Transfer gossip: Man Utd eye £18m England striker and wait for Mbappe fallout at Real

Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea could raid Newcastle before the deadline, while Real Madrid are preparing to make room for Kylian Mbappe, which may offer a boost for Erik ten Hag…

TOON STRIKER UP FOR GRABS

We are into the last five days of a January transfer window that perhaps needs putting out of its misery. It’s been deathly quiet so far for a variety of reasons. But surely things will start to move a little before next Wednesday…

One club to keep an eye on is Newcastle. The Magpies look desperate to make an addition or two but they are in a sell-to-buy situation. Which has alerted half of the big six to an opportunity around Callum Wilson.

The Evening Standard says the England striker could be available for just £18million, a figure which has piqued the interest of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, all of whom need a centre-forward but don’t seem to want to pay bug money.

TEN HAG FRUSTRATED OVER TRANSFER DESIRE

Indeed, Erik ten Hag has apparently got his heart set on bringing another of his former Ajax players to Old Trafford. But his new overlords don’t appear quite as keen.

The Mirror suggests Ten Hag wants Brian Brobbey at United this month, while the Red Devils boss is also keen to sign Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite.

But it is no longer as simple as satisfying Ten Hag’s whims. Sir Jim Ratcliffe apparently wants a transfers committee at Old Trafford to feature himself, Ten Hag, Sir Dave Brailsford, new CEO Omar Berrada, and their new sporting director. Berrada doesn’t start work at United until later in the year while a new sporting director hasn’t been appointed yet. So Ten Hag will have to sit tight and make do with one single fit centre-forward for the next couple of months.

UNITED RECEIVE REAL BOOST

If Ten Hag is patient – and he is allowed to stick around – then he could be presented with Vinicius Jr.

Sport says Real Madrid have decided to offload the Brazil forward because Florentino Perez does not believe he can carry the responsibility of being the face of the club for years to come.

Perez fancies Kylian Mbappe for that job and Real have made the PSG striker, who can move as a free agent in the summer, an offer worth £26.8million per season. That, according to Bild, is not enough for Mbappe, who is said to be looking for double that salary in addition to a signing-on bonus worth £107million.

So Mbappe remains undecided over where his future lies. In the meantime, Sport says Carlo Ancelotti has urged Real to re-sign Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad.

Read next: Chelsea top Premier League January transfer window spend table by ridiculous £330m margin