NEWCASTLE are reportedly in advanced talks with Paulo Fonseca after the club’s Saudi owners sacked Steve Bruce after his first match in charge.
Upset Bruce told Toon fans: “I think this might be my last job. It’s not just about me; it’s taken its toll on my whole family because they are all Geordies and I can’t ignore that.
“They have been worried about me… especially my wife Jan.
“I’m 60 years old and I don’t know if I want to put her through it again.
“We’ve got a good life so, yeah, this will probably be me done as a manager – until I get a phone call from a chairman somewhere asking if I can give them a hand. Never say never, I’ve learnt that.”
However, Toon star Allan Saint-Maximin sent a big statement of support to his former boss, labelling him “one of the most gentle people that I have ever met”.
But the moneybags owners may be about to stiffen Saint-Maximin’s competition for places, with Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele reportedly seeking a move to Tyneside.
Meanwhile Thomas Tuchel has talked up a potential Erling Haaland-Romelu Lukaku strikeforce, with the Dortmund striker’s release clause set to kick in this summer.
For the time being however, Lukaku will be on the sidelines for the Blues next two games at least after picking up an injury in the win over Malmo.
Stay up to date with all the latest from around the clubs with our live blog…
TOON IN NO RUSH
Graeme Jones will take charge of Newcastle’s next two games as the new owners take their time to find a new manager.
The Magpies’ interim boss will be in the dug-out tomorrow at Crystal Palace and next week at home to Chelsea after Steve Bruce’s sacking.
Paulo Fonseca held talks with the club on Wednesday but they plan to speak to a number of other candidates before making a final decision.
And Jones said: “I spoke to the owners on Wednesday morning, and they asked me to take the team on an interim basis for the next two games.
“I’m fully focussed on preparing the team as best I can. I’m motivated in a completely different way than anywhere I’ve ever been.
“I came as a four year old with my father watching Supermac (Malcolm Macdonald) in 1974/75 and was a supporter in the Gallowgate during the Kevin Keegan era.
“I know the culture of this club. Whether I was here or not, I would still only be interested in their results.”
‘SUSPICIOUS MOVEMENTS’
Juventus star Paulo Dybala had his house burgled and his luxury watch collection stolen, according to reports.
The Argentine was not in the property when the alleged robbery took place overnight on Tuesday into Wednesday.
Juventus won 1-0 at Zenit in the Champions League on Wednesday but Dybala, 27, is injured so did not make the trip to Russia.
The robbers reportedly planned the heist assuming he would be out the country and although he was not, fortunately neither him or his partner Oriana Sabatini were in the property when they struck.
Italian reports say a local security guard was patrolling the area when he saw ‘suspicious movements’ inside the property.
The alarm was raised as he knew Dybala was not home.
But the burglars managed to escape his swanky Turin home with the haul of watches, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
They are said to have gained entry by forcing a ground floor window.
ELUSIVE GOAL
Mason Mount has promised Chelsea fans his elusive goal is coming – and when it does more will follow.
The 22-year-old has not scored since May but has vowed to step up in the absence of the stricken Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner.
Mount has pledged to start scoring soon, per the MailOnline, saying: “Getting goals from all areas is a big thing for us, a big positive.
“We can be dangerous from different parts of the team. We can be dangerous from set-pieces and the way we play we get people in the box and create chances.
“It’s about time I got on the scoresheet. I’m getting in the right areas but it’s just not falling for me.
“Hopefully when the first one goes in the floodgates will open.”
GER KIDDING ME
Steven Gerrard has shut down speculation linking him to the vacant Newcastle job and insists he’s happy at Rangers after their Europa League win.
Gerrard, 41, refused to entertain any talk about him taking the vacant Newcastle job when speaking to the media after Rangers’ 2-0 victory over Brondby last night.
When questioned on the subject by a BT Sport reporter, he answered bluntly, completely shutting them down.
Gerrard said: “Do I look happy? Do I look settled? Don’t ask me silly questions then.”
AMERICAN DREAM
Jack Wilshere is keen to join David Beckham’s MLS franchise Inter Miami in the January transfer window.
Wilshere has been a free agent since the end of last season when he was released by Bournemouth and is currently training with Arsenal in a bid to keep up his fitness levels.
The midfielder was interviewed by talkSPORT about his upcoming plans and was asked by co-presenter Darren Bent, who played with him for England, whether he would be keen to joining Inter Miami.
The former Arsenal star responded by jokingly asking Bent if he could put in a good word with Beckham.
Wilshere said: “Oh, that would be nice. You must know Becks? You played with him! Give him a call. Any chance, 10 per cent?”
