Saturday’s gossip column: Messi, Neymar, Smalling, Rojo, Eriksen, Mbappe, Coutinho
Lionel Messi will be allowed to leave Barcelona on a free transfer next summer, should the 32-year-old Argentina forward desire, owing to a clause in his contract. (El Pais, via L’Equipe)
Messi will be allowed to negotiate his future with any club from 1 January. (Marca – in Spanish)
Real Madrid will move for PSG’s French forward Kylian Mbappe, 20, next summer. The French champions warned Barcelona of Real’s intentions during the clubs’ failed negotiations for Neymar over the summer. (Sport – in Spanish)
Chris Smalling is ready to turn his back on Manchester United for good after the 29-year-old England defender joined Serie A side Roma on loan. (Mirror)
And United’s Argentine defender Marcos Rojo, 29, is ready to push for a January move away from the club if required, with a mooted summer switch to Everton having failed to materialise. (Ole – in Spanish)
Italian giants Juventus are eyeing up a double swoop for Tottenham’s Belgium defender Toby Alderweireld, 30 and Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen, 27, with Inter Milan also interested in Alderweireld. (Mail)
Spanish champions Barcelona wanted to sign 25-year-old Italy winger Federico Bernardeschi from Juventus in the summer transfer window. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish)
Manchester City have agreed a deal with Serbian side FK Cukaricki to sign Montenegro-born 19-year-old forward Slobodan Tedic in January. (Manchester Evening News)
The 17-year-old son of former Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, D’Margio, has signed his first professional contract with the club. (Manchester Evening News)
City manager Pep Guardiola rejected the opportunity to sign Barcelona’s Brazil midfielder Philippe Coutinho before the 27-year-old secured a loan move to Bayern Munich. (Marca – in Spanish)
Arsenal’s Armenia winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan, 30, is unsure if he will return to the Gunners after joining Roma on loan until the end of the season. (Sun)
Sir Alex Ferguson tried to persuade former England striker Michael Owen to sign for Manchester United as a teenager before he joined Liverpool. (Mail)
Juventus have entered the race to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s 20-year-old German midfielder Kai Havertz, with talks likely to begin when the clubs meet in the Champions League group stages. (Calciomercato – in Italian)
English midfielder Kalvin Phillips, 23, is “very close” to signing a new contract with Leeds United, the Championship club’s managing director Angus Kinnear has revealed. (Birmingham Mail)
Former Liverpool youngster Bobby Duncan turned down Manchester United before the England 18-year-old accepted a move to Serie A side Fiorentina. (Mail)
Paris St-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel still keeps in contact with Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele, 22, despite a prospective Parc des Princes switch failing to materialise. (Express)
