Chelsea ‘in talks over Fofana transfer’, Haaland ‘chooses Premier League’ switch, Azpilicueta to Barcelona latest

ALL OR NOTHING

Rio Ferdinand has issued a stern warning to Tottenham’s Dele Alli, suggesting that this could be his final chance in North London under new boss Antonio Conte.

Alli has been slipping under the radar at Spurs ever since Mauricio Pochettino left the club at the end of 2019.

His dramatic dip in form has not only been a concern for Tottenham fans, but also for former England captain Ferdinand.

On his FIVE podcast, he said: “Conte, he doesn’t suffer fools, he doesn’t accept standards that are below what he sets. So I’m sure this is again a great opportunity.

“He’s now got a manager who’s going to have huge demands, be demanding of him constantly every day. And that might be the turning point for Dele.”

SIMPLY THE BEST

West Ham star Declan Rice is the best player in the Premier League but Manchester City ace Phil Foden can become the best in the world.

That is according to former England manager Glenn Hoddle, who sang both internationals’ praises as they played a major part in the national team’s qualification for the 2022 World Cup.

Rice has been sensational for the Hammers in the Premier League as well as the Europa League, which is why Manchester United and Chelsea are desperate to sign him in the summer.

Foden, on the other hand, has been a stand-out performer at City and has been established as a key part of Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Hoddle is adamant that Rice will keep improving but expects Foden to achieve even greater things in just three years.

MAGPIES CALLING

Newcastle are prepared to spend big to lure Borussia Dormund star Axel Witsel to St James’ Park, according to reports.

The midfielder’s contract expires at the end of the season.

The 32-year-old is into his fourth year at Dortmund and he could be ready for a new challenge in a different league.

Juventus have been credited with an interest in Witsel.

But Newcastle’s proposal of £160,000 a week will completely trump what the Italian giants can afford, according to TuttoJuve.

To put that offer into context, the Belgian currently earns around £115,000 a week, a figure Juve could struggle to pay.

But Witsel will not want to join a Championship outfit, so first Newcastle must ensure they stay out of trouble.

‘AMAZING PEOPLE’

Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani was hailed for rescuing a youth team from Afghanistan alongside…Kim Kardashian.

The unlikely duo helped 130 women’s footballers resettle in the UK having fled the Taliban.

American socialite Kardashian paid for a charter flight ensuring safe passage from Pakistan.

And after they landed yesterday, Radrizzani tweeted: “When I received a call asking for help to rescue the youth team from Afghanistan, I didn’t even know where to start.

“Today they flew to the UK. Proud to be part of the team to make this real. Let’s dream (that) one day they will play in @LUFC”.

“The players were evacuated out of Afghanistan to escape the Taliban in September following the departure of allied troops in August.”

REF RAP

The referee who took charge of the chaotic World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Brazil has been banned for making ‘serious’ errors.

And his VAR was also suspended by Conmebol.

The officials failed to punish Nicolas Otamendi for a brutal elbow in Raphinha’s face during the goalless draw in San Juan on Tuesday.

And the fiery Argentina defender wasn’t done there as instead of apologising he picked the infuriated Leeds star up on his feet – even though he suffered a serious cut on his lip and needed medical attention.

Blood poured out the winger’s mouth and even though he showed referee Andres Cunha the extent of his injuries no foul or card was given to Otamendi.

Brazil boss Tite raged at the ‘inconceivable’ decision by the VAR, adding it was ‘simply impossible’ for him not to see Otamendi’s horror smash.

In footage leaked by Conmebol, Esteban Ostojich can be heard telling Cunha that the offence was only a yellow due to ‘the average intensity of the blow’.

WES HIM IN

Leicester star Wesley Fofana has put Prem sides Chelsea and Manchester United on red alert by admitting playing for either team would be a dream.

The Prem giants have been keeping tabs on the Foxes defender, with Chelsea reportedly aiming to make a move in January.

And Fofana is open to a move to the Prem giants he revealed to Actu Foot.

Fofana said: “A club that makes me dream? There’s Marseille, Real Madrid, Barça. In the Premier League, there are Chelsea, United, City… But you have to work to make your dreams come true. Through work, you can achieve anything.”

KOUL JORG

Newcastle and Manchester United transfer target Kalidou Koulibaly revealed his fondness of Chelsea star Jorginho.

When Koulibaly joined Napoli in 2014, Jorginho was the first person he shared a room with.

And they had a telepathic bond on the pitch as Koulibaly explained it only took a glance for them to read each other.

The centre back told Football Italia: “It was the first person I shared the room with when I arrived in Naples. He taught me a little of Italian, I remember he used to correct me.

