UK Paper Round: Liverpool to lose Sterling? A look through the Sunday papers, with Raheem Sterling and Yaya Toures futures in doubt, Arsenal after more forwards and Liverpool chasing Iker Casillas. PSG TO DIVE IN FOR STERLING: Paris Saint-Germain are ready to swoop for Liverpools Raheem Sterling as the England star stalls over a new contract, the Independent on Sunday claims. The 19-year-old currently earns £43,000 a week and Liverpool hope an extra £20,000 will persuade him to extend a deal that has two years to run. However, oil-rich PSG are prepared to offer Staerling a six-figure weekly wage to prise him away from Anfield. Paper Rounds view: The Independent on Sundays story is pretty slight, but the fact it makes the front of their sport section suggests they think it has some legs. It is still very early days, as Sterling is already well paid and has time to run on his current deal. However, he is arguably the best teenager in world football (seriously, tell us a better one) and this illustrates the difficulty Liverpool will have keeping hold of a prize asset unless they can consistently secure Champions League football. But the player is going nowehere in the immediate term. TOURE OUT, POGBA AND/OR TIOTE IN AT CITY: Manchester City will consider the future of Yaya Toure in the January transfer window, according to Rob Shepherd of the Daily Mail. The Ivorian midfielder has endured a difficult start to the season, following a summer dispute with the club in which he alleged the club prevented him from seeing his dying brother. French giants Paris Saint-Germain are favourites to land the midfielder, prompting City to plunge into the trnasfer market for Juventuss £60 million-rated French Paul Pogba, formerly of neighbours Manchester United. Alternatively they will splash out the £15m required to land Newcastles Cheick Tiote, who is also wanted by Arsenal. Paper Rounds view: Shepherds column was presumably filed before Toures superb winner for City at Aston Villa, but in any case theres no doubt hes unsettled. And although the conduct of player and agent has been somewhat unusual (see: cakegate) Toure still mourning the death of his brother, the psychological effects of which should not be downplayed. However, January would be a strange time for Champions League clubs to start trading some of their best players, given they would all be cup-tied in Europe (bar Tiote of course). Only if City go out of the Champions League would they consider cashing in on Toure who, despite everything, has been Citys most consistently decisive player for years. ARSENAL CHASE GIGNAC, GIOVINCO: The Sunday Express believes Arsene Wenger will add either Andre-Pierre Gignac or Sebastian Giovinco to bolster his attacking options in January. The players are out of contract at Marseille and Juventus respectively next summer, and Wenger is planning a cut-price move for one or the other. Gignac has started the season in sensational form, with nine goals in as many games. Giovinco, on the other hand, is struggling for first-team football in Turin. Paper Rounds view: Theres a lot wrong with this. First off, why would Arsenal want another forward at precisely the time when Olivier Giroud comes back from injury? And how about the assertion that Wenger wants either Gignac and Giovinco when they could hardly be different players - Gignac a big, powerful number nine; Giovinco a small, tricky attacking midfielder. Whats more, the article remarks on Gignacs superb form (in fact, it credits him with three more goals than he has actually scored) and then glibly states: The France international is looking for a way out of Ligue 1, and would jump at the chance to ply his trade in north London. Gignac to Barnet, then. LIVERPOOL AFTER CASILLAS, VALDES: Liverpool will turn to Real Madrids Iker Casillas if their move for free agent Victor Valdes falls through, reports the Sunday Express. Brendan Rodgers is unconvinced by Simon Mignolet and wants to bring in a rival for the Belgian. Valdes is still without a club after failing a medical at Monaco in the summer following a serious knee injury. Liverpool would offer him a short-term deal to limit their liability should the goalkeeper suffer a recurrence of his injury. Casillas, meanwhile, looks desperately short of form and confidence at Real. Paper Rounds view: Knee injury notwithstanding, Valdes seems like a perfectly sensible target having proven himself thoroughly capable during a trophy-laden stint at Barcelona. As for Casillas; for all his troubles, he remains Real Madrid captain and is still Carlo Ancelottis first choice keeper - for now. As such, its unlikely that hed abandon the Bernabeu just to provide competition for Mignolet. The end may very well be near for Casillas at Madrid, but he would surely seek assurances over first-team football before leaving - and he is cup-tied in the Champions League. HART TO LOSE ENGLAND PLACE: Still with goalkeepers, Joe Hart could be dropped by England after his poor start to the season with Manchester City, the Sun claims. Manager Roy Hodgson is considering Ben Foster and Fraser Forster for Thursdays Euro 2016 qualifier against San Marino. Hart was rotated out of the City side for last weekends Premier League game at Hull, and has made several mistakes this campaign. Forsters Southampton, meanwhile, sit next to City in the Champions League places and have the divisions best defence with only four goals conceded. Paper Rounds view: Hodgson is indeed considering a change in goal, but you could bring Peter Shilton back and still beat San Marino easily. Hodgson himself said: “I would like to think that against San Marino our goalkeeper isn’t going to be the busiest person on the field. It seems like a good opportunity to get Foster or Forster involved in competitive action, but it would have little bearing on Harts position as Englands number one.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 11:44:04 +0000
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