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    Man Utd and Liverpool tracking 18-year-old MLS sensation Ricardo Pepi as FC Dallas demand £7.5m transfer fee for striker

    MANCHESTER UNITED and Liverpool are set to lock horns over American teenage striker Ricardo Pepi.The 18-year-old has burst onto the scene with FC Dallas earlier this year.
    FC Dallas starlet Ricardo Pepi has burst onto the scene this yearCredit: Getty
    The 18-year-old striker has been linked with both Man Utd and LiverpoolCredit: Getty
    The star has scored 13 goals in the MLS this term and his form has been rewarded at international level.
    Pepi has three goals in six caps for USA and is already catching the eye of Europe’s big guns.
    United and Liverpool have been watching the youngster for months with their scouts attending several FC Dallas matches.
    Now both Premier League clubs could be about to launch a move for the hotshot.
    CBS claim that Atletico Madrid have shown an interest in the forward already also.
    And German giants Bayern Munich are another to have been linked with Pepi.
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    That means that both the Red Devils and Anfield outfit could face even stiffer competition to land Pepi.
    Dallas are demanding at least £7.5million to sell their starlet.
    And they are also insisting on several potential add-ons to be included as well depending on his future achievements, More

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    Newcastle transfer boost as Niklas Sule ‘is leaning towards QUITTING Bayern Munich after contract talks stall’

    NEWCASTLE 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.
    SuleCredit: Getty
    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.

    The stalling will be ringing alarm bells for Bayern as Sule will be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with another side as early as January.
    And Newcastle are looking at him as a potential option as they seek to bolster their squad to avoid relegation.
    The Magpies currently sit in the bottom three without a win in the Premier League so far this season.
    But the recent Saudi takeover means fans will be hoping they can do enough business in January to save them from the drop.
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    Newcastle have been linked with a number of players since the £300million takeover went through last month.
    They are said to be interested in Inter Milan duo Stefan de Vrij and Marcelo Brozovic as Eddie Howe looks to begin putting his own stamp on the squad.
    Newcastle return to action this weekend when they host Brentford on Saturday. More

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    Newcastle ‘in talks over Niklas Sule transfer with Bayern Munich star interested in joining since £300m Saudi takeover’

    NEWCASTLE UNITED are in discussions with Bayern Munich over the transfer of German international, Niklas Sule, according to reports. Sule, 26, could become the club’s first confirmed star signing following the takeover which made them the richest club in the world.
    Niklas Sule could become the first signing of the new era at NewcastleCredit: Reuters
    Christian Falk of BILD Sport reports that the clubs are in transfer talks, with Sule said to be ‘interested in the project’ at St James’ Park.
    The German jounalist tweeted: “TRUE. There were talks between@NUFC and the Management of Niklas Süle (@FCBayern) three weeks ago. The defender is interested in the project of Newcastle.”
    Niklas has less than a year remaining on his existing Bayern Munich contract, which ends in June 2022 and his future is said to be up in the air.
    Sule has been linked with various other Premier League giants – Chelsea failing to sign him during the summer.
    Measuring in at 6ft 5in and well built, Sule is a quintessential centre-back, commanding in the tackle and calm on the ball.
    He has 37 full international caps and a Champions League winners medal under his belt.

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    The towering central defender is approaching 100 appearances for the German champions.
    The North East club have yet to employ a permanent manager, after being rejected by Unai Emery, the Spaniard claiming that the new owners have ‘no clear vision’.
    Newcastle have not won a single Premier League game this season and sit in 19th in the table.
    The Geordies are hopeful that a slate of signings in the January transfer window will improve their squad dramatically and provide a boost to their form.
    Both Marcelo Brozovic of Inter Milan and Aaron Ramsey of Juventus have been linked with a move in the past few days. More

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    Antonio Rudiger ‘honoured’ by Bayern Munich transfer interest as he runs down clock on Chelsea contract

    CHELSEA defender Antonio Rudiger has revealed he is ‘honoured’ to be receiving interest from German champions Bayern Munich.The 28-year-old centre-back, who has been superb for the Blues since manager Thomas Tuchel took over in January, is set to see his Stamford Bridge contract expire at the end of the season.
    Rudiger’s contract at Stamford Bridge expires at the end of the seasonCredit: EPA
    And when Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann was asked recently about Rudiger, he said: “In principle I am no fan of talking about players who are under contract with other clubs while we are outside the transfer window.
    “But I’m talking about Rudiger as a football fan. He has made fantastic progress.
    “Thomas Tuchel has handled him extremely well since taking charge. He was previously on the scrapheap at Chelsea.
    “But now he is one of the most important members of their defence. He has incredibly good fighting spirit, and is a very good defender.
    “I always think it’s great when a player lives up to his job description – and that is always the case with Toni.”
    Rudiger has now responded to those comments but caveated them by insisting he remains happy with Chelsea for the time being.

