Swiss star Xherdan Shaqiri is on the verge of being cut loose by Bayern Munich and the Daily Mirror says that Arsenal and Liverpool are on "alert" for the wideman – not a word often associated with either club this season. The Mirror claims that Bayern boss Pep Guardiola is ready to let Shaqiri leave the Allianz Arena on a loan deal in January with the German giants said to have put the fee at £1.5m with the option of a £12m permanent deal next summer.
As well as Arsenal and Liverpool, Shaqiri has caught the eyes of Napoli and Atletico Madrid and the 23-year-old is believed to be open to a move after falling down the pecking order at Bayern behind Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller in front of him.
The same paper claims that Arsene Wenger has finally accepted the need to shore up his defence in January and will embark on a major "transfer shake-up" in the new year.
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Apparently the Nutty Professor will sign two centre backs and a holding midfielder. The Mirror claims Sevilla's 24-year-old Polish international Grzegorz Krychowiak is being lined up for the latter role, despite his £20m mpreice-tag and the prospect of competition from Inter Milan.
The paper is less certain about the Gunners' defensive targets but says James McCarthy of Everton could be in Wenger's sights, with Tyrone Mings of Ipswich also mentioned in dispatches, although he is wanted by Chelsea.
Meanwhile unwanted Arsenal frontman Lukas Podolski has moved a step closer to jumping the floundering Emirates ship by revealing that Wolfsburg are interested in bringing him back to the Bundesliga. The 29-year-old Germany appears to have upset Arsene Wenger at some point over the summer because despite his proven qualities as a sharpshooter and the World Cup winner's medal in his back pocket, Podolski has played just 73 minutes of football for the Gunners this season.
Rumoured suitors Schalke and former club Cologne have both denied wanting to sign him in January, but Podolski told German rag Bild about Wolfsburg's interest. "I only know from my consultant that Mr Allofs [Klaus Allofs, Wolfsburg's sporting director] has inquired after me," said the German, who has made no secret lately of his craving for more game time.
And Bild has more news about English clubs, with the paper also reporting that Manchester United are set to "win the race" to sign Martin Odegaard. In relaying the news the Daily Star, inevitably, describes the 15-year-old Norwegian midfielder as a 'wonderkid' and says the Stromsgodset midfielder has been sought after by "every major European club", along with Liverpool and Arsenal.
Apparently Real Madrid even offered Odegaard a five-year contract but the youngster is poised to sign professional terms with United when he turns 16 in December. Odegaard, who made his international debut for Norway in August, has apparently chosen United for their reputation for nurturing youth.
Finally Talksport reports that veteran Aston Villa striker Darren Bent has been farmed out to Brighton & Hove Albion until the end of the year. The 30-year-old frontman with 13 England caps to his name has seen his career stall since joining Villa from Sunderland in 2011 and to date he's made just one start this season. Now he's looking to kick-start his season with the Championship side and Seagulls manager Sami Hyypia is looking forward to bringing Bent to Brighton. "He wants to play regular games and that is evident in his willingness to step down from the Premier League," explained Hyypia. "His record speaks for itself. He is a top-class striker with a more than 100 Premier League goals."
