Plus: Man Utd have opened up talks with PSV Eindhoven for Cody Gakpo; Newcastle feel they can persuade Marcus Thuram to join the club from Borussia Moenchengladbach; Brazil want Roma boss Jose Mourinho as their next manager
Saturday 24 December 2022 10:14, UK
All the top stories and transfer rumours from Christmas Eve's newspapers...
THE SUN
Pep Guardiola and the Manchester City hierarchy are determined to win the fight for Jude Bellingham.
Uruguay stars could face bans as long as six months for bad behaviour after their World Cup exit, making complaints to the officials and reportedly damaging VAR equipment pitchside.
Ahmed Al Barwani, a member of the Oman parliament, has offered Lionel Messi more than £800,000 for the bisht he wore while lifting the World Cup to try and keep the garment in the Middle East.
The UK and Ireland's bid to host Euro 2028 is in crisis mode due to Belfast venue Casement Park needing what is described as "a miracle" to be ready in time - it is currently closed and in a state of dereliction ahead of proposed redevelopment.
PSG are interested in signing Man United midfielder Fred despite the Red Devils activating a 12-month extension on the Brazil international's contract.
DAILY STAR
Brazil want Jose Mourinho to replace to Tite as the national team's head coach, and reports in Italy suggest they have already made contact with his agent Jorge Mendes.
DAILY MIRROR
Manchester United have opened talks with PSV Eindhoven over a deal to sign forward Cody Gakpo after learning of the Dutch club's financial issues.
Southampton have joined the list of clubs interested in signing Rangers winger Ryan Kent, although Ibrox boss Michael Beale remains keen on keeping him at the club on fresh terms.
McLaren boss Zak Brown has conceded the team is going to have to significantly improve to stop Lando Norris leaving for a rival.
Benfica have turned down an £88m offer from an unnamed club for Argentina World Cup-winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez, according to reports in Portugal.
Chelsea are set to seal deals for both David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos.
THE TIMES
Newcastle United might be able to prise Marcus Thuram away from Borussia Monchengladbach next month for less than £15m with his contract almost up.
DAILY RECORD
Manchester United and Arsenal have been told Atletico Madrid will allow Joao Felix to leave the club on loan in January as long as his half-season FFP cost of around £8m is paid as a fee.
St Mirren are closing on a deal to sign Waterford United defender Richard Taylor.
DAILY EXPRESS
Manchester United have, according to a report, chosen Benfica's Portugal star Goncalo Ramos as their priority transfer target for January.
World Cup final referee Szymon Marciniak has savaged French complaints that one of Lionel Messi's goals for Argentina was "illegal" because two subs were on the pitch by showing phone footage of seven French players on the pitch while Kylian Mbappe was scoring one of his hat-trick goals.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Arsenal are set to trigger a two-year extension to promising midfielder Charlie Patino's contract. Patino, who has Spanish heritage through his father, is currently on loan at Blackpool and was recently linked with a move to Barcelona.
The RFU has used results of a trial in France as it puts the finishing touches on a radical change to the laws of the sport in grassroots sport which would see tackles above the navel outlawed.
DAILY MAIL
Yorkshire's racism trial will be held in public after the ECB rejected appeals from Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard to hold the hearing behind closed doors.
The Football Assocation has promised England's Lionesses will travel to next summer's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in business class after previous criticism they were forced into travelling economy for long-haul trips.
AC Milan are already considering selling former Liverpool forward Divock Origi less than six months after his arrival at the San Siro.
Morocco boss Walid Regragui has warned Fiorentina they face losing midfielder Sofyan Amrabat as he "needs to be playing for one of the world's top 10 teams."
New Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui is keen to tie Adama Traore down to a new contract as he approaches being able to listen to offers from overseas clubs in January.
The EFL is ready to offer the National League a third promotion place as part of football's financial reforms, with talks set to intensify in January and a change possible as soon as 2023-24.
Brendan Rodgers expects Leicester to resist offers for James Maddison next month as Boxing Day opponents Newcastle continue to monitor the Foxes playmaker.
THE INDEPENDENT
The International Olympic Committee has raised the possibility of boxing being removed from the 2024 Olympics in Paris and slammed the behaviour of the Russian-led International Boxing Association which, it says, is "only interested in its own power."
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists the impending departure of sporting director Julian Ward will not impact their transfer activity.
THE SCOTSMAN
Hibernian are set to cancel their loan deal with Gambia striker Momodou Bojang, who has failed to shine since his arrival in Leith.
THE SCOTTISH SUN
Former Queen of the South boss Wullie Gibson has denied racially abusing a shop worker, pleading not guilty to a charge of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner at Dumfries Sheriff Court - the case was adjourned until March 10 for trial.