“He is an extraordinary player on the pitch, so important for Chelsea and Italy. I had fun playing with him. One stare was enough to understand each other.”

PEEVED STEVE

Steven Gerrard has shot down rumours that he took the Aston Villa job as a springboard to manage ex-club Liverpool in future.

Gerrard claims he’s honoured to be Villa’s boss and threw his weight behind the Reds current boss Jurgen Klopp.

When asked about the reports linking him with a switch back to Anfield, Gerrard said: “Very unfair. You’ll never hear me say its a stepping stone.

“I’m really honoured and proud, I’ll give this job everything it needs to be a success, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having dreams and aspirations.

“Liverpool have a world class coach and if he was to sign a life time deal I would be very happy for them and him.”

WIG MAN

Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa has thanked Wigan academy coach Gregor Rioch for the work he did in the development of Joe Gelhardt.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Bielsa called Rioch last week to show his appreciation for the time and effort the Latics dedicated for Gelhardt throughout the years.

The Whites youngster joined the League One outfit’s academy in 2013 and trained under the son of former Arsenal boss Bruce Rioch, who helped him rise through the ranks and make his senior debut five years later.

The forward’s performances at the DW Stadium caught the eye of the Yorkshire-based club, who signed him last year for a fee in the region of £1million.

BARTON ON TRIAL

Joey Barton will face trial after denying he allegedly grabbed his wife by the throat at a party.

The Bristol Rovers manager, 38, is accused of assaulting Georgia Barton by beating at a property in Kew, South West London on June 2 this year.

He allegedly kicked her in the head and left her with a head injury and bloody nose at a property where they had been with friends.

The trial date was set at Wimbledon Magistrates Court today and is due take place at the same venue on December 16.

RUD NOT TO

Emmanuel Petit has urged Chelsea to extend Antonio Rudiger’s contract by the end of the season to prevent him from leaving for free.

The defender is said to be extremely unhappy with the club after they fell short of his wage demands by £60,000.

Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich are all said to be interested in the Chelsea man, who has been a key player for Thomas Tuchel since he took over at the start of the year.

Rudiger has expressed his desire to remain at Stamford Bridge beyond the summer, but only if the Blues will increase his wages.

When speaking to Bookmakers.com, former Chelsea midfielder Petit said: “He looks like one of the best defenders around.

“He could leave on a free and Chelsea would have to spend a minimum of £30 million to find a new defender of his level, and there’s never a guarantee a buy will work out.

“This guy is a survivor. Since Tuchel has been the manager he’s been one of the top defenders in world football.

“If he asks for two more years, just give him the money.”

FAB-TASTIC 

Legendary Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro says he wouldn’t have ‘feared’ facing Cristiano Ronaldo or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Cannavaro instead highlighted Tottenham aces Son Heung-min and Harry Kane as two ‘very strong’ players.

The 48-year-old says Son, in particular, has ‘impressed’ him the most.

Speaking exclusively to SunSport, Cannavaro said: “Son and Kane are very, very strong.

“The Korean is the one who impressed me the most.

“Aubameyang is also a terrific player, like Ronaldo. But I wouldn’t have feared them.”

TAY DAY

Neil Taylor is set to join Middlesbrough today as Chris Wilder’s first signing.

The 32-year-old is a free agent after his contract at Aston Villa expired in the summer.

Taylor is expected to sign on a short-term deal until January once personal terms have been finalised.

After new Boro boss Wilder replaced Neil Warnock on November 7, ex-Swansea defender Taylor trained with the north-east club during the international break.

Taylor played 60 minutes in an Under-23s game against Nottingham Forest as part of a trial.

SunSport revealed last week that Taylor, capped 43 times by Wales, was keen to continue playing despite passing his Uefa A licence coaching badges.

He had been helping Villa’s Under-16 side since his playing deal at the club ended.

Taylor became the first of a group of Euro 2016 stars to pass the Welsh FA’s coaching badge from a class which included team-mates Joe Allen and Ashley Williams.

JACK THE LAD

Jack Rodwell has officially signed for Australian side Western Sydney Wanderers on a one-year deal in a bid to reignite his stalling career.

The 30-year-old former Manchester City man hasn’t played a game in 16 MONTHS but is now set to return to action down under.

He was announced by the club this morning and has put pen-to-paper with the A-leaguers after spending two weeks training with Carl Robinson’s side.

Rodwell joins as a free agent after playing just twice for last club Sheffield United.

And the forgotten three-cap England man has revealed his wife, Alana Licate, is to thank for getting the deal done as she hails from western Sydney.

MI OH MI

Ex-Everton star James Rodriguez was reportedly a bit of a party animal in his Bayern Munich days and partly responsible for undermining the authority of former boss Niko Kovac.

