ARSENAL OPEN TALKS __with JACK
Every regular Arsenal journalist has this story so clearly somebody wants us all to know that Arsenal are opening talks __with Jack Wilshere as he edges towards the final year of his contract, though the Mirror do tell us that it remains to be seen whether Wilshere has a long term future at the Emirates’.
The Daily Telegraph add that Wilshere ‘will want reassurances on his likely first-team opportunities’ before he signs. It seems unlikely that those will be forthcoming from a club that has just sent him on loan for the season because they have Francis bloody Coquelin.
CHELSEA DO NOT WANT NEYMAR
It’s hidden at the bottom of a piece in The Times about Antonio Conte and Chelsea being at odds about his new assistant after the summer departure of Steve Holland; he wants Italian and they want British for continuity.
Of greater interest to this column is the claim that Conte has ‘rejected’ the chance to pursue Neymar and will instead concentrate on the twin targets of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez.
Meanwhile, the evening Standard claim that Southampton full-back Cedric Soares is on his list of full-back targets, while they want to bring defender Andreas Christensen back to the club when his loan spell ends.
LAZAR LOVE
Somehow, Liverpool are going to get almost all their money back on Lazar Markovic, with the Daily Mail claiming that West Ham are willing to pay £16m for the winger who pitched up on loan at Hull in January. The Serb has played six Premier League matches without notching a goal or an assist.
As an aside, the Mail also mention that West Ham have already opened talks with Pablo Zabaleta, who is out of contract this summer.
AND THE REST
Lyon are chasing Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony…Tottenham want to sign 24-year-old French midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia and Colombian defender Jeison Murillo…Manchester City are looking to bringing Valencia left-back Jose Luis Gaya to the club…City’s hopes of signing French defender Theo Hernandez from Atletico Madrid look to have been dashed after Real Madrid stepped in with a £20m offer.