Liverpool and Newcastle set to be rivals in January as target deal done for unwanted Barcelona man

• Newcastle are understood to be in regular contact with the agents of Chelsea striker Timo Werner.
• Liverpool are interested in forward Joao Felix according to reports in Spain with Atletico Madrid potentially having to take a loss of more than £50m on a player they spent £113m on in 2019.
• Arsenal are ready to make their interest in Club Bruges striker Noa Lang formal and could make a £25m bid in January.
• Mauro Icardi will turn down the chance to join the Newcastle United revolution because his wife Wanda Nara does not want to move from Paris.
• Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette is not keen on staying at The Emirates despite being offered a new contract.
• FIFA president Gianni Infantino is keen to see Israel and Palestine host a joint World Cup in the future.
• Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool have joined forces to charter a private jet to ensure South American stars are back from international duty in time for this weekend’s Premier League matches.
• Tammy Abraham is hopeful he will not miss any Roma games despite being substituted with injury after being brought off the bench during England’s clash with Hungary.
• Mats Hummels has warned Borussia Dortmund team-mate Erling Haaland that “the grass is not always greener on the other side” after fresh links over a move to Manchester City emerged.
• Southend United have asked National League rivals Chesterfield for permission to speak to James Rowe over their managerial vacancy.
• England are facing a fight against Italy and Russia as the bidding war to host Euro 2028 heats up.
• Newcastle United are set to snub Frank Lampard as they sort out candidates to take over should they remove Steve Bruce from his role.
• The Metropolitan Police have defended their tactics after being seen retreating from violent Hungary fans during clashes at Wembley on Tuesday nigh
• Manchester United fear the pull of Real Madrid will mean Paul Pogba again quitting Old Trafford next summer.
• Newcastle are set to battle it out with Manchester United and Chelsea among others for England midfielders Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
• The FA is braced for a part closure of Wembley when UEFA meets to discuss crowd trouble at the Euro 2020 final next week.
• Edinson Cavani has been told to quit Manchester United if he wants to keep his place in the Uruguay national team.
• England Test captain Joe Root is to enter the Indian Premier League auction next year in a bid to play in the T20 competition for the first time.
• The Hungarian FA is blaming the Football Association for allowing tickets for Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier to fall into the hands of violent and racist hooligans, with Polish supporters also reported to be involved in the trouble which marred the game.
• Rangers and Celtic face having their squads ravaged by call-ups to the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian World Cup qualifiers scheduled for early 2022.

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REM RETURN TALK FOR COUTINHO 

It’s been a while since Liverpool were linked with a move for Philippe Coutinho, but the story is back.

Apparently Joan Laporta “wants to get rid” of the Barcelona flop in January.

The £142m man has been a huge disappointment for the Catalan giants and Laporta thinks it’s time to sever ties with the midfielder.

Coutinho left Anfield for Barca in January 2018 and is understood to be keen on a return.

And now El Chiringuito TV claim that Liverpool also want the player back.

Jurgen Klopp is always believed to have vetoed the idea of the 29-year-old returning. However, per the report, his stance has changed and still without a playmaker, Klopp is now open to a deal.

Klopp never replaced Coutinho when he left, instead he opted to use a three-man attack with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Gini Wijnaldum the insurance behind them.

But, still without a real No.10 Klopp is believed to be keen to discuss a return for the Brazilian, who scored 54 goals in 201 appearances for the Reds.

They could have competition though, with Newcastle, now backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), also keen.

Newcastle interest

According to Bild journalist Christian Falk, Newcastle have held serious discussions about signing Coutinho.

Fabrizio Romano though says that the Magpies have yet to make an offer for Coutinho.

He said: “Coutinho – a lot of rumours, but Coutinho’s camp have not received any proposal or approach from Newcastle yet. Let’s see what is going to happen like in December, in January, when the transfer market will be in the key period.

“But for sure, Newcastle are starting something incredible for the future of the club.”

NEWCASTLE WANT WERNER

Newcastle United, backed by their new mega-rich owners, want to sign Chelsea striker Timo Werner (Bild)

• Fenerbahce want to sign Arsenal outcast Sead Kolasinac (Yeni Asir)
• Inter Milan are ready to enter contract talks with Marcelo Brozovic after coming to an agreement with Lautaro Martinez (Calciomercato)
• Monaco and Nice are interested in signing Jonathan Clauss from Lens (Foot Mercato)

INTER FACE BARELLA FIGHT

Inter Milan could face a fight to keep hold of midfielder Nicolo Barella, with the player’s representatives struggling to find a middle ground on wage demands in a new deal (Corriere dello Sport)

• Real Madrid are back on the trail of Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba (AS)
• Diego Simeone has admitted that he wanted to bring Lionel Messi to Atletico Madrid this summer and asked Atletico striker Luis Suarez to ask if a deal was possible (Diario Ole)
• Paris Saint-Germain could join the race for Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic (Le10 Sport)
• AC Milan are trying to sign free-agent goalkeeper Antonio Mirante (Gianluca Di Marzio)
• Centre-back Alessio Romagnoli wants to stay at AC Milan despite new contract talks stalling (Tuttomercato)
• Newcastle United will target a move for Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana in January despite him being a long-term injury absentee (RMC)
• Manchester United will go head-to-head with Inter Milan for the signing of Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne (Gazzetta dello Sport)

BARCA CHASE KESSIE

Barcelona will sell Sergio Busquets to make room for Franck Kessie (El Nacional)

• Hector Bellerin, currently on-loan at Real Betis from Arsenal, has hinted he will stay in LaLiga (ELDesmarque)
• Man Utd are still interested in Sevilla defender Jules Kounde (Fichajes)
• Dusan Vlahovic the Fiorentina striker is in the sights of Spurs, despite Fabio Paratici’s denials (Tuttomercatoweb)
• Nahitan Nandez is an ‘object of desire’ of several clubs in Italy and across Europe. Spurs were linked with  the midfielder in the summer (Calcio Casteddu)
• Ralf Rangnick would be interested in a move to Newcastle United, should they offer him the chance to replace Steve Bruce (SportBild)

LIVERPOOL, MAN UTD OFFERED ATTACKER

The agent of Ousmane Dembele has approached Liverpool and Man Utd over a transfer  (Cuatro)

• Newcastle United are ‘a possibility’ for Bayern Munich defender Niklas Sule (Bild)
• Christopher Nkunku has batted off talk of a move to Chelsea after an explosive start to the season with RB Leipzig (Bild)