An incident in Miami in 2018, at the start of Kovac’s reign, played a part in the manager’s failure at Bayern.

The German outfit spent much of the summer in America preparing for the upcoming season, which included a friendly against Manchester City.

And according to Bild, Kovac placed a lot of importance on the match, so forbade his players from experiencing the Miami nightlife.

He reportedly said: “Nobody goes out! We have an incredibly important test game in three days.

“We have to be focused and concentrated. The first Bundesliga game awaits us in six weeks. Celebrating is not possible in preparation.”

But the players did not listen.

And with a group allegedly spearheaded by Frank Ribery, David Alaba, and Rafinha, the Bayern squad set about partying into the night.

It is claimed Rodriguez’s “party beast” came out, with the midfielder filming videos of the evening and posting them on a Whatsapp group titled ‘Miami Nights’.

IN THE NIK OF TIME

Newcastle’s have received a boost in their pursuit of Bayern Munich defender Niklas Sule as he reportedly wants to QUIT the German champions.

The 26-year-old’s contract with the Bundesliga giants expires at the end of this season.

And, according to Bild, talks between Sule and the club about a possible extension appear to be stalling.

It is also being reported that the German centre-back is leaning towards wanting to leave Bayern after four years with the club.

Sule joined in 2017 and has gone on to rack up 150 appearances for the Bundesliga champions.

And he remains a regular first teamer for Bayern having started nine of their 11 league matches so far this season.

He has also enjoyed a decent career as a German international, appearing 37 times for his country and scoring one goal.

It is understood that Bayern have offered him a new deal but that he is yet to put pen to paper.

MAGNIFICENT 

Newcastle are reportedly plotting an ambitious transfer swoop for three top Serie A players.

The Magpies are looking to strengthen Eddie Howe’s squad in January ahead of a huge relegation scrap, and they’re looking to dip into the Italian market.

According to The Times, Newcastle are plotting a double raid of defending Serie A champions Inter Milan.

Bolstering the defensive ranks appears to be a priority and Stefan de Vrij could be the man Newcastle are looking for.

The defender is, however, a first-team regular for the Nerazzurri – which could make a deal to tempt the Italian club to sell, hard to do.

Newcastle would also like to bring Marcelo Brozovic – who has been linked with a move to Manchester United in the past – to the North East of England.

The 28-year-old is another first-team regular, and is by far one of the more impressive midfielders in the Serie A.

Brozovic’s contract interestingly expires next summer, which opens up the possibility of the midfielder agreeing a pre-contract with another club from January 1.

BARC-ING MAD 

Dani Alves re-joined Barcelona on Wednesday for just ONE EURO a month, keeping to his word of helping the club out in any way possible.

But if the 38-year-old doesn’t see out his contract – which expires next June – Barca will reportedly receive a rather large sum of money.

According to RAC 1, as reported by AS, the termination clause in Alves’ contract stipulates he would have to pay the club £84MILLION.

The clause is strange considering Alves has the lowest salary amongst the whole Barca squad.

Barca are hoping Alves’ reunion with Xavi will inspire the current group of players to bring back the club’s glory days.

OVERNIGHT FOOTBALL ROUND-UP

Chelsea and Manchester United target Jules Kounde shares this morning’s transfer spotlight with Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe.

Sevilla centre-back Kounde sent exit talk soaring with an enigmatic tweet.

The France star reportedly has a £69million release clause but posted a song lyric: “Can’t stop gotta claim what’s mine.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle, Everton and Crystal Palace are being linked with a January move for Pepe.

Arsenal and Leeds are rated potential bidders for Ajax’s Morocco right-back Noussair Mazraoui.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has hinted the Spanish giants will wait until the summer to sign Kylian Mbappe for free after PSG rejected their £170million offer.

And Perez’s counterpart at Barcelona, Joan Laporta, says he “won’t rule out” re-signing legends Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta.

That follows new Barca manager Xavi bringing back 38-year-old right-back Dani Alves.

Lastly, it’s claimed ex-Real chief Zinedine Zidane has told Manchester United he is unavailable until the summer.

UTD TURN UP HEAT ON OLE

Manchester United turned up the heat on boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – with a reminder that on-field success is still the No 1 priority.

The club’s wage bill has rocketed by almost 25 per cent to a huge £354MILLION a year.

And United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward told under-fire manager Solskjaer it is time to give value for money.

Woodward declared: “Our top priority is success on the pitch.

“The manager,  players, everyone at the club are determined to achieve that objective.”

Solskjaer will be without injured Paul Pogba for Saturday’s crunch at Watford as the midfielder recovers from a thigh injury.

The summer arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho helped to push up United’s wage bill by 23.1 per cent.

