Plus: Manchester United set to receive world-record bids of more than £5bn; Man City suffer Erling Haaland injury scare ahead of Liverpool meeting; Daniel Levy struggles to identify Antonio Conte's successor at Tottenham; Chelsea could terminate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's contract
Wednesday 22 March 2023 08:15, UK
All the top stories and transfer rumours from Wednesday's newspapers...
DAILY MAIL
Napoli will demand £150m for their star striker Victor Osimhen this summer, according to reports, with Manchester United and Chelsea chasing his signature.
Peterborough will receive a bonus payment of around £1m from Brentford if Ivan Toney makes his England debut in this week's European Championship qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine.
Second bids for Manchester United have to be lodged by 9pm on Wednesday night, with the club set to be sold for a world-record fee of more than £5bn should the Glazers accept one of the offers.
Premier League stars are being encouraged to tone down their celebrations by managers for fear of goals being ruled out by VAR and it affecting their concentration.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will be tasked with getting England's strikers firing once his appointment to Gareth Southgate's staff is confirmed.
Chelsea could terminate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's contract in the summer according to reports in Spain, which also hint his trip to watch El Clasico last weekend has not impressed Stamford Bridge bosses.
Sources at Fulham fear the public reaction to Aleksandar Mitrovic's red card for pushing referee Chris Kavanagh on Sunday, including from a series of former officials, mean those deciding on his punishment will have already made their decision to come down hard on him.
THE TIMES
Manchester City have suffered an injury scare after Erling Haaland withdrew from the Norway squad because of a groin injury ahead of facing Liverpool in their first game back after the international break.
THE SUN
Harry Redknapp has teased a Tottenham return to assist Ryan Mason if Antonio Conte is sacked as expected this week.
Millionaire stars at Tottenham were branded selfish and savaged for not being able to perform under pressure, and now they are being pampered with a "well-being guru" to keep stars happy.
England fans have been warned not to wear belts in Naples ahead of the Three Lions' trip to Italy on Thursday amid fears of violent clashes with Italian ultras.
Premier League and EFL clubs have shelled out a staggering £1.3m in fines this season for abusive and aggressive behaviour.
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has claimed John Obi Mikel once swung for him.
Arsenal are on red alert with Lazio seemingly ready to cash in on midfielder Sergei Milinkovic-Savic in the summer, while reports in Italy suggest they are looking at Scotland international Lewis Ferguson as a possible replacement.
Alvaro Morata's post-Chelsea career rebirth has continued with him being named the successor to Sergio Busquets as Spain captain.
Sepp Blatter has sent his well-wishes to Roy Hodgson ahead of the 75-year-old's return to Premier League management with the team the former FIFA president called "Chrystal" Palace in his Twitter message.
Three Court of Appeal judges have rejected a claim for a reduced sentence from convicted robber Kurtis Dilks, who was jailed in 2022 for 30 years for tying up and threatening to cut off Ashley Cole's fingers in a raid at his Surrey home in 2020.
THE INDEPENDENT
Lando Norris was put in a headlock and robbed of his £144,000 watch after the Euro 2020 final at Wembley, a court has heard.
Rafael Nadal's absence from Indian Wells saw the 22-times Grand Slam champion slip out of the top 10 for the first time since 2005 this week.
DAILY EXPRESS
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy already has nine candidates on his list of potential replacements for Antonio Conte.
Shaun Murphy has hit back at Ronnie O'Sullivan following the snooker great's angry rant about the state of the sport.
Mercedes driver George Russell admits the 'correct decision' has been reached after being forced to give the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix third-place trophy back to Fernando Alonso.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani is said to be "very confident" his debt-free bid to buy Manchester United can win over the Glazer family as the £5bn takeover battle enters its defining stage.
Daniel Levy has difficult questions to answer over the running and direction of Tottenham as he attempts to identify a long-term successor to Antonio Conte.
Rory McIlroy is looking at using a replica of the putter with which he won his first two majors more than a decade ago as he seeks finally to end his Masters void and so become just the sixth player in history to complete the career grand slam.
THE ATHLETIC
Herve Renard is set to leave his role as Saudi Arabia manager to return home to France and coach the women's national team, whose boss Corinne Diacre was sacked earlier this month amid talk of a rift with her star players.
DAILY STAR
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale joked that his dad might text Mikel Arteta and beg him to stop asking his son to play out from the back.
THE GUARDIAN
Wolves owners' Fosun have opened talks over a potential investment in Belgian club KV Oostende as they look into expanding their portfolio of football clubs in Europe.
Jack Willis is hopeful he can continue to represent England after the World Cup as the openside flanker closes in on a new contract with Toulouse in the Top 14.
Jonny Bairstow is expected to miss the Indian Premier League this year and focus on preparing for the Ashes as he continues his comeback from a broken leg last summer.
DAILY RECORD
Former Celtic star striker Moussa Dembele will leave Lyon this summer when he contract expires, it has been reported.
Jim Goodwin wants to stay on as Dundee United manager next season but realises he is going to need to keep the club in the Scottish Premiership to do so.
DAILY MIRROR
Liverpool could be back on the trail of Barcelona teenager Gavi in the summer with the midfielder potentially becoming a free agent if the Catalan club's salary cap issues mean they are unable to register him as a professional player under the terms of a new contract he signed in September.
Liverpool have held talks with Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell over potentially taking on the same role at Anfield.
Dani Carvajal has opened up on the Clasico rivalry within the Spain camp after it was reported that the Barcelona and Real Madrid players have been 'kept apart in training'.
England white-ball coach Matthew Mott has repeatedly spoken of his desire to tempt Ben Stokes out of ODI retirement ahead of the 50-over World Cup later this year.
SCOTTISH SUN
The Scottish FA are considering developing a team of specialist video assistant referees as they bid to improve their practices amid a weekend of VAR chaos in the top flight.