Transfer gossip: Matic again linked with United, Costa speculation continues
Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic has again been linked with Manchester United.
Matic has repeatedly been linked with a potential move to Old Trafford since former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho took over as United boss.
And The Sun have duly touted Matic as a possible replacement for Morgan Schneiderlin, who has joined Everton, and veteran Michael Carrick.
Meanwhile, speculation continues over Diego Costa’s future and who might replace him if he leaves Chelsea.
The Sunday Express claim Chelsea have lined up the £75m signing of Germany forward Thomas Muller from Bayern Munich.
And The Sun on Sunday tout Real Madrid’s Álvaro Morata for a potential move to Stamford Bridge.
The Sunday Mirror reports that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has no intention of allowing Costa to move to China amid reports the striker has been made a huge offer to play in the Far East.
“The owner is going to play hard-ball,” a source is quoted as saying.
The Sun on Sunday declare that Costa “hates English football and hates the FA” and is determined to force a move during this month’s transfer window.
The newspaper quotes ‘a Chinese source’ as saying: “Costa is the number one target and we know that he wants to come here.
“The personal terms have been agreed in principle. But Chelsea are adamant they do not want to sell at least until the end of their season.”
The Telegraph, which broke the initial story of Costa being dropped for Saturday’s game at Leicester after a row, has subsequently reported that a number of Chelsea players have urged him to apologise and forget about the apparent interest from China, at least until the summer.
Cesc Fabregas and skipper John Terry “have been working hard to try to make Costa see sense” the Telegraph say.
ESPN, on the other hand, believe Costa is not looking to engineer a transfer during this window.
ESPN Brasil has reported that the player has told friends he has no interest in a move to China despite reports of a lucrative offer.
