Football gossip: Bale, Pogba, Lo Celso, Sessegnon, Alderweireld, Rose, Rodriguez, Messi
Real Madrid’s pursuit of Manchester United’s France midfielder Paul Pogba, 26, is likely to depend on Wales forward Gareth Bale, 30, leaving the Spanish club. (AS)
Bale, who earns £550,000 a week at the Bernabeu, where he has a contract until 2022, needs wages on a par with the world’s top players to leave Real Madrid, a source close to the Welshman says. (Sky Sports)
Bale will scoop a minimum £20m welcome bonus if he joins the Chinese Super League. (Mail)
Tottenham are set to spend big again this week to complete the signings of Real Betis and Argentina midfielder Giovani lo Celso, 23, plus Fulham’s England Under-21 defender Ryan Sessegnon, 19. (Mirror)
Fulham wanted £40m for Sessegnon but Spurs are confident of agreeing a deal worth closer to £25m for a player with just one year left on his contract at Craven Cottage. The teenager is also keen to remain in London, though Manchester United Paris St-Germain, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund had also monitored him. (London Evening Standard)
Toby Alderweireld expects to stay at Tottenham, despite Roma being linked with the 30-year-old Belgium defender, who has a clause in his contract that he must be sold if a club meets a £25m buyout fee by Thursday. (Telegraph)
Former Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri wants to bring Tottenham defender Danny Rose, 29, to Juventus. (Mail)
Atletico Madrid are likely to focus their attention on Real Madrid’s Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez, 28, rather than Tottenham’s Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen, 27. (Marca)
Barcelona are set to open talks with Lionel Messi, 32, to extend the Argentina forward’s contract for a further four years. (ESPN)
Antoine Griezmann, 28, says a move to Manchester United was “a possibility” at one stage, while Barcelona’s new signing has reiterated his desire to play alongside France team-mate and Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette, 28, at club level. (Goal.com)
England defender Harry Maguire, 26, is no closer to a Leicester exit despite continued speculation of a move to Manchester United. (Leicester Mercury)
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, 28, is preparing to sign an improved contract worth £117m that is likely to run to 2025, and wants to become captain at Old Trafford. (Manchester Evening News)
Juventus are willing to sell Argentina forward Paulo Dybala, 25, to Manchester United this summer, providing their demands of between £70m and 90m are met. (Mail)
West Brom’s bid for Sporting winger Matheus Pereira, 23, has stalled because the Portuguese club are demanding a £9m fee to be paid next summer is written into the loan. (Express and Star)
Everton’s England Under-21 winger Ademola Lookman, 21, is edging closer to an exit as talks with RB Leipzig gather pace. (Liverpool Echo)
Former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison expects Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Zaha, 26, to remain at Selhurst Park this season, despite interest from Arsenal and Bayern Munich. (Talksport)
Arsenal are still some way off Crystal Palace’s £80m valuation for Zaha, with the Selhurst Park hierarchy having rebuffed the latest approaches. (Independent)
West Brom are closing in on their fourth signing of the summer after agreeing a fee of around £1.5m with QPR for right-back Darnell Furlong, 23. (Express and Star)
Wolves are set to make a second offer for Olympiacos defender Pape Abou Cisse, 23. (Sport Witness, via Birmingham Mail)
Brighton midfielder Taylor Richards, 18, says it was an easy decision to leave Manchester City for the Seagulls. (Argus)