‘WITH YOU’
Pep Guardiola had a message for stricken Manchester City fan Guido de Pauw on his T-shirt on Friday.
The Etihad boss arrived at his press conference to preview Saturday’s trip to Brighton sporting the words ‘We’re With You Guido”.
Hours after City’s game in Brugge on Tuesday night, De Pauw, 63, was attacked outside a shop as he returned home.
He was immediately rushed to hospital and placed in a coma with doctors declaring he had life-threatening injuries.
Five men have appeared in court over the incident and two remain in custody – while the victim’s condition is described as ‘stable’.
Guardiola is praying Guido will continue to improve and that he will be able to join them at the Etihad in the future.
NO RUBBING
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has dismissed Paul Scholes claims that he was rubbing his hands in anticipation of Manchester United playing his team this week.
United struggled to scrape a 3-2 late draw against Atalanta this week and Scholes reckons Klopp was watching the game with pleasure as his side head to Old Trafford on Sunday.
But Klopp says that isn’t true because he’s aware that United will be formidable opponents.
Klopp said: “No, I was not rubbing my hands. I prepare the team for a tough game against a really good opponent. I don’t prepare them now for ‘Man United and battle of Britain’ and all these things.
“We are long enough together that we know the importance of this game. We prepare them for a really good football team. Plus it’s an away game for us and a home game for them.”
LU-NEY TOONS
Luis Diaz looks set to become the first signing of Newcastle’s new era with the Toon ready to splash out £68m on the in-form Porto striker.
Reports in Portugal suggest that Newcastle are preparing to activate Diaz’s release clause in January, smashing their transfer record of £40m for Joelinton back in 2019.
Diaz could be the first of several Newcastle January signings, with the Saudi owners reportedly prepared to give the new boss a transfer kitty of up to £200m.
Since Newcastle’s £300m Saudi takeover earlier this month, they have been linked with a number of players – including Jesse Lingard, Niklas Sule, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ross Barkley and Ousmane Dembele.
But with Diaz reportedly set to become their first major signing, they’ll need him to hit the ground running, with the club currently 19th and without a win in eight league games.
SO LONG GREAVSIE
Harry Redknapp has joined fellow football legends for the funeral of Spurs and England great Jimmy Greaves.
The much loved striker sadly passed away on September 19 aged 81.
Tottenham’s record goal scorer netted 266 times for the club, and former Spurs boss Redknapp is at Greaves’ funeral to pay his respects.
The funeral is taking place today at Chelmsford Crematorium.
Spurs legend Ossie Ardiles has been pictured alongside Redknapp, as well as Graham Roberts.
Spurs icon Martin Chivers is also at the Crematorium to pay his respects to his former teammate.
KEV IN HEAVEN
Kevin Keegan has spoken for the first time since the £300m Newcastle takeover and shared his delight at Mike Ashley’s departure.
Keegan, 70, has finally broken his silence on the Saudi-backed Newcastle takeover, revealing he believes the club will now be able to compete at the highest level.
Speaking at a sold-out event just six miles outside Newcastle, Keegan said: “Like everybody else I was absolutely delighted when Mike Ashley went.
“Anybody coming was going to be a plus. I think we have hit the jackpot, I really do. For a number of reasons.
“Obviously, one they have got money – but don’t let that worry you because that’s how all the other teams have done it. Man United, Chelsea and Man City…
“If you look at the top four or five and not just in this country, look at Spain – Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico.
“Why? Because they get the most money, the most sponsorship and they are on TV most.
“It’s the same in Italy and France, PSG have got the money – who wins the league? Newcastle are now in that league.”
‘MOMENT OF MADNESS’
Jamie Carragher has opened up on his ’embarrassing’ high-profile spitting incident.
The Sky Sports pundit was suspended for five months in 2018 after a video went viral of him spitting on a 14-year-old girl.
Speaking to friend Gary Neville on The Overlap, Carragher revealed that the incident ‘knocked’ him – and that he attended therapy with former England and Liverpool psychologist Steve Peters to help bounce back.
He said: “Coming home from Old Trafford and then when I lost my job at Sky – I’m someone who’s quite on the front foot, if someone attacks me.
“But that knocked me for six months. For a good six months I wasn’t myself. I’d get up in the morning and just have that pain in my stomach, oh that did happen.
“I went to see Steve Peters after it. I felt really bad, embarrassed, my family, my Mum or Dad. And the kids. I remember getting back to the house that night when I’d been at Sky. I haven’t seen the kids, they’re at school, and you just get back and we all sat together and it was tough.
“Even though we’re in the public eye, we’re not the royals, Beckham, big stars. You read them on the front page. When it’s you, everywhere I went it felt like people were looking at me.”