    Speaking to BILD journalist Christian Falk, he said: “My future? I feel good at Chelsea where I am now, so that fits.
    “FC Bayern interest honors me because that shows that I’ve done a few things right recently”
    It was reported this week that Rudiger’s Chelsea contract talks are ‘on hold’ after the German was left ‘disappointed’ by the Blues’ last offer.
    According to Sky Germany, Rudiger’s Chelsea future is ‘completely open’.
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    They claim that no decision will be made until January at the earliest.
    Meanwhile, The Mirror claim that Rudiger is looking to earn an eyewatering £400,000-a-week.
    This is £50k more than top earner Romelu Lukaku receives at Stamford Bridge.
    The German defender has been sensational for Chelsea since Tuchel’s arrivalCredit: AP More

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    Timo Werner ‘wanted to join Man Utd’ over Chelsea or Liverpool before his £48m Stamford Bridge transfer

    TIMO WERNER wanted to join Manchester United over Chelsea and Liverpool before his £53million move to Stamford Bridge last summer.That is according to evidence in a German court case between Werner’s agent Karl-Heinz Forster and his former associate Murat Lokurlu.
    Timo Werner wanted to join Man Utd ahead of Chelsea or LiverpoolCredit: Mark Pain / Premium Sports Images
    A ‘million-dollar- dispute is ongoing between the two men, as reported by Bild.
    The case is set to be heard on Tuesday but documents revealed ahead of the hearing suggest Werner’s preferred destination was Old Trafford before he left RB Leipzig.
    In WhatsApp messages from 2019, Werner reportedly told Lokurlu United were his ‘favourites’ with Chelsea named as ‘great alternatives’.
    United, Chelsea and Liverpool are all said to have been in for Werner in 2019.
    The Red Devils are said to have sent a proposal to Lokurlu via WhatsApp to which he replied: “We’ll see.”
    Liverpool also reportedly submitted a concrete offer with a ‘secret meeting’ said to have taken place between Werner and the Reds.

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    A five-year deal on around £200,000-a-week with approximately £20m in bonuses was reportedly put on the table.
    However, Liverpool eventually signed Diogo Jota, and Chelsea swooped last June.
    The Blues paid £53m and pay him an eye-watering £270k-a-week.
    Chelsea paid through the nose for Timo Werner
    But he has failed to provide value for money so far with just 13 goals in 59 matches for the West Londoners.
    His game time looked like it would be limited this season with Romelu Lukaku hitting the ground running after his £97.5m switch from Inter Milan.
    The Belgian has four in seven and has already cemented himself as No 1 striker, but Werner could now form a surprise two-man attack with him after starting alongside Lukaku in Saturday’s defeat to Manchester City.

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    Chelsea ‘willing to send Timo Werner to Bayern Munich in swap transfer for Leroy Sane’

    CHELSEA are interested in a swap deal involving Timo Werner and Leroy Sane ahead of next summer.That is according to Todos Fichajes, who report that the Blues are targeting Sane and are willing to let Werner go the other way to Bayern Munich.
    Chelsea star Timo Werner has been linked with a swap deal to Bayern MunichCredit: EPA
    Bayern Munich star Leroy Sane has been targeted by ChelseaCredit: Getty
    The striker has been among Bayern’s top targets for quite some time after his former RB Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann took over at the Allianz Arena.
    The Germany international endured a turbulent debut campaign with the Blues and has fallen down the pecking order following Romelu Lukaku’s record £97.5million return to Stamford Bridge.
    The west Londoners are reportedly looking to pounce on that opportunity as they could use the 25-year-old as leverage to sign former Manchester City star Sane.
    However, the German champions are not keen on letting the winger go after spending a hefty £38.4m in 2020, even though he has been relegated to a supporting role.
    Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel also insists Werner remains an integral part of the club despite recent reports suggesting he will soon leave.
    Tuchel recently said: “I am sure that we will find games and solutions where we play with both of them [Werner and Lukaku].
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    “We did already and Timo and Romelu can be a good fit together.
    “Timo loves to play around a reference up front and Romelu is clearly our reference up front being a tall and physical player.
    “The most important is he finds his rhythm and confidence and joy and makes his point and makes his way into the team.
    “The players are in charge to take their positions and fight for their positions and once they have it to not give it away.
    “We are very happy that he scored and played [for Germany in the international break] and on we go.
    “We have not too many players but we have players with high quality and high ambition and Timo is clearly a guy that we count on and that is absolutely necessary we have him on high level.”
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    Tottenham ‘reject £20m plus Corentin Tolisso player-swap transfer deal for Tanguy Ndombele from Bayern Munich’

