Plus: Why Man Utd could face a Champions League ban; Graham Potter snubs Sweden; FA prepared to review evidence of serious breaches of agent rules in transfer involving Tottenham, Portsmouth and Jermain Defoe
Thursday 23 November 2023 08:47, UK
The top stories and transfer rumours from Thursday's newspapers...
DAILY MIRROR
Erling Haaland is increasingly confident he will be fit to lead Manchester City's line when they return to Premier League action against Liverpool on Saturday.
Manchester United will sell defender Raphael Varane to the highest bidder next summer in order to get him off their wage bill.
Sir Alex Ferguson has put his £3.5m home in Wilmslow up for sale.
England are set to hit the road again before next summer's Euros with St James's Park in the frame to host a friendly.
Manchester United are targeting Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo and Sporting Lisbon's Goncalo Inacio to replace Raphael Varane.
Part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's grand plan to bring success back to Manchester United will involve copying the structure of Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is poised to continue his squad overhaul over the course of the next two transfer windows, with as many as 13 players set to leave Old Trafford.
THE SUN
Manchester United face being barred from European competition next season if both they and Nice, owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, finish in the Champions League places and the French side finish in a higher position.
Tony Woodcock says England will have a more rested Harry Kane at Euro 2024 next summer thanks to his move to Bayern Munich.
A PFA report into the controversial drug snus is expected to be made public before the New Year and could potentially lead to a blanket ban.
Reports in the Netherlands have suggested injured Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber will not be back in action in time to force his way into their Euro 2024 squad.
Manchester United were mocked by a massive Checkatrade billboard outside Old Trafford saying they would be able to find someone to fix the leaky roof inside the stadium but couldn't fix their leaky defence.
Jose Mourinho has revealed that he is open to managing in the Saudi Pro League.
Everton face selling star names such as Jordan Pickford in January.
DAILY MAIL
Graham Potter has turned down the chance to become Sweden's new national team head coach according to reports in the Scandinavian country.
Everton are unhappy that the £300m compensation claim from Burnley, Leeds and Leicester will be heard by the same disciplinary panel that docked them 10 points.
Premier League bosses have been warned they are at risk of touchline bans, while clubs are risking bigger fines as the FA promises to get tough on criticism of referees.
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has been accused of telling goalkeeper Kevin Trapp to feign injury during their 2-0 defeat by neighbours Austria on Tuesday, whose media have also labelled him "weak" and "pathetic".
Mikel Arteta has been granted an extension until Friday morning to respond to his FA charge for comments made after Arsenal's defeat by Newcastle earlier this month.
The judge leading an investigation into former Spanish FA head Luis Rubiales for alleged sexual assault and coercion has summoned Jenni Hermoso to testify on November 28.
Lewis Hamilton held talks with Red Bull and Ferrari before signing his new deal with Mercedes and was reportedly open to joining forces with chief rival Max Verstappen.
LIV Golf stars are growing increasingly confident that Jon Rahm will join the Saudi-backed tour despite a series of dismissals of that happening since the split.
Football Leaks hacker Rui Pinto has been given a six-month suspended sentence after admitting to illegally accessing confidential information on Paris Saint-Germain.
Nike have reiterated the sportswear giant no longer has a relationship with Mason Greenwood, after the on-loan Getafe forward shared social media posts featuring the brand's trainers.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's son, Vincent, has been named in a boot camp for the Sweden Under-15s.
More than 120 MPs have accepted a total of £340,000 worth of sporting freebies over the past year.
Richard Cockerill is on a three-man shortlist to take on the head coach role of ambitious Georgia just days after being dramatically sacked by French club side Montpellier.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Referees chief Howard Webb has told Premier League officials they must clamp down on players waving imaginary cards and enforce directives penalising dissent.
Government patience is said to be "wearing thin" on the Premier League's long-awaited New Deal as clubs remain at odds over how to foot the bill.
The esteemed coach who put Serena Williams on the path to greatness wants to help revive Emma Raducanu's career by making her "bulletproof".
DAILY STAR
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has earmarked Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo as one of two possible replacements for Raphael Varane if the Frenchman leaves Old Trafford in the summer.
THE TIMES
The FA is looking into allegations of potentially serious breaches of agent rules in a 2008 transfer which took Jermain Defoe from Tottenham to Portsmouth and is reported to have used an unlicensed broker.
Novak Djokovic has said he thinks the ATP's failure to stop different tournaments using different balls is leading to a rise in injuries on the tour.
EVENING STANDARD
Rugby union's Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals could be held in Amsterdam or Lisbon in 2025 with a decision expected in the first three months of next year.
Gabriel Jesus says goals are not his "strong point" as the Arsenal forward responded to criticism about his poor scoring record for Brazil.
England's Under-17 World Cup run ended in shock fashion on Wednesday with defeat to Uzbekistan.
THE ATHLETIC
USMNT and Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie believes he has emerged stronger from a loan spell at Leeds United during which he felt he "let people down".
Markel Zubizarreta has been confirmed as Spain's new director of women's football, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) have confirmed.
Real Madrid are interested in signing Brazilian youngster Guilherme Ruck, the 14-year-old star of Real Valladolid's youth academy.
THE GUARDIAN
The Blackpool forward, Jake Daniels, has said it was a "slap in the face" when Jordan Henderson moved to play in Saudi Arabia.
DAILY EXPRESS
Tottenham could see any hope of signing Raphinha go up in smoke with reports claiming the Brazilian may be heading to the Saudi Pro League instead.
Chelsea are reportedly tracking Napoli duo Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen, who could each cost over £100m.
Manchester United hope to convince Casemiro to stay amid the player's intentions to retire in Saudi Arabia, according to reports.
DAILY RECORD
Livingston have no plans to follow Kilmarnock's lead and rip up their artificial surface and are more likely to renew it "when the time comes" according to chief executive Dave Black.
Celtic are reported to have scouted young Irish talent Sam Curtis amid significant interest in the St Patrick's Athletic teenager from the Premier League.
Reports in Turkey have suggested Sheffield United are leading the race to sign former Rangers winger Ryan Kent from Fenerbahce in January.
Scottish football chiefs have been urged to bin their own organised displays if they really want to win the war on pyro.
Brendan Rodgers has assured Celtic fans he is in charge of the club's signing policy - and has no plans to bring in any more 'project players' when he splashes out in the January sales.
Craig Levein insists he'll relish Tynecastle's wrath when returning with St Johnstone on Saturday.
