Football
Chris Borg, Transfer writer 6y

Man United to sell Smalling and Jones, bring in Varane and Maguire

Clubs are slowly turning their eyes toward the summer window, and Transfer Talk has the updates on all the latest rumours.

United poised for defensive overhaul

It's defensive shake-up time at Manchester United, according to the Mirror, which reports that Chris Smalling and Phil Jones "are set to be offloaded."

Jose Mourinho wants to bring in a new central defender or two, "with Smalling set to make way and fellow England defender Jones also under serious threat."

Both players were criticised after the 1-0 defeat at Newcastle on Sunday, and the Mirror says Mourinho "is understood to have had misgivings" before that loss at St James' Park.

Although his team still have the best defensive record in the Premier League, the manager "has told United chiefs they must start spending big on defenders."

So who could come in? Leicester defender Harry Maguire has been linked with a move for around £50 million, and the Mirror says United could also target Real Madrid's Raphael Varane.

Dortmund will try to sign Batshuayi full-time

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said he felt there could be a chance of signing Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi permanently -- and the London Evening Standard says BVB will try to do just that.

Dortmund were unable to secure an option to make Batshuayi's loan into a full-time deal, but the Standard reports that they "will make an attempt to do so in the summer."

The Belgium international has scored three times in two starts for BVB, but much will hinge on the managerial situation at Stamford Bridge.

With speculation surrounding the future of Antonio Conte, a change could mean a more prominent role for Batshuayi.

The Standard says Conte "was reluctant to fall back on him in the absence of Diego Costa" last season and has "preferred using Eden Hazard as a false nine than throwing Batshuayi in for the most important matches."

Gunners set to thwart Liverpool's Meyer move?

Could we be in for another of those summer transfer battles? The Liverpool Echo says that, with Germany midfielder Max Meyer poised to leave Schalke at the season's end, Arsenal could rival Liverpool for him.

Meyer, 22, has previously been linked with Liverpool, whose manager Jurgen Klopp is an admirer -- but the Echo says Arsene Wenger is "already working hard" to persuade him to move to London.

Meanwhile, the Sun reports that Arsenal are monitoring young Hamburg defender Joshua Vagnoman, valued at around £2.5m.

It says head of recruitment Sven Mislintat has watched Vagnoman on several occasions but adds that Chelsea, Manchester City and Bayern "have also shown an interest in the 17-year-old."

Tap-ins

- John Terry will consider his future at the end of the season and could opt to extend his Aston Villa contract for a further year, the Telegraph reports.

Terry has helped Villa to second in the Championship and the report says the 37-year-old and the club "have a mutual option to trigger another 12 months to his current contract."

- Arsenal defender Krystian Bielik could head for Birmingham City in the summer after saying he would like to join them, the Birmingham Mail reports.

It says Bielik, who is currently loan at Walsall but spent part of last season at Birmingham, could move when his Arsenal deal expires in the summer as he targets "a fresh start."

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