Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong could beryllium headed for the Premier League successful January -- ESPN's Insider Notebook has the latest. PLUS: How Man United anticipation to find De Gea's heir.
Jump to: Man United oculus goalkeeper recruitment | Barcelona program enactment cull | Pochettino wants Premier League job
Frenkie de Jong successful request with Premier League giants
Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are acceptable to pb the contention for Frenkie de Jong should the midfielder take to discontinue Barcelona successful January, sources person told ESPN.
Chelsea are thought to person received encouragement that De Jong whitethorn beryllium consenting to reconsider his aboriginal aft deciding not to permission Camp Nou successful the summer, contempt Barca's willingness to fto the subordinate leave.
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United made the moving for months and yet agreed a woody worthy an archetypal €65 million, rising to astir €85m including add-ons, earlier Chelsea made interaction precocious successful the model arsenic De Jong stalled implicit a determination to Old Trafford. However, the Netherlands planetary opted to enactment successful Spain contempt huge unit from Barcelona to unit him out, arsenic they sought to equilibrium the books and comply with LaLiga's wage cap.
De Jong has started conscionable 5 matches successful each competitions this play and Barcelona are facing the imaginable of failing to suffice for the Champions League knockout stages, some factors which person fixed his Premier League suitors anticipation that a January woody could beryllium struck.
Chelsea volition beryllium without N'Golo Kante for 4 months aft the France planetary underwent hamstring country this week. Kante's declaration expires astatine the extremity of the season, portion Jorginho is besides yet to hold an extension. Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali are pursuing a strategy of signing younger players to agelong contracts and sources person told ESPN they person a bully narration with HCM Sports Management, who number De Jong among their clients.
United stay funny but would person to juggle their finances aft spending astir €240m successful the summertime transportation window. Liverpool are besides successful the marketplace for a cardinal midfielder and sources said that the nine person made interaction with De Jong's representatives.
Everything depends connected De Jong softening his stance, however, to occurrence the starting pistol connected a contention for his signature. -- James Olley, Rob Dawson
Man United question specializer to find De Gea's successor
Manchester United are looking to prosecute a recruitment expert to assistance the nine to motion the world's champion goalkeepers. The relation is portion of a planned enlargement of the method main scout squad astatine Old Trafford and volition absorption connected uncovering goalkeepers to beryllium portion of the first-team squad.
David de Gea is United's No. 1, though manager Ten Hag said the nine volition hold earlier deciding whether to widen the 31-year-old's contract. The Spain planetary has a woody until the extremity of the season, though United besides person an enactment to widen it until the summertime of 2024.
Meanwhile, England goalkeeper Dean Henderson, connected indebtedness astatine Nottingham Forest, is nether declaration astatine United until astatine slightest 2025 and backup Martin Dubravka was signed connected a season-long indebtedness from Newcastle successful the summer.
The occupation advert for United's caller relation says the nine are looking for a campaigner "to lend to the continued enlargement and improvement of the method main scout squad astatine Manchester United Football Club, with the circumstantial intent of identifying players who show the imaginable to play for the archetypal team" and "to analyse the playing show of imaginable scouting targets with a circumstantial accent connected goalkeepers." -- Rob Dawson
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Robert Lewandowski bags a brace to usher Barcelona to a 3-0 triumph implicit Villarreal.
Barcelona program farewells to elder enactment group
Barcelona are readying for adjacent play without their 4 captains, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto, sources person confirmed to ESPN.
Busquets and Roberto are some retired of declaration adjacent summer, portion Pique and Alba some person deals until 2024.
Pique and Alba person some mislaid their spot successful the squad this play nether erstwhile teammate Xavi Hernandez, though Busquets remains an ever-present successful midfield. Roberto, who signed a one-year renewal successful June, has featured regularly astatine right-back owed to injuries. Busquets, 34, volition marque a determination connected his aboriginal astatine immoderate constituent aft the World Cup and is reportedly weighing up offers from Major League Soccer.
Xavi values the versatility of Roberto, who is the youngest of the quartet astatine 30, but the Catalan nine would similar to fortify astatine right-back and successful midfield, if not successful January past adjacent summer.
The concern is much analyzable with Pique, who volition crook 36 successful January, and Alba, 33, arsenic some person 18 months to tally connected their deals and, successful summation to their ample salaries, are owed important sums of wealth successful deferred wages. For Barca to determination the duo on, they volition person to find clubs consenting to instrumentality connected their salaries oregon negociate an aboriginal declaration termination with the 2 players.
Speaking astatine the club's AGM this month, president Joan Laporta and manager of shot Mateu Alemany some referred to the information the salaries being commanded by definite players person held the nine backmost successful the transportation market.
"There are salaries that are mode supra the marketplace rate," Alemany said. "It has massively hindered what we tin bash successful presumption of transfers. These players are intolerable to transportation and bash harm successful presumption of [financial] just play. The main nonsubjective is that those wages disappear." -- Sam Marsden, Moises Llorens
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Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens sermon the anticipation of Mauricio Pochettino taking the manager's occupation astatine Aston Villa.
Pochettino wants Premier League return
Mauricio Pochettino favours a instrumentality to Premier League absorption and is prepared to hold for the close opportunity, sources person told ESPN, aft emerging arsenic Aston Villa's favoured campaigner to regenerate Steven Gerrard.
Gerrard left Villa connected Thursday pursuing a 3-0 nonaccomplishment astatine Fulham, a 12th decision successful their past 22 Premier League games, leaving the nine supra the relegation portion lone connected goals scored.
Sources said Villa's owners are prepared to walk successful January to bolster a squad that has won conscionable 2 games this season. Former Tottenham boss Pochettino is highly regarded astatine Villa Park, but the 50-year-old could yet pull offers from elsewhere.
Pochettino has been retired of enactment since leaving Paris Saint-Germain successful July, 18 months aft taking complaint astatine the Parc des Princes, and sources said that helium made the last 2 connected the shortlist to go Manchester United manager earlier being overlooked successful favour of Erik 10 Hag.
Despite Pochettino's availability, Chelsea opted against hiring the Argentine aft firing Thomas Tuchel earlier this season, deciding alternatively to name Brighton brag Graham Potter. But though helium has missed retired connected 2 large Premier League jobs astatine United and Chelsea, sources said that Pochettino inactive favours a instrumentality to England up of managing successful Spain oregon Italy, wherever helium has been touted arsenic a imaginable replacement for Massimiliano Allegri astatine Juventus, who are eighth successful Serie A aft winning conscionable 4 of their 10 league games truthful acold this season.
With the 2022 World Cup successful Qatar owed to trigger a six-week Premier League shutdown connected Nov. 13, sources person said respective clubs volition measure their managerial concern astatine that constituent owed to the anticipation of a caller manager having a lengthy play without games to settee into a occupation and with Pochettino having a way grounds of improving Premier League teams astatine Southampton and Spurs, helium is acceptable to hold for the close connection successful England. -- Mark Ogden
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