Between injuries and alleged “issues” with his diet and time-keeping, Ousmane Dembélé has not had a particularly happy time of it at Barcelona since his £105m move from Borussia Dortmund in 2017. A member of France’s World Cup-winning squad last summer, the 21-year-old winger made front page news in Spain last weekend after being benched by Ernesto Valverde for missing two training sessions without permission. Asked if the player was in danger of jeopardising his future at the club, Valverde was non-committal. “I have nothing to say,” he said. “Internal matters are internal. We want to help the players to be better.” While reports in Spain suggest Barcelona have no immediate plans to offload the winger, Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp is a known admirer of his work and the Sun suggests he could test the La Liga club’s mettle with an £85m bid in January.

Marko Arnautovic may leave West Ham to pursue Champions League dream Read more

José Mourinho is ready to bounce Marcus Rojo and Eric Bailly out of Old Trafford in order to help fund the purchase of the new central defender he didn’t get around to buying during the last transfer window. Rojo has yet to make an appearance for United this season, while Bailly has not been spotted in action since being unceremoniously hauled off during the first half of United’s 3-2 win over Newcastle last month. Mourinho is prepared to let both players go to free up dressing-room pegs for the possible arrival of Bournemouth’s Nathan Aké, Bayern Munich’s Jérôme Boateng or Inter’s Milan Skriniar in January. A Slovakian international, Skriniar is currently negotiating a new deal with the Serie A side, according to his agent. “We’re talking about it,” said Karol Csonto in an interview with Tuttomercatoweb. “We’re working on it. It’s a subject we’ll be facing more intensively over the next few months. He is happy with the Nerazzurri shirt, he is playing well, but he is aware there are some difficulties in Serie A.”

Arsenal are keeping tabs on Atalanta central defender Gianluca Mancini, but will have to fend off interest from both Borussia Dortmund, Inter and Roma if they are to secure the signature of the 22-year-old who has scored four goals in 11 appearances for his club this season. Elsewhere in Italy, 21-year-old Cagliari midfielder Nicolò Barella is believed to be the subject of interest from Tottenham Hotspur, having already been linked with possible moves to Liverpool, Manchester United and a host of top Italian sides. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Barella insisted he is happy at Cagliari, but said if he had to choose between a move to another Serie A side or the Premier League: “I would go for England because I love the way they approach the game. Everyone there is just as irritable and prone to fouls as me.”

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Arsenal and Spurs are reported to be keen on signing Genk striker Leandro Trossard in January, but will have to pay big bucks to prise the 23-year-old away, who has previously been linked with Southampton, from the Belgian club in the next transfer window. Genk manager Philippe Clement is aware of the interest in his star player and has said offers of less than €25m will not be entertained. Meanwhile in Turkey, Fenerbahçe holding midfielder Ozan Tufan is getting the glad eye from scouts sent by Crystal Palace and Fulham. As handy as a small pot, the 23-year-old can also play at right-back or on the right wing.