Revenues for the three months to September 30 were up 16 per cent to £126.5m as supporters finally returned to Old Trafford.

RAHEEM DREAM

Barcelona plan a January fire sale to fund a move for Raheem Sterling.

And one player who could be shown the door at the Nou Camp is former Manchester City target Frenkie de Jong.

New Barca boss Xavi is a huge fan of England hero Sterling – and would love to bring him to the Catalan giants in the New Year.

This week, Barcelona brought Brazilian Dani Alves, 38, back to the club – meaning at present they are not allowed to register any new players due to their financial woes.

As it stands, they would struggle to land Sterling, even on loan, due to his City wages of £300,000 per week.

But Barcelona are hopeful the landscape will have changed by the time the transfer window reopens in January.

Director of football Mateu Alemany said: “The reality is we can register Xavi and his coaching staff.

“But beyond that, we can’t do anything else right now.

“We are working on some different situations.

“And we will see if we can make room to still remain within the fair-play regulations.”

IT’S PLANE SULLING FOR ANTONIO

David Sullivan paid a staggering £100,000 to fly West Ham ace Michail Antonio home from Jamaica on a private flight.

Hammers’ majority owner Sullivan dipped into his pocket to get his star striker back from international duty yesterday.

And this means Antonio will be fresh and ready for training today ahead of Saturday’s trip to Wolves.

The 31-year-old scored both the Reggae Boys’ goals in their 1-1 World Cup qualifying draws against El Salvador and the United States.

Antonio is enjoying another good season at the London Stadium with seven goals in all competitions so far for David Moyes’ high-flying Hammers.

Sullivan, 72, has also appointed his sons Jack and David Jr to the club’s board of directors.

Daniel Cunningham, the son-in-law of joint-chairman David Gold, has also been added to the list of directors.

It is part of a boardroom reshuffle following Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s purchase of a 27 per cent stake in a deal worth more than £180million.

GREALISH DATES THIRD BEAUTY

Jack Grealish has been dating a THIRD beauty — Love Island winner Amber Gill.

They have enjoyed several secret meetings, but Amber, 24, is said to be heartbroken at the England ace seeing TV’s Emily Atack, 31 — possibly at the same time.

She told a pal: “I’d like to get in touch with Emily and find out if there was any crossover.”

The Man City player, 26, has also had showdown talks with Sasha Attwood, 25, over their on/off romance.

The £100million Manchester City ace charmed castaway Amber on Instagram leading to several secret dates in recent months.

A source explained: “Amber has been in contact with Jack for a while after they first got in touch online, and since then they’ve met up several times over the past few months at hotels, including one in Leeds.

“She was clearly quite excited about it, she told her friends, but after the news about Jack and Emily came out recently the whole thing feels a lot less glamorous.

“It was never a proper relationship, just a good time and some dates together, but now it feels as though he may have been in contact with a number of girls at once and that’s very disappointing for her. She really liked him.”

MADRID WILL KYL TIME ON MBAPPE

Real Madrid will wait until the summer to sign Kylian Mbappe for free after PSG rejected their £170million offer, president Florentino Perez has suggested.

The Spanish giants lodged a colossal bid in the summer, which was rejected by PSG despite Mbappe having only a year left on his contract.

Speaking to Spanish journalist Ramon Alvarez, Real Madrid president Perez, 74, criticised PSG’s rejection of their offer and made a dig at their ownership.

Perez said: “The state owned clubs don’t sell their players. It’s a madness.

“Now we offer €200m (£170m) for a single player and they don’t sell him. When players finish their contract it’s better.”

RON’S A RED HOT DEVIL

Manchester United hero Cristiano Ronaldo has yet again showed off his chiselled physique after sharing a snap of himself in the sauna.

The 36-year-old took to his Instagram story to upload a picture in his underwear to his 367 million followers.

In the photo, a sweaty-looking Ronaldo smiles for the camera in a selfie as he starts his preparations for the weekend trip to Watford.

His former United team-mate Patrice Evra has lifted the lid on Ronaldo’s love for saunas in his bid to keep in peak condition.

Recalling a time he popped round his house, he said: “Cristiano, first of all, as a person and human being, is so generous, so nice and people don’t see that face. But he is a winner. He is addicted.

“For example, when we had training at 10am, Cristiano was already there for 8am. When we had finished training, he was still on the pitch practising.

“When he invited me for lunch… don’t ever go for lunch, because you are going to have one of the most boring lunches at Cristiano’s. It is salad, plain chicken and water. There isn’t even fizzy water.

“After that, we went into the garden, trained for a little bit, went swimming, went to the sauna and at one point I looked at him and said: ‘Bro, we have just finished a training session, why do we have to a second training session?’”