SAUL CRUSHING
Chelsea have ‘no intention’ of making Saul Niguez’s loan move a permanent one and are instead exploring different targets for next summer.
Saul signed late on transfer deadline day, with the Blues having the option to sign the 26-year-old permanently at the end of the season.
But after playing just 146 minutes of football so far, Thomas Tuchel is now eyeing a move for Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, according to La Razon.
Saul’s lack of playing time means ‘everything indicates’ he will be heading back to the Wanda Metropolitano in the summer.
The 19-cap Spain international joined the Blues in a bid for more first team football, but has had limited opportunities at Stamford Bridge.
LOW SPIRITS
Harry Winks has launched a veiled attack on his Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
The midfielder pointed the finger at the Portuguese’s tactics in Spurs’ 1-0 Europa Conference defeat at Vitesse Arnhem by saying the Dutch underdogs were the better team and played more creative football.
Winks said: “It is tough, yeah. We’re meant to be a team. It’s meant to be competition. It’s meant to be competitive.
“Everybody should be fighting for weekend games and it’s difficult. Motivation should be everybody fighting for the same cause and the same thing.
“It’s difficult. But when we go out on that pitch and we’re not playing in the first team, we’ve got to put that right, make a point and show the manager we should be playing in the team.
“And when we lose in the way that we did, we don’t do that. It’s down to us but there’s a lot of factors behind that.”
EDEN OFF
Lille academy director Jean-Michel Vandamme has told Real Madrid that Eden Hazard could leave the Bernabeu.
Vandamme was responsible for discovering Hazard in 2005, and has warned Los Blancos they must make him feel ‘important’ in the way they play if they want him to stay at the club.
Vandamme told Diario AS: “He needs to feel a leader. Not a dressing room leader, but a technical leader.
“He has to think he’s important in the style of play. You have to give Eden the keys to the play. He needs it.
“If not he’ll end up leaving Madrid.”
ROTT MAYHEM
A staggering 75 arrests were made as Union Berlin fans were involved in violent clashes with police.
Supporters of the German side were in Rotterdam for their Europa Conference League tie with Feyenoord when chaos erupted.
According to Bild, huge numbers of arrests were made with some fans even BITTEN by police dogs.
Pictures emerged on social media in the aftermath of the game, which finished 3-1 to Feyenoord.
Visiting Union Berlin fans claimed they were the subject of ‘targeted attacks’ by the Dutch police, according to Deutschlandfunk.
BE DONN WITH IT
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits that Donny van de Beek isn’t happy at the club, putting Everton on high alert.
The Red Devils’ boss, 48, confirmed that Van de Beek is less than happy with his situation at the club, having played just six minutes in the league so far this season.
The Dutch midfielder, 24, has cut a hugely frustrated figure in recent weeks, but Solskjaer has praised his professionalism in dealing with his Old Trafford nightmare.
The Norwegian said: “At the moment it is hard, I understand Donny. He is frustrated, he is disappointed.
“I know he is not happy but he is a top professional! He doesn’t let himself down and he knows this is how it works in football.”
ON THE MARC
Arsenal legend and Ajax director of football Marc Overmars is ‘open’ to ditching the Dutch giants for a role at Newcastle United, reports claim.
The 48-year-old is under consideration by the Magpies after overseeing a remarkable period of success in Amsterdam since his appointment in 2012.
Overmars has seen his side win four Eredivisie titles on his watch, in addition to building a squad featuring the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Donny van de Beek that reached the 2019 Champions League semi-finals.
According to The Times, the former Highbury wing wizard is interested in working for a team with the financial clout of Newcastle, having had to watch his Ajax team dismantled of its best players year after year.
They also claim that Overmars enjoys a good working relationship with the Toon’s new board, which features Amanda Staveley, Yasir Al-Rumayyan and Jamie Reuben.
Overmars is under contract at Ajax until 2024.
MONEY GRABBING LUK
Inter Milan chief Beppe Marotta has claimed Romelu Lukaku only moved to Chelsea for the money.
Lukaku returned to the Blues this summer from Inter for a whopping £92million, along with wages of £325,000-a-week.
But Inter couldn’t compete with that weekly figure which is why the Belgian striker decided to leave, according to Barotta.
He told Football Italia: “Lukaku left to double his salary, in Italy these figures can’t exist.
“Today, we can’t make important investments, I wouldn’t be allowed to sign Lukaku for £65m. We need reduced and specific investments.”
MBAPPE WAR
Barcelona are reportedly planning to hijack rivals Real Madrid’s proposed transfer for Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe looks certain to be joining Madrid next summer but Barca are looking to stage an audacious last-minute coup, according to 90min.
