Transfer news & rumours LIVE: Man City ready to battle Bayern & Man Utd for Bundesliga wonderkid

Man City ready to battle Bayern & Man Utd for Bundesliga wonderkid

Manchester City are reportedly monitoring the progress of highly-rated Koln forward Said El Mala but face stiff competition for his signature from a number of European heavyweights.

According to the Bayern Insider podcast, via German television channel Sport1, El Mala is believed to be attracting interest from a number of clubs. After emerging from the academy of German third-tier outfit Viktoria Koln, the youngster signed a contract with top-flight side FC Koln in 2024, remaining on loan with the lower league club for the 2024-25 season. After scoring 13 goals in 32 games in 3. Liga last season, Sport1 claim Brighton lodged a £17 million (€20m/$23m) bid to sign El Mala in the summer, which was rejected by Koln.

Sport1 further claim Pep Guardiola's men have reached out to the wonderkid's camp. However, the same report claims that Bundesliga duo Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund - as well as Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain - are also believed to be interested in signing El Mala.

Lampard's shock swoop? Coventry plans explained

Frank Lampard's plans for allowing Patrick Bamford to train at high-flying Coventry City have now been explained.

After initially being linked with a move to La Liga side Getafe which failed to materialise, Bamford's hopes of finding a new club looked to have received a boost on Friday. According to The Telegraph's Mike McGrath, the former Chelsea forward was spotted training with Coventry ahead of their clash with Watford on Saturday.

Newcastle boss Howe responds to Slot's Isak jibe

Eddie Howe stopped short of getting embroiled in a war of words with Arne Slot after the Liverpool boss labelled Newcastle a "smaller club" when questioning their handling of Alexander Isak.

Speaking ahead of Newcastle's clash with Fulham on Saturday, Howe said: "The set-up is here is very good. It is not perfect, we've got things to improve and to grow. But the owners here have developed the facilities since I've been here very, very well. You can see there is building work going on currently to hopefully deliver even better in the future. But I have no complaints. We've got elite athletes here, many of them, and touch wood, we're managing them pretty well at the moment. I like the way you've worded that… encouraging me to go into bat! I don't have to do that, I don't feel. You've done it for me, reeling off all those things! But you obviously know what my answer would be. I don't think that's wise for me to get involved in those discussions. Alex is no longer at this football club, so I won't comment on it."

Mourinho cites McTominay & Varane as Benfica boss targets January signings

Benfica head coach Jose Mourinho cited the likes of Scott McTominay and Raphael Varane as proof of his "history" of working with young players and developing them into great sportsmen. The Special One, in a press conference on Friday, claimed that Benfica "will surely add one or two players who can help strengthen the squad", before adding that "if there's someone who likes to promote young players, I'm one of them."

Revealed: Bruno discussed 'massive' Saudi offer with Ronaldo

Bruno Fernandes consulted the opinion of Cristiano Ronaldo when he was weighing up the possibility of leaving Manchester United to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia over the summer.

"I spoke with Cristiano about the situation, about Saudi and everything," Fernandes told reporters ahead of his 300th game with United. "I wouldn't say what he told me, but we spoke about it. Obviously, he now has a manager that also spoke with me at the time (Jorge Jesus, his former coach at Sporting CP). He was at Al-Hilal three years ago, the first thing he said to me, 'Are you too expensive for the club?' I said, 'There is no expensive players for that club!' But I told him the same, I wasn't eager to move, to go to Saudi because I wanted to stay at the club. And he's a manager I have a great relationship with. He was the one who trusted me to go to Sporting and to play on the biggest stages. But Cristiano told me, he had his opinion on what I should do. It was important for me, obviously, with all the experience he has and everything, it was important for me to hear what he thought. But obviously the decision will always come to me and to the club."

Shearer revives Isak feud with Ekitike claim

Alan Shearer has risked the wrath of Alexander Isak by insisting Hugo Ekitike should be viewed as Liverpool's first choice striker.

Speaking to Betfair, Shearer said: "I think that Hugo Ekitike has already done enough to become Liverpool's number one striker for me, forget the price tags and everything else. He came in before anyone and obviously had scored the goals and looked really good in that position. Then he was sort of shifted out last night to a wider position, he wasn't really involved in the game up until the goal. Even the commentators said at the time that he hadn't really had many touches. But then, the way he took his goal and the way he finished it to get himself into that position - he's got every right to think he should be starting on a regular basis. I know football's changed and I know it's very difficult to start every game in Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup. But he's got every chance to think that he's done enough to stay in the team."

Madrid interest in Caicedo intensifies as Chelsea prepare talks

Real Madrid are among the teams looking at Moises Caicedo, with the midfielder's recent change of agents adding intrigue to his future at Chelsea. However, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has insisted that the Blues remain calm and fully in control of the situation, with the club planning to reward their star midfielder with an improved contract in the coming months.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: "I maintain what I said in the summer: Chelsea wants to discuss a new contract with him. He's already on a big salary, but his face remains a crucial part of the project. So I see Chelsea maintaining these conversations with Moises and his new representatives, but for sure the focus is on a new deal for him at Chelsea."

Revealed: How Simons' move to Bayern broke despite agreement

Xavi Simons was extremely close to joining Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, but a late decision from the upper management resulted in the move fading away. As a result, Simons signed for Tottenham in England, while the German side opted to bring in Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea on loan late in the summer transfer window.

The club's honorary president Uli Hoeness said: "There are different opinions. Max would have liked to buy, but we [supervisory board] have to pay attention to our financial situation. That's as important as sporting success. You have Barcelona as the best example of what happens when you only buy, buy, buy and then end up with debts of €1.2 billion and can't do anything."

Alonso 'will sell anyone but Mbappe' to land €100m Juve star

Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso is willing to sell anyone except French forward Kylian Mbappe in order to sign Juventus' star Kenan Yildiz, according to renowned agent Giovanni Branchini.

Bayern meet with Guehi agent ahead of January approach

The German giants have held talks with the representatives of Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi as they step up plans to sign the England international. The 25-year-old Eagles skipper will be free to negotiate a move away to foreign clubs in the new year.