    TOTTENHAM have rejected a £20million offer plus Corentin Tolisso from Bayern Munich for Tanguy Ndombele, reports say. Ndombele is believed to have asked Spurs to let him leave after so far being shunned by new manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
    Tanguy Ndombele is believed to have asked Spurs to let him leaveCredit: Getty
    Spurs have rejected a £20m offer PLUS Corentin Tolisso from Bayern for Tanguy Ndombele, reports sayCredit: Getty
    And according to Sky Sports News, German champions Bayern have offered Tolisso plus an extra £20m for the want-away midfielder.
    But, it is claimed Tottenham turned the deal down.
    Ndombele, 24, will not feature in Spurs’ trip to Wolves on Sunday.
    Despite being fit to play and taking part in first-team training, he also missed the games against Manchester City and Pacos de Ferreira.
    Nuno said on Friday: “[Ndombele] was not part of the squad in the Conference League because he was not included in the list.
    “But I will be honest with you, Tanguy will not be involved on Sunday.”
    Ndombele, Spurs a club-record £55m from Lyon in 2019, but suffered rocky start to his career under Jose Mourinho.
    But his form picked up last season, making 46 appearances, where he also managed six goals.
    The Frenchman continued to play even when Mourinho was sacked and replaced by interim manager Ryan Mason.
    But since Nuno took over full-time from Wolves, Ndombele has not been featured.

    The new Spurs boss said: “What happened in the past I can’t even think about, I don’t mention out of respect.
    “What I can tell you is that Tanguy is with us, he works but we have to speak honestly and to take the best out of Tanguy [it] has to come from himself.
    “I don’t want to go much further than that but it has to come from himself. We already had a chance to talk but it must come from himself.
    “I said it before, my job here is not to convince players to play for Tottenham Hotspur, it is to prepare players to play for Tottenham Hotspur.”
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    Man Utd transfer blow with Julian Nagelsmann ‘confident’ Leon Goretzka will extend Bayern Munich contract beyond 2022

    MANCHESTER UNITED have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Bayern Munich star Leon Goretzka.Goretzka, 26, joined the Bundesliga champions from Schalke in 2018 and his performances have caught the eye of those at Old Trafford.
    Goretzka looks set to stay with the German championsCredit: Getty
    He has just one year left on his deal – but Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann revealed he is ‘confident’ the midfielder will extend his contract beyond 2022.
    With the future of Man Utd midfielder Paul Pogba uncertain, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking to line up a replacement.
    But Nagelsmann’s recent comments have dampened the Red Devils’ hopes of luring Goretzka to the Premier League.
    Speaking about the midfielder’s situation, the Bayern manager said: “I’m not involved enough that I have a say every day. I stay out of these issues.
    “Of course I have talked to him about my plans for him. I’ve told him I’d be happy if he extended and I’m also confident.
    “There are several topics involved when it comes to discussing a contract extension.
    “I’ll continue to focus on the sports side of things and show him he can be one of the most dangerous midfielders in Europe. He has potential to get even better.”
    Since joining three years ago, Goretzka has played 112 times for Bayern, scoring 25 goals.
    He has won the Bundesliga title in all three seasons at the Allianz Arena and also claimed the Champions League with the German giants in 2020.
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    Other midfield targets for Man Utd include Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez and Rennes’ Eduardo Camavinga.
    Solskjaer’s men have already shown their intent in the summer transfer window with the signing of £73million man Jadon Sancho.
    They are also closing in on securing Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane, with a deal already agreed in principle.
    Man Utd are looking to mount a Premier League title challenge this season and close the 12 point gap to rivals Manchester City.
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