Premier League Paper Round: Mourinho eyes Rooney swoop in January Jose Mourinho plans a January raid for Wayne Rooney; Leighton Baines could be on his way to Manchester United; and Martin ONeill could take over as Crystal Palace manager - here are the main stories making headlines in todays newspapers. Joses £35m Roo year raid: The Star on Sunday reports that Jose Mourinho is more desperate than ever to bring Wayne Rooney to Stamford Bridge - and has persuaded Roman Abramovich to bankroll at £35m January move for the Manchester United and England striker. Despite Roo’s fine start to the season – with both United and England – the striker’s long-term future at Old Trafford is still unclear, the paper claims. Rooney, just 28, has little more than 18 months left on his United contract – yet, as of now, his advisors insist they have heard nothing about extending his stay beyond June 2015. On Friday Red Devils boss David Moyes conceded he is unaware exactly what is happening – if anything at all – regards ending the stalemate. The Mail on Sunday also has a story about Rooney – one which suggests that United are wary of paying the huge wages demanded by the striker. Rooney apparently has asked for £70m over five years! Paper Round says: United hung on to Rooney all summer, even when they thought hed only be back-up for Robin Van Persie. Why on earth would they decide to offload him in January now that hes proven he can still be the equal - if not the superior - of the Dutchman? But with Chelsea offering £300,000-a-week to Rooney, a deal might, just might, be a possibility. United close in on Baines: Manchester United will sign Leighton Baines from Everton in January for £15 million, according to the Sunday Express. Moyes former club already have advanced plans to replace Baines, who they are resigned to losing just months after rebuffing a number of offers from United for the player. They are aware that Baines, who is 29 in December, is keen on rejoining Moyes at Old Trafford and believe it would be unfair to deny the attacking full-back, who has displayed admirable loyalty to Everton, the biggest move of his career. Paper Round says: It was always a surprise that the move didnt go through in the summer, and Baines superb form for club and country so far this season have obviously prompted United chiefs to sanction a big enough bid to make a deal happen. With Patrice Evra long-expected to leave in the summer, bringing Baines in as soon as possible makes good sense. O’Neill odds-on favourite for Palace job: Martin O’Neill has emerged as the favourite to replace Ian Holloway at Crystal Palace. The former Aston Villa and Sunderland boss has been linked with a number of jobs since leaving the Black Cats last season and was, at one point, favourite to take over as the boss of the Republic of Ireland. The Daily Mail report that Palace owner Steve Parish has been advised by ‘at least one of his trusted inner circle’ to approach the Northern Irishman about the vacancy at the London-based club. Paper round’s view: O’Neill certainly would be a good fit for Palace, despite his less-than successful stint with Sunderland. The real challenge for the Palace owners could be persuading O’Neill to take over at a club that are one of the favourites for the drop. A promise of a January war chest might just do the trick, though. Lewandowski available for just £7m: The Daily Star Sunday reports that Borussia Dortmunds Polish striker Robert Lewandowski is being offered to top Premier League clubs for just £7m…. Man United, Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea are all eyeing the situation with Borussia Dortmund offering a cut-price deal. Dortmund want to sell Lewandowski, 25, in the January window to prevent him joining rivals Bayern Munich on a free transfer in the summer when he is out of contract. Paper Round says: It sounds like a bit of wishful thinking, but the way Bayern are playing they could be almost out of sight in the Bundesliga by the time the winter break comes along. And Dortmund chiefs would love nothing more than to use their star man to put one over arch-rivals Bayern - even if it means shooting themselves in the foot for the latter half of the season. As for the man himself? Moving to England would surely be good for him on the pitch, and would avoid any unpleasant reaction from the passionate Dortmund fans should he switch to the mortal enemies. Zidane rubbishes Fergies dismissive talk of Gerrard: The Sunday Mirror reports quotes from Zinedine Zidane pouring cold water all over Alex Fergusons assertion in his autobiography that Steven Gerrard is not a top, top player. The Frenchman called the comments strange and said: For two or three years, Steven Gerrard was the best midfield player in the world. Even now he is playing at a high level for Liverpool and England. Paper Round says: Quite right too. Fergies comments on Gerrard were typical of an autobiography that has done his bank balance all manner of good, but at what cost? Hes repainted himself as a bitter and rather spiteful old man, and managed the remarkable feat of making everybody in football glad that hes headed off into retirement. Poyets plans blocked by language barrier: New Sunderland boss Gus Poyet has been hit by an embarrassing problem, according to the Sunday Express: The club’s Italian director of football Roberto De Fanti and his fellow countryman Valentino Angeloni, their chief scout, have set up a network of talent-spotters consisting almost exclusively of spies based in Italy. It means all the reports on possible targets are being emailed to Sunderland in Italian. Not exactly the ideal Italian job for Uruguayan Poyet, who is fluent in Spanish and English. Paper Round says: The most ridiculous story of the day? Poyet will be making all his decisions in close consultation with De Fanti. And in any case, the idea that nobody at the Stadium of Light would be able to render the Italian for hes bloody good - you need to take a look at this player into English or Spanish is laughable.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 14:27:24 +0000
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