Transfer news LIVE: Newcastle bid £33.5m for Guimaraes, Spurs ‘in Luis Diaz talks’, Chelsea ‘negotiating Dembele deal’

City eye Alvarez

Manchester City want to sign River Plate forward Julian Alvarez.

According to Juan Cortese of Argentine sports outlet TYC Sports, City want to sign the 21-year-old who already has 36 professional goals to his name.

Alvarez could be the No9 replacement for Sergio Aguero, who left for Barcelona in the summer.

He could also replace Ferran Torres who also departed for Barca.

McAvennie recommends Raphinha

West Ham legend Frank McAvennie has recommended the club to sign Leeds ace Raphinha.

The Brazilian took last weekends game by the scruff of the neck and helped an injury-ravaged Leeds side turn over the top-four chasing Hammers.

Speaking to West Ham Zone, McAvennie said: "[Cresswell] came back and you could tell he was injured.

“I don’t know what his injury was but he was a bit hesitant against Raphinha when he got the ball.

“But listen, you would be hesitant against him because he’s a brilliant player.

“Raphinha is a player I’d like to see at West Ham. He’s a good player.”

Shearer approves Lingard transfer

Alan Shearer would like to see Newcastle sign Man Utd's Jesse Lingard.

Chelsea considering Ousmane Dembele transfer

Chelsea are among the clubs considering a swoop for Barcelona outcast Ousmane Dembele.

The France forward, 24, joined Barca from Borussia Dortmund for an initial £97million in 2017.

But Barca will let him go in a £3m loan deal until the end of the season — when his contract ends.

Newcastle could also join the race.

The Catalan giants’ director of football Mateu Alemany yesterday insisted he will go before the January 31 deadline.

Alemany said: “He doesn’t want to be part of our project.”

Bournemouth eye Dembele

Bournemouth are keen on Peterborough forward Siriki Dembele.

While they are also interested in Tom Lawrence at crisis-club Derby.

Dembele, 25, is entering the last six months of his Posh contract.

He has five goals this season for the Championship strugglers, and 31 in total in 147 appearances.

Cherries chief Scott Parker was keen on Dembele during his time at Fulham. 

Bournemouth also like the look of Rams skipper Lawrence.

Derby’s financial problems mean they are struggling to keep hold of their best players. 

Wales international Lawrence, 28, has been an integral part of County’s unlikely bid for survival despite a heavy points deduction and boss Wayne Rooney would be loathe to lose him.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium will host the England Under-21s’ home Euro qualifier against Andorra on March 25.

Harry Kane coy on future

Harry Kane has pointed the finger at Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy - claiming a lack of signings and poor managerial appointments are to blame for the club falling behind their Prem rivals.

The England captain believes new boss Antonio Conte is the right man to take the North Londoners back to the highest level.

But he clearly feels Spurs have slumped due to bad calls by Levy.

Kane said: "Players come and go and sometimes it disrupts the team a little bit. Coaches come and go and it takes time to adapt.

"The fact is, in the Premier League especially, so many teams are so good and everyone's building to try and break into that top six. There's a good eight or nine teams who are fighting for those places.

"If you don't get one or two things right then you can really fall behind the pack and that's kind of happened to us.

“So we need to be careful that we don't keep falling.

"But we're feeling confident that we can do that, especially since the manager's come in."

Amadou Haidara transfer interest

RB Leipzig could sell Manchester United and Newcastle target Amadou Haidara for £46million in the January transfer window, according to reports.

The 23-year-old Mali international has been linked with a move to the Premier League in the summer.

But Sky Deutschland are now claiming he could be sold before the end of the month as Leipzig will struggle to turn down a sizable offer for the midfielder.

Speaking about Haidara, journalist Phillip Hinze said: “I think it gets interesting with everything from £46m upwards.

“At some point it becomes indecent from the RB point of view, you’re almost forced to accept that.

“But before that, Haidara will be left here in Leipzig at least until the summer, because he’s a key anchor in midfield.”

Increased Toffees stake

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has increased his stake in the crisis-club and handed them a £100million capital injection.

The British-Iranian businessman, who used to have shares in Arsenal, has been with the Toffees since 2016.

During that period, he has sanctioned the transfers of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Richarlison and Yerry Mina.

But following the news Moshiri has increased his shareholding in Everton to 94.1 per cent, the club are set to be handed even more funds.

A statement read: "Everton Football Club’s Board of Directors can confirm Mr Moshiri has further affirmed his commitment to the Club with a £100m capital injection.