The Catalan giants are hoping to sway Mbappe by offering him a larger signing-on fee of £76million, 90min go on to say.
And that fee is a considerably higher amount than the alleged £42m Los Blancos are willing to give to the French superstar.
Although Barca are strapped for cash at the moment, the club hope their finances will be in better shape by the start of next season when they can pounce on their fierce rivals main target.
SOMETHING NEW
Newcastle’s new owners want to sell naming rights to St James’ Park, according to reports.
But they will only do so if they can get fans onboard with the idea.
Previous chief Mike Ashley briefly renamed the historic ground the ‘Sports Direct Arena’ back in 2011 – to uproar from the Geordie faithful.
The Toon’s new owners are exploring potential revenue streams, however, with a view to boosting spending power within Financial Fair Play rules.
According to the Mail, Newcastle’s new Saudi chiefs want to sell naming rights – but would keep the name St James’ Park ‘in some capacity’ within the rebrand.
Supporters can expect to be consulted regarding the idea.
A Saudi airline has been mooted as a potential commercial partner.
DOR SLAM
Thomas Tuchel has risked angering Borussia Dortmund with his public comments regarding Erling Haaland.
The German, 48, freely admitted that the Blues wanted to sign the Dortmund goal machine over the summer.
And he also hinted that they will return for the Norwegian’s signature.
According to Bild, Tuchel’s comments have frustrated his former club’s hierarchy.
They even claim that Dortmund see it as the ‘first public attack’ in the race to sign Haaland next summer.
And that this could ‘derail’ the Blues’ attempts to get their man.
Tuchel said: “We have talked about Haaland a couple of times also in the transfer window. It looked unrealistic and not possible to do.
“Of course we talk regularly about him because he is a fantastic player and a profile at Dortmund, which is a big rival for us in the Champions League.”
And when it came to potentially partnering Haaland with his current No9, he added: “Sign Haaland with (Romelu) Lukaku? I’ve no problem to talk about that.
“Let us see what will happen next weeks”
GOOD MORNING FOOTY FANS
SunSport can exclusively reveal Romelu Lukaku faces a month out – dealing Chelsea a serious blow in the title race.
The club’s record £97.5million signing twisted his ankle during Wednesday’s 4-0 Champions League win over Malmo.
And he now faces three to four weeks on the sidelines during a key part of the season.
After a tough run of fixtures, the Premier League leaders have a favourable spell with games again Norwich, Newcastle, Burnley and Leicester.
But with Timo Werner also injured, Chelsea are now without a recognised striker.
Meanwhile, Man Utd or Chelsea will reportedly have to cough up £575,000-a-week to secure Erling Haaland’s signature.
He looks likely to leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the campaign when a £64million release clause kicks into his deal.
Now ESPN say whichever club win the race will need to fork out over £30m per year to Haaland.
However, they also state that his wage demands have not put the big guns off from pursuing a swoop.
Finally, former Everton boss Roberto Martinez is interested in returning to the Premier League to manage Newcastle, according to reports.
Should the Spaniard return to England to manage the Magpies, he’d be reunited with ex-Belgium assistant Graeme Jones.
According to The Guardian, Belgium boss Martinez is open to replacing Steve Bruce – who was sacked yesterday – as Newcastle manager.
But there’s a host of names being looked at, including former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard.
ART OF THE MATTER
Mikel Arteta insists he was never going to sell Emile Smith Rowe to Aston Villa.
Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s match against Villa on Friday, he said: “Any club has the right to make an enquiry about a player and if they believe they have the financial power to get him, they are entitled to make a bid.
“There was communication between clubs regarding Emile and we made it really clear he was not for sale.
“I was never worried he could leave because he is a big part of our future and what we’re trying to do as a club.
“He is really happy where he is and I’m delighted to have him in my team.”
EXCLUSIVE BY NEIL CUSTIS
Bruno Fernandes is a shock injury doubt for Manchester United’s game against Liverpool.
Fernandes completed a full 90 minutes against Atalanta on Wednesday but was on the end of some strong challenges.
He went into Carrington for warm down training on Thursday but clearly by the afternoon the extent of his exertions had caught up with and he was limping heavily.
Now manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping it is nothing more than aches and pains when he is assessed on Friday so his Portuguese playmaker can line up in Sunday’s vital Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
WEST HAM 3 GENK 0
West Ham are on the brink of the Europa League knockout stages after smashing three goals past Genk in London.
Craig Dawson, Issa Diop and Jarrod Bowen were all on the scoresheet for David Moyes’ men tonight.
West Ham have won all three of their group games so far, and need just four points from their final three games to seal top spot.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
