Man Utd in £50m bid; new Messi to Man City talk

Manchester City have been given fresh hope of a deal for Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, while Manchester United are set to continue their spending with a £50million bid for a defender, according to Tuesday morning’s newspapers.

MAN CITY GIVEN FRESH HOPE OF MESSI SWOOP

Manchester City believe they are in pole position to sign Lionel Messi – but only if he one day decides to leave Barcelona.
Their interest has been peaked by claims on Monday by former Blaugrana president Joan Laporta that there is a conspiracy at the Nou Camp to get rid of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
‘There are certain powers who want Messi to no longer be a Barca player,’ Laporta told Catalunya Radio.
‘The club has let the player down, the best player in history, the best player in the world. We have a president and a board that didn’t accompany him when he had to testify in court.’
According to the Manchester Evening News, the Citizens are still doubtful that the 29-year-old will ever leave the Catalan outfit, but believe that his relationship with manager Pep Guardiola could see him arrive at the Etihad if he did.
Messi – sporting a new blonde dye during Barcelona’s training St George’s Park – is also friends with Sky Blues chief executive Ferran Soriano and director Txiki Begiristain, who used to work for Barcelona before moving to the Premier League side.

MAN UTD TO RIVAL MAN CITY FOR BONUCCI

Manchester United are ready to rival Manchester City for Juventus centre-back Leonardo Bonucci, according to reports.
The defender, 29, has been linked with a £50million switch to Man City as Pep Guardiola bids to beef up his central defence with neither Eliaquim Mangala or Nicolas Otamendi totally convincing alongside Vincent Kompany.
But Jose Mourinho also intends to strengthen his central defence and the Manchester Evening News claim the United boss has also identified Bonucci and is preparing a £50million bid.
However, the paper claims that with United closing in on a world record deal for Paul Pogba, the club are unlikely to sell another of their key men to the club and ‘would prefer’ to do business with City for the player.
United have already signed central defender Eric Bailly from Villarreal this summer but Mourinho admitted he was uncertain whether the Ivory Coast international would immediately adapt to the Premier League, while Marcos Rojo could leave.

AND THE REST

Manchester City are closing on the £20m transfer of Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus despite rival interest from Manchester United (Daily Mail)
Everton are working on a deal to land Stoke City winger Marko Arnautovic as Ronald Koeman looks to find a solution to bolster his attack (Daily Mail)
Chelsea have made a surprise move for Carlos Tevez, as their search for a new striker widened last night (Daily Express)
Chelsea are set for a boost with Atletico Madrid on the verge of dropping their interest in Diego Costa (Daily Mirror)
Liverpool could break the £100m barrier for sales this summer (Daily Mail)
Premier League champions Leicester will hold crunch contract talks with Kasper Schmeichel, Danny Simpson, Danny Drinkwater, Jeffrey Schlupp and Riyad Mahrez ahead of the new season (Daily Mirror)
Mahrez is “not bothered” about speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal, according to team-mate Demarai Gray, 20 (The Independent)
West Ham are set to make a move for a new left-back after Aaron Cresswell was ruled out for up to four months (Daily Mirror)
Sam Allardyce admitted Arsene Wenger is among the bosses with whom he will build bridges to ensure players are released for England (Daily Mirror)
Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker could be out for up to five months after suffering a knee injury (The Sun)
Manchester United have upped their bid for Paul Pogba to £95m to force the world record deal over the line – but the deal is being held up by who picks up his agent’s £25million fee (The Sun)
Juventus could replace Pogba with 32-year-old Barcelona player Javier Mascherano, who can play in defence and midfield, if the France international moves to Old Trafford (Corriere dello Sport)
Manchester City and Manchester United will continue to visit China for pre-season tours despite the shambles surrounding the cancellation of yesterday’s derby game in Beijing (Daily Star)
Crystal Palace have joined Premier League new-boys Burnley in the battle to sign Brighton midfielder Dale Stephens (Daily Star)
Steve Bruce is considering whether to quit football altogether after his shock departure from Hull (Daily Star)
Sunderland have finally thanked Sam Allardyce for saving them from relegation – three days after he left to take the England job (Daily Star)
Sam Allardyce has left Wayne Rooney in limbo over the England captaincy for at least another month and suggested that he will lose his midfield place unless he is playing in that role for Manchester United (Daily Telegraph)
Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund have both made official offers to 26-year-old Newcastle and France midfielder Moussa Sissoko (Le 10 Sport)
Hull City have a five-man shortlist topped by former Everton boss Roberto Martinez as they seek a successor to Steve Bruce (The Guardian)
Sunderland midfielder Liam Bridcutt is keen to join Leeds United. The 27-year-old Scotland international spent time on loan at Elland Road last season (Yorkshire Evening Post)
Winger Ryan Kent, 19, is the first of a host of youngsters Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp intends to send out on loan next season (Liverpool Echo)
Bristol City have agreed a deal with Bayern Munich to sign 21-year-old goalkeeper Ivan Lucic for an undisclosed fee (Bristol Post)