"The Club’s owner has acquired a further 33,333 shares in the Club, through Blue Heaven Holdings Limited, taking his shareholding in Everton to 94.1%.

"This acquisition represents the capitalisation of previous loans made by Mr Moshiri - greatly strengthening the Club’s balance sheet.

"The investment by the Majority Shareholder will ensure the Club continues to navigate the significant financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic whilst progressing plans for the First-Team squad and the ongoing development of a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock."

Pogba set to quit

Man Utd midfielder Paul Pogba is reportedly set to quit Old Trafford in the summer.

The Frenchman’s current contract is due to expire in June and he is attracting interest from a host of top European clubs.

And according to Marca, Real Madrid are one of the clubs heavily interested in signing Pogba.

The 28-year-old would, however, command huge wages.

West Ham eye Diaz

West Ham are interested in signing Blackburn striker Ben Brereton Diaz.

According to the Express, the Hammers want to sign the Chile international and Liverpool's Nat Phillips.

Diaz has 20 goals from 26 league games in England's second-tier this season.

He could cost around £25m with his contract due to expire this summer.

Hugo Lloris signs new contract

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has signed a new two-year contract at the club.

Lloris' current deal is due to expire in the summer, but it now seems Tottenham have managed to tie the 35-year-old down to an extension.

Fabrizio Romano took to Twitter to confirm the deal was almost done, even breaking out his famous 'here we go' slogan.

He reports a two-year deal has been agreed, with Antonio Conte a major factor in keeping him in North London.

Palace pull out of Ramsey race

Crystal Palace have reportedly pulled out of the race to sign Aaron Ramsey.

The former Arsenal midfielder is pushing for a return to the Premier League after Juventus confirmed plans to sell him.

Palace were among English clubs linked with Ramsey, who is believed to be open to working with Gunners legend and Eagles boss Patrick Viera.

But according to the Daily Mail, Viera's side have now decided against signing the Welshman, who is on wages of £400,000-per-week.

Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri confirmed earlier in January that Ramsey is free to leave, describing him as surplus to requirements.

Allegri said: "Ramsey, he returned today after we had given him a few days off to work, to train separately, in England.

"In any case, he's an outgoing player. "

Diego Carlos bid rejected

Newcastle have had a £25million bid for Sevilla star Diego Carlos knocked back by the Andalusians as Tottenham enter the race to prise him away from Spain.

Italian journalist  tweeted: "Newcastle proposal for Diego Carlos around €30m [£25m] guaranteed has been turned down.

"Magpies are still pushing, Sevilla want to keep Diego but deal’s not off."

And the  have stated that Spurs are in competition with the Magpies over Carlos's signature

Haaland rumour addressed

Borussia Dortmund have slammed ‘bull***t’ claims that they have given Erling Haaland a transfer ultimatum.

Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke told ARD: “That one or the other medium writes that BVB would certainly give him an ultimatum, which is total bull****.

“Erling was obviously a bit bothered by it, but we can’t influence that. We told him that too.”

Haaland has been linked with various clubs, such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain

An's Catalan plan

Chelsea star Andreas Christensen is in advanced talks with Barcelona over a free transfer before his contract expires in June.

Christensen recently teamed up with the KIN agency, where Lionel Messi’s older brother Rodrigo has huge interests.

According to , the centre-back and his representatives have been holding extensive discussions with Barca.

The Blaugrana are very keen on the Denmark international as they look to bolster their back line

Tottenham plan double swoop

Tottenham are ready to back Antonio Conte with a £50million swoop for Diego Carlos and Adama Traore.

Spurs yesterday entered the race with newly mega-rich club Newcastle for Sevilla centre-back Carlos.

And Conte’s side are set to make an improved offer for Wolves wideman Traore after having a £15m bid rejected.

Tottenham’s Italian boss has also expressed an interest in Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard, who was the subject of a second Newcastle loan bid last night.

Aubameyang loan offer

Aubameyang has reportedly been the subject of a loan bid from Al Hilal who are willing to cover his whopping wages.

Aubameyang is understood to already have a loan offer from Al Nassr on the table, with the obligation to permanently sign him for £6.7million.

And now their Saudi Arabian rivals Al Hilal are claimed to have joined the race to lure the Gabon international to the Middle East.

According to the , Al Hilal are also looking to bring the player to the Gulf nation on loan, where they are prepared to pay all of his £350,000-a-week wages.

