Barcelona 'plan to announce' signing of Man City's Garcia in January and more transfer rumours

straight to your inbox every day for freeChelsea are set to join Manchester United in the chase for RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano, according to reports.M.E.N. Sport understands that United are planning on making four new signings in 2021 to finally complete their squad overhaul and, as well as a right-winger, right-back and defensive-midfielder, a new central defender is also on the list.

United will be without Edinson Cavani, who is banned, with Victor Lindelof also an injury doubt, with Eric Bailly once again expected to partner Harry Maguire in defence.

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United have not initiated contact with Sporting Lisbon over signing midfielder Pedro Goncalves - according to reports.Goncalves, 22, has stepped into the void left by Bruno Fernandes following his move to Old Trafford and has helped Sporting top the Portuguese first division.The youngster has netted 11 goals in 11 league appearances - none of which have come from the penalty spot - which has led to speculation over his future at the

straight to your inbox every day for freeIndependiente del Valle have increased their asking price for Manchester United target Moises Caicedo, according to reports.With the financial impact of COVID-19 still being felt in football, January isn't expected to be a busy month of transfers for United but the club are hoping to bring in highly-rated midfielder Caicedo.The 19-year-old had made waves in his native Ecuador and is already a regular for his club and country at just 19, which hasn't gone

straight to your inboxKevin De Bruyne is ready to turn down Manchester City's opening offer for a new contract, according to reports.De Bruyne enjoyed a fantastic 2020 in which he was crowned the PFA Player of the Year and equalled Thierry Henry's long-standing assist record for a single season with 20.The brilliant Belgian has firmly established himself as the best player in the Premier League and, according to The Times, wants that fact to reflect in his pay packet.It's reported that City want

straight to your inboxAymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake added to Manchester City's problems at Chelsea that meant Pep Guardiola failed to name a full matchday squad. Eric Garcia became the sixth Blue to test positive for Covid-19 when results from Saturday's tests came back, but because he was already injured and hadn't travelled with the first team squad it was deemed safe for the Premier League match to go ahead.

straight to your inboxEderson, Ferran Torres and Tommy Doyle are all missing from Manchester City's squad to face Chelsea in the Premier League, as Zack Steffen and Aleks Zinchenko start.City had already confirmed they would be without Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus on the back of their positive Covid-19 tests over Christmas, with three more unnamed players also confirmed to have tested positive as well of two staff members.

straight to your inboxManchester City take on Chelsea on Sunday in a match that will be vital for both sides in keeping their Premier League title chances alive.Both teams currently sit on 26 points, though City have played two games less, and a win for either would move them to within four points of leaders Liverpool and Manchester United.But City are at a severe disadvantage as they will be without five players due to positive coronavirus tests as well as centre-back Eric Garcia who is out due

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United believe they will be able to sign Jadon Sancho for less than the €120m Borussia Dortmund were asking for last year in 2021, according to reports.United have been huge admirers of Sancho for a number of years and, following 2020's unsuccessful pursuit, have now failed in three different attempts to sign him.The club were confident of signing the 20-year-old last summer and even had a breakthrough in negotiations on his wages and agent

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United are keeping a keen eye on Norwich City defender Max Aarons, according to reports.Despite spending upwards of £140million on defenders over the last two years, United remain short on options at right-back position with Aaron Wan-Bissaka the only senior player in the position.Brandon Williams is actually right-footed but tends to be deployed at left-back, while other fill-ins Victor Lindelof, Axel Tuanzebe and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are

straight to your inboxBorussia Dortmund are looking to raid Manchester City's academy for another promising youngster in Jayden Braaf, according to reports.Dortmund have made a habit in recent years of signing some of the world's most talented teenagers and helping them develop in world-class players, which began when they signed Jadon Sancho from City in 2017.The German giants have already looked to repeat the trick when they signed 16-year-old Jamie Bynoe-Gittens on a free from the Blues this

straight to your inbox every day for freeJuventus would prefer a swap-deal with Manchester United if they are to sign Paul Pogba in January, according to reports.United took the option to extend Pogba's contract to 2022 earlier this year but his agent, Mino Raiola, thrown the midfielder's future into doubt after he claimed that his time at Old Trafford was over.The super agent also name-checked Juventus, the club where Pogba spent four years between his two stints in Manchester, as a possible

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United will not enter the race to sign Bayern Munich defender David Alaba - according to reports.Alaba's future at Bayern is unclear after failing to agree a new contract with the Bundesliga champions.

straight to your inboxWith Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi's contract expiring at the end of the season, the Argentine can open talks with interested parties in January, with Manchester City one of the clubs linked with signing the legendary forward.Ahead of January, former City defender Pablo Zabaleta is under no illusions that City would be a great club for Messi to join."Manchester City is the best place for Messi," Zabaleta told Spanish media outlet Marca.

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United want to trigger a one-year contract extension in Jesse Lingard's deal that expires at the end of this season.That is according to the Mail, who say United are expected to exercise their option to keep Lingard for another year in the coming days.Lingard, 28, has featured just twice this season due to fitness, isolation and competition reasons, as the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek have battled for the attacking

straight to your inboxWith Sergio Aguero becoming less influential and Gabriel Jesus struggling for goals, Manchester City could be in the market for a new striker, either in January or in the summer.That's according to a report from 90min, which suggests that City are keen to keep Aguero, but are planning to lessen their reliance on him and have made a new striker their top priority next summer as they prepare to transition away from the Argentine.The report goes on to suggest that City are

straight to your inbox every day for freeEverton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is seen as a 'different option' to Erling Braut Haaland for Manchester United, according to reports.Despite the great start to life Edinson Cavani has made at Old Trafford, he is now in the twilight of his career and, with Odion Ighalo set to return to Shanghai Shenhua at the end of January, United are expected to try and add another out-and-out striker to their ranks in 2021.Golden Boy winner Haaland has long been

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United have made contact with the agent of David Alaba over a potential transfer, according to reports.United initially decided not to prioritise their defence in the previous transfer window after spending big on Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka the year prior, but that soon changed following the opening day defeat to Crystal Palace.Alex Telles was drafted in on deadline day to provide competition at left-back but the club were unable to

straight to your inboxJamie Carragher named John Stones as his 'player to watch' in 2021 after the defender's recent renaissance with Manchester City.The England defender looked destined to leave the club in the summer after falling out of favour with Pep Guardiola and barely featuring at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.