Griezmann hunt hots up; Man Utd WILL bid for Bale

Chelsea will join Manchester United and Arsenal in the race for Antoine Griezmann, while the Red Devils will make a ‘serious offer’ to sign Gareth Bale next summer, according to Thursday’s papers.

CHELSEA JOIN RACE FOR GRIEZMANN

Chelsea will reportedly try and hijack any move Manchester United make for Antoine Griezmann.
United have been lining up a move for the Atletico Madrid striker, 25, since before the summer transfer window opened and are still keeping tabs on him. It was also claimed recently that the player held talks with Arsene Wenger about a potential move to Arsenal during Euro 2016, but opted instead to stay with Atletico.
However, despite claims that the player would only consider leaving Atletico if Diego Simeone left, The Sun suggests Chelsea are planning a bumpber approach to sign the player next summer.
But reports in Spain claim Simeone could leave the club at the end of the season, leaving Griezmann’s future unclear. While United are frontrunners to land the France star, the Blues are big admirers of Griezmann and could be prepared to meet his £84million release clause.
The massive fee would smash the transfer record £50m Chelsea paid Liverpool to sign Fernando Torres in January 2011.

MAN UTD ‘SERIOUS’ IN EFFORTS TO SIGN BALE

Manchester United are serious in their pursuit of Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale, according to reports in Spain
The Welsh winger is currently in talks over a new deal at the Bernabeu.
And he is reportedly demanding around £14m-per-year to extend his stay with the Spanish giants.
But according to Sport, Real are yet to offer the 27-year-old anything more than the £8m he currently earns.
United however, are reportedly willing to table a bumper deal worth about £17million a season to lure Bale to Old Trafford next summer.
And the Catalan outlet insist Jonathan Barnett, the player’s agent, hasn’t created the story to try and get a better contract for his client.
They say Real simply won’t have enough money to keep the former Tottenham star.
Relations between the two clubs are at an all time low after David De Gea was prevented from joining the La Liga outfit last summer.
And having already beaten them to the signing of Paul Pogba, Bale represents another opportunity for the Red Devils, now managed by former Real boss Jose Mourinho, to hammer home their advantage in an ongoing transfer rivalry.

AND THE REST

Jose Mourinho will bury the hatchet with Pep Guardiola by inviting him for a drink after the Manchester derby (The Sun)
Manchester City are willing to let Joe Hart leave the club for a ‘considerate’ transfer fee – as a thank you for his years of service (The Sun)
Barcelona fear Lionel Messi could be ruled out for four months if his groin problems persist (The Sun)
Watford striker Odion Ighalo, 27, has said he turned down the chance to join Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG for £37.5m (Daily Star)
Ruud Gullit says Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney, 30, has been let down by managers playing him out of position (Daily Mirror)
Man United boss Jose Mourinho is considering giving strike sensation Marcus Rashford his first club start of the season against arch-rivals City on Saturday in the wake of the stunning midweek hat-trick he scored on his debut for England Under-21s (Daily Mirror)
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has said he would be open to hosting both a Premier League and an NFL game on the same day at the club’s new ground (ESPN)
Bournemouth have told Arsenal to forget trying to lure boss Eddie Howe to The Emirates (Daily Star)
Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew believes Wilfried Zaha has the potential to play for Barcelona one day (Daily Express)
Chelsea duo Eden Hazard and Gary Cahill have stuck the knife into former manager Jose Mourinho ahead of Saturday’s Manchester derby by questioning his abilities as a manager (Daily Express)
Reading manager Jaap Stam has revealed that Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan, 30, failed a medical with the Championship club (Reading Post)
Jose Mourinho’s feud with Arsene Wenger shows no sign of abating after the Arsenal manager would not let Mourinho sit next to him at a UEFA conference (Daily Mail)
Yaya Toure has not given up on his Manchester City career – and is aiming to spend the rest of the year proving himself to Pep Guardiola (Daily Mail)
Former Espanyol defender Michael Ciani, 32, has said he wants to play in England. A free agent after cancelling his contract with Espanyol, Frenchman Ciani favours a move to Arsenal (Goal)
Liverpool’s new watch sponsors have been forced to delete an unusual tweet mocking the club for not winning a league title in 26 years (The Independent)
Manchester United have headhunted West Brom talent-spotter Steve Hopcroft in a revamp of the club’s academy system under Jose Mourinho (Daily Telegraph)
Kilmarnock are considering a move for former Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra, 33 (Daily Record)
Nike is considering its deal with England after the Three Lions’ disappointing performance at Euro 2016 (Daily Mail)
Senegal midfielder Mohamed Diame, 29, said he swapped Premier League Hull City for Championship Newcastle this summer because he was joining “a massive club, a massive city” with a “big manager” (Newcastle Chronicle)