The news outlet claims that the fact they will cover his salary is seen as an attractive offer for Arsenal.

They even state that the club have put a package together to turn his potential loan into a permanent stay in the summer.

It has been said that Aubameyang and his team will now consider the proposal from Al Hilal.

Lloris ‘signs new Spurs contract'

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is reportedly set to sign a new two-year contract at the club.

Lloris' current deal is due to expire in the summer, but it now seems Tottenham have managed to tie the 35-year-old down to an extension.

Fabrizio Romano took to  to confirm the deal was almost done, even breaking out his famous 'here we go' slogan.

He reports a two-year deal has been agreed, with Antonio Conte a major factor in keeping him in North London.

It's claimed the Italian boss 'strongly wanted' Lloris to stay put, and was a major factor in ensuring contract talks were successful.

Chelsea consider Dembele swoop

Chelsea are among the clubs considering a swoop for Barcelona outcast Ousmane Dembele.

Barca will let him go in a £3m loan deal until the end of the season — when his contract ends.

Newcastle could also join the race.

Zinchenko wanted by Real Betis

Real Betis are back on the trail of Manchester City utility man Oleks Zinchenko.

But the Ukraine international is determined to stay with the champions and earn a new deal at the Etihad.

Zinchenko has become increasingly important to Pep Guardiola since full-back Benjamin Mendy was suspended by City in August.

However he has started just nine matches in all competitions this season with Joao Cancelo shining in the role.

And that has alerted several other clubs across Europe.

That includes Betis, who have previously made an enquiry for the versatile Zinchenko.

One chair too many

Football fans have been sent into a meltdown after Arsenal legend Alan Smith was bizarrely snapped sitting on FOUR CHAIRS at the Emirates.

The Gunners icon, 59, was on on Sky Sports commentary duty for the club's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg clash against Liverpool in North London.

And Smith has baffled Twitter users after he was caught on camera sitting on a huge pile of chairs while watching on from the gantry.

Athletic journalist Adam Hurrey  of the two-time First Division champion, where he said: "You may have detected this from his co-commentary already.

"But I can exclusively reveal that Sky's Alan Smith is sitting on *at least four chairs* at once at the Emirates."

Supporters couldn't believe what they were seeing, as one commented: "I have never seen those chairs outside of school."

Another quipped: "All those comfy seats in the Emirates and he’s sat on 4 plastic chairs."

A third joked: "Looks like he's had his booster."

Derby in rescue talks

American businessman Rich Riley is in talks to rescue Wayne Rooney’s Derby with a £7million windfall.

The ‘angel investor’ and former leading computer company chief executive is looking into ways of handing over the funds needed so the Rams avoid being kicked out of the EFL.

League chiefs want enough money pumped in so the club can fulfil its fixtures — and issued a February 1 deadline, as we first revealed.

Riley is strongly linked to a group pulled together by former Derby chairman Andy Appleby.

Paying the money would put them in pole position to buy the Championship strugglers.

The consortium have met the EFL and were close to a deal until the administrators ran into problems with compensation claims from Middlesbrough and Wycombe.

Derby could confirm the deal before the derby with Nottingham Forest on Saturday to ease pressure on player sales this month.

Ndombele ‘wanted by PSG on loan'

PSG are reportedly lining up a loan move for Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.

Ndombele has been linked with a move away after being booed off the pitch in the FA Cup win against Morecambe.

The 25-year-old has been left out of Antonio Conte's last two match-day squads, and has even been training on his own, according to .

The report goes on to claim ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is keen on a reunion with Ndombele, having signed him from Lyon in 2019 for a club record £63million.

And Ndombele himself is thought to be eager on a return to France, where he made his name before moving to England.

Mahrez misses penalty in AFCON

Riyad Mahrez missed his first penalty since 2018 as Algeria crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations after a 3-1 loss to Ivory Coast.

The Manchester City ace had a chance to give the defending champions a glimmer of but his effort cannoned back off the base of the post.

AC Milan's Franck Kessie and PSV's Ibrahim Sangare put Ivory Coast 2-0 up by half-time.

And Arsenal's Nicolas Pepe made it 3-0 nine minutes after the break.

But when Youcef Belaïli was brought down in the box on the hour mark, Algeria fans sensed a glimmer of hope.

However, it wasn't to be as Mahrez sent the keeper the wrong way but blasted his left footed effort low and hard into the bottom of the right-hand post.