Manchester City are considering increasing their interest in Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi with a formal offer.
Guehi has emerged as a serious target for City following injuries to key centre-backs Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.
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Even as they resign themselves to losing their captain when his contract expires in the summer, Palace’s asking price for a January sale is over £35m.
City are unlikely to do so much at the end of the season for a player they can sign for free, but The Pitch Prospect understands sporting director Hugo Viana is prepared to make an offer by the window’s closing date.
Liverpool were close to signing Guehi last summer before Palace boss Oliver Glasner blocked the move on deadline day.
At this stage it is believed that the champions have no plans to sign the England international in January as the total cost of the package is too high.
Guehi, who is seeking a salary of around £200,000 a week, can sign a pre-contract with European clubs and is calm about his contract with the Eagles.
No United return for Rashford
Despite Ruben Amorim’s departure, Manchester United have no plans to bring Marcus Rashford back to Old Trafford.
Rashford was assigned to United’s so-called ‘bomb squad’ after the now-former United boss questioned the striker’s attitude.
The England international is shining on loan at Barcelona, who have the option to sign him permanently for around £26m at the end of the season, and with Amorim out of the picture, some United fans are hoping for a reconciliation between Rashford and his boyhood club.
However, The Pitch Prospect has been told the decision to sack Rashford was influenced as much by club officials such as director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada, as well as Amorim himself.
With Wilcox and Berrada remaining the main decision-makers, a return for Rashford seems highly unlikely.
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Gallagher says goodbye to Madrid
Tottenham-bound Conor Gallagher sent a classy farewell message to Atletico Madrid’s teammates and coaching staff before flying to London for his medical.
As The Pitch Prospect exclusively reported on Monday evening, Gallagher has agreed a five-and-a-half year deal with Spurs, ending his 18-month stay in Spain.
Unable to say goodbye in person, the England international thanked all his colleagues for the welcome they gave him after his move to Atlético in the summer
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Sources close to Gallagher particularly thank Atleti coach Diego Simeone for allowing him to leave on friendly terms to pursue his World Cup dreams.
Gallagher believes he has a better chance of catching the eye of England head coach Thomas Tuchel if he plays week in, week out in the Premier League.
The Pitch Prospect can also reveal Aston Villa were confident of completing a deal for Gallagher before Tottenham’s dramatic late hijacking which left manager Unai Emery in disarray after he also missed out on the 25-year-old when he left Chelsea.
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The hammer time is over for Paqueta
West Ham bosses fear Lucas Paqueta could effectively go on strike to force his exit from the club.
Paqueta is desperate to leave England and return to his native Brazil.
The £51million record signing was left out of the squad for Sunday’s FA Cup third round win over QPR after reacting poorly to West Ham rejecting a £35million offer from Flamengo.
While coach Nuno Espirito Santo wants to keep the midfielder, sources told The Pitch Prospect it is far from certain that Paqueta will play in the crucial London derby at home to Tottenham this weekend.
The 28-year-old is said to have told chairman David Sullivan that he has no intention of being on the club’s books at the start of next season.
With the Brazilian window open until March, the best-case scenario for the Hammers is that they can convince him to stay and aid their fight to survive relegation for at least another few weeks.
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