual direction.
Chelsea are in the market for a manager, says the Mail, with Antonio Conte “preparing to move on” come the summer – they make Max Allegri and Luis Enrique the favourites to replace the Italian in the Stamford Bridge hotseat, though other names are being considered. The Mirror, meanwhile, is already looking a step further, speculating that Conte will in due course duke it out for the Paris St-Germain job with his great friend and serial striker-considerer José Mourinho.
Thomas Lemar latest: the Arsenal and Liverpool target may leave Monaco this month, but then he might not. Don’t ask Leonardo Jardim, though, with the Frenchman’s manager admitting that “the numbers today are incredibly big”, so big that despite his preference for keeping hold of the forward “everything can change” and “the things I can say today are not true tomorrow”. Riyad Mahrez, meanwhile, is being linked with the same two clubs but finds himelf in a particularly confusing place: Liverpool would prefer not to buy him but might; he would prefer not to join them but could; he wants to sign for Arsenal but probably won’t; Arsenal’s intentions are uncertain.