We've had the 'new Cristiano Ronaldo', the 'new Messi' and now the race to sign the man dubbed the 'new Neymar' is underway, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal all chasing Santos star Gabriel Barbosa.
According to the Daily Express, the twinkle-toed 18-year-old striker has a release clause of £40m in his contract but South American sources say that a mere £24m would be enough to see Santos part ways with their teenage sensation. Barbosa's existing deal expires in 2016 season but the Express claims the trio of Premier League trio are all planning audacious bids at the end of this season.
The Brazil Under-20 international, who has netted nine time in 37 senior appearances for Santos, is also being eyed up by German club Wolfsburg and Barcelona with the Catalan club confident they could win the race because of the presence of Neymar at the Camp Nou.
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Arsenal also face competition in the battle to land German World Cup winner Mats Hummels, according to the Daily Star, which claims Louis van Gaal is "planning to move" for the Borussia Dortmund defender at the end of the season.
As was reported yesterday United suffered a ten per cent drop in revenue for the three months to the end of September, pocketing £88.7m compared to £98.5m during the third quarter in the same period last year. Consequently United are unlikely to go wild in January's transfer window but will instead look to splash the cash in the summer. And the Star says top of the Red Devils' shopping list will be German enforcer.
The 25-year-old has long been linked with the Old Trafford and Arsenal, but the Star says if United are serious about prising him from Dortmund they better be prepared to pay "in the region of £47m".
The same two adversaries are also said to be after Italian striker Alessio Cerci, if the Daily Express is to be believed. The 27-year-old only joined Atletico Madrid from Torino in the summer in a £13m deal, but is said to be struggling to adapt to life in Spain. Where better to go, then, than Manchester or London?
Elsewhere and Metro says that Arsenal are still dithering over a bid for Sevilla midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak. Rumours emerged earlier in the season suggesting the Gunners were tailing the Poland international even though he only joined the La Liga side in the summer. But a string of composed performances have captured the attention of Arsene Wenger, not to mention Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan. But despite all the interest Sevilla's sporting director Ramon Monchi says they have not had any official enquiries about the defensive midfielder with a £24m release clause in his contract.
"We've not received any offer for him," Monchi is quoted as saying. "Things are going very well with Krychowiak. We're going to let him enjoy being at Sevilla because he's delighted to be here."
The Daily Mail reports that Liverpool defender Glen Johnson might not be bound for Roma after all as the Reds have offered the 32-year-old a new two-year contract at Anfield. Then again, the fact the "deal is worth half his current wage" could yet tempt Johnson into heading to Italy. The right back is out of contract at the end of the season and as we reported yesterday Roma are keen on bringing Johnson to Italy next season.
The Mail alleges that Johnson is "reluctant to accept" Liverpool's offer of a £60,000-per-week contract and it could be that Roma will tempt him with a deal closer to the £120,000 a week he is currently earning at Anfield.
