Liverpool To Sign Chamberlain Liverpool are refusing to be scared off by Arsenal’s £35million valuation of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as Jur...
Liverpool are refusing to be scared off by Arsenal’s £35million valuation of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as Jurgen Klopp steps up his pursuit of the unsettled England midfielder.
Arsenal have yet to hold any formal talks with Oxlade-Chamberlain over a new contract, even though the 23-year-old is about to enter the final 12 months of his existing deal, and Liverpool are eager to exploit the situation.
Much of Arsenal’s focus in recent months has appeared to centre on the uncertain futures of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, who are also out of contract at the end of next season and at risk of leaving, while others have been left to stew.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has been told talks will take place at the end of the season but the prospect of the midfielder leaving is another troubling headache for Arsenal’s embattled manager, Arsene Wenger.
Arsenal Ready To Spend Big
Arsenal are ready to spend £200million in the next window to fix their squad — and Arsene Wenger will be the man splashing the cash.
Manager Wenger is still expected to be in charge when the summer transfer dealing starts, despite the increasingly bitter fan backlash, as the Gunners prepare for the biggest revolution of his 21-year reign.
Wenger will also be under pressure to shake up the backroom staff — and if results get worse still on the run-in then there will be a greater push to instigate even more change this summer.
In Other News
However, Wenger's relationship with Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis is becoming strained as the 67-year-old Frenchman delays a decision over his future. (London Evening Standard)
Wenger was planning to announce his new deal this month, but poor form and increasing hostility from fans has forced a rethink. (Times - subscription required)
Arsenal are looking to appoint a director of football for the first time, with ex-Gunners winger Marc Overmars the prime candidate. The Dutchman, 44, is currently director of football at Ajax. (Daily Mail)
The Gunners should sack Wenger and appoint Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri, 49, as his replacement, says ex-Arsenal midfielder Stewart Robson. (Talksport)
Liverpool are keen to sign Arsenal's 23-year-old midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose contract expires next season, and are not put off by the Gunners' £35m valuation. (Daily Telegraph)
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho fears his goalkeeper David de Gea, 23, has lost focus amid renewed interest from Real Madrid. (Daily Star)
Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli - who came close to joining Chelsea before the appointment of Antonio Conte - says he still wants to manage in England. (Sun)
Chelsea want to sign Monaco's French left-back Benjamin Mendy, 22, while Manchester City and Liverpool are also keen on the former Marseille player. (Daily Mirror)
The Blues' Belgium international playmaker Eden Hazard, 26, is not yet ready to join a club like Real Madrid, says former Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly, 48. (Talksport)
Chelsea and Netherlands midfielder Marco van Ginkel, 24, is wanted by Fenerbahce and PSV Eindhoven, where he is on loan, this summer. (London Evening Standard)
Manchester City's Spain winger Jesus Navas, 31, is expected to rejoin Sevilla when his contract expires in the summer. Navas has started 10 Premier League games this season. (Daily Telegraph)
West Brom want to sign Liverpool's French defender Mamadou Sakho, 27, who has been on loan at Crystal Palace. The Eagles are also keen on turning Sakho's loan into a permanent deal. (Sun)
Liverpool tried to cover up their tapping-up of an 11-year-old boy by instructing his father to lie to Premier League investigators, it is claimed. (Daily Telegraph)
Real Madrid's Portugal defender Pepe, 34, is to be offered a one-year contract extension amid interest from both Chelsea and Manchester City. (Independent)
Marco Silva is likely to be Hull City's boss next season - provided the Portuguese keeps the Tigers in the Premier League. Silva, 39, signed a deal until the end of the season when he took over in January. (Hull Daily Mail)
Former Leicester and England striker Emile Heskey says he believes his old club can win the Champions League. The Foxes face Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their quarter-final on Wednesday. (Leicester Mercury)
West Brom's Belgian defender Sebastien Pocognoli, 29, has not ruled out a return to his former club Standard Liege as he nears the end of his Baggies contract. (DH, in French)
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, 36, is to take charge of the club's Under-18s next season after impressing boss Jurgen Klopp since rejoining the Reds in a floating role at the academy. (Times - subscription required)
Sunderland forward Carl Lawson, 22, has joined relegation rivals Middlesbrough on trial. (Evening Gazette)
Former Arsenal youth winger Tyrell Robinson, 19, is close to winning a contract at Watford after a trial with the Hornets. (Watford Observer)
In a poll of almost 1,500 Derby County fans, 79% want defender Chris Baird, 35, to stay next season. The former Fulham and Northern Ireland player is out of contract in the summer. (Derby Telegraph)
Preston North End midfielder Ben Pringle, 27, could be a target for Rotherham United, who have been relegated to League One. (Lancashire Post)
Manchester United have posted a job advert on their website for youth scouts to identify talent as young as nine.(Manchester Evening News)
Every player at Sheffield Wednesday is donating some of their wages - "90 minutes of cash" - to help fund a specialist ward at the city's children's hospital. (Sheffield Star)
A mother claims a ball struck by Cesc Fabregas in a private west London park - where ball games are banned - left her baby seriously hurt. A spokesman for the 29-year-old Chelsea midfielder says it was Fabregas' daughter who kicked the ball - and the family have apologised over the incident. (Sun)
