Thursday morning sports paper talk

• Manchester United are ready to sensationally hijack Romelu Lukaku’s £100m move to Chelsea.
• Real Madrid are losing ground in the race to sign Kylian Mbappe as they continue to stall on a deal to bring the Monaco wonderkid to the Bernabeu, with PSG now in pole position.
• Atletico Madrid are preparing a move for Diego Costa as the clock ticks down to Chelsea’s first day of pre-season training.
• Everton have made Olivier Giroud their No 1 target as they look to continue their summer spending with a £20m move for the Arsenal striker.
• Everton are hopeful of thrashing out a deal to bring Wayne Rooney back to Goodison Park from Manchester United but the two clubs have yet to reach an agreement over the England striker.
• Chelsea’s teenage starlet Callum Hudson Odoi has signed a new, three-year deal with the club despite interest from Juventus and Benfica after his performances in the FA Youth Cup this season.
• After missing out on Tammy Abraham, Brighton are closing in on a loan deal for another young Chelsea forward, Izzy Brown, who has been in demand in this summer’s loan market.
• Leicester City have held initial talks over a possible new contract for Leonardo Ulloa to raise the prospect of the Argentine striker extending his stay at the King Power Stadium.
• Southampton midfielder Harrison Reed is set to join Championship side Norwich City on loan for next season.
• Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro says Cristiano Ronaldo is “happy” and wants to stay with the European champions despite his fall-out with the club this summer.

• Everton players cannot wait for the return of Wayne Rooney to Goodison Park.
• Nathaniel Chalobah is in talks with Watford over a permanent move from Chelsea.
• David Luiz has emerged as a shock contender to be the new Chelsea captain – instead of Gary Cahill.
• Huddersfield are on the verge of signing Danish defender Mathias Jorgensen.
• Antonio Rudiger will undergo a medical in Los Angeles while on holiday in the USA this week ahead of his £34m move from Chelsea.
• Dani Ceballos is ready to snub Barcelona for Real Madrid… if Zinedine Zidane promises not to loan him out.
• Vicente Iborra will join Leicester on Thursday after a deal for £12.3m was agreed with Sevilla.

• Alexis Sanchez is demanding a staggering £400,000-a-week to sign a new deal at Arsenal.
• Manchester United are offering Wayne Rooney as a makeweight to Everton in a bid to beat Chelsea to Romelu Lukaku.
• Antoine Griezmann insists it would have been “dirty” had he left Atletico Madrid for Manchester United this summer during the club’s transfer ban.
• Chelsea target Antonio Rudiger has admitted “my heart beats for Arsenal” ahead of a £36million transfer to Stamford Bridge.
• Jurgen Klopp has urged fans to be patient as Liverpool continue the battle to land their top summer targets.
• Brighton and Bournemouth are both chasing £12m-rated Toulouse striker Martin Braithwaite.
• Atletico Madrid are set to make their move for Diego Costa this week – but could loan him out to China.
• Jon Walters is quitting Stoke after seven years to join Burnley for £2m.
• Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is closely following Russian star Aleksandr Golovin and even made a call to check on the CSKA Moscow midfielder during last month’s Confederations Cup.
• Chelsea midfielder Nathanial Chalobah is in talks with Watford about a permanent switch to Vicarage Road.

• Bill Kenwright, the Everton chairman, met with Wayne Rooney’s agent, Paul Stretford, on Wednesday as talks over his return to Goodison Park gathered pace.
• Atletico Madrid are set to make their opening bid to re-sign Diego Costa in a move that could save the striker from an awkward reunion with Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte.

• Watford are in pole position to sign Nathaniel Chalobah from Chelsea for £5m this month.

• Wolves are set to complete a £15m club record deal for Porto midfielder Ruben Neves.
• Ligue 1 side Rennes are keen to snap up Chelsea outcast Loic Remy.
• West Ham are favourites to beat Everton and Newcastle to £15m-rated Burnley striker Andre Gray, who has turned a new contract at Turf Moor.
• Brighton are set to bid £10m to sign Celtic midfielder Stuart Armstrong.

• Wayne Rooney is in advanced talks with Everton about rejoining his boyhood team with the move centring on the club matching the £250,000-a-week basic salary he earns at Manchester United.
• Atletico Madrid are preparing to table a first formal bid with Chelsea for Diego Costa in the hope they can re-sign the Spain striker before his scheduled return for pre-season training at Cobham at the start of next week.

• Olivier Giroud is moving closer to an exit from Arsenal following the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette.
• Manchester United will use Wayne Rooney as leverage to try and sign Everton striker Romelu Lukaku.
• Chelsea have revived their interest in Fernando Llorente as a potential back-up striker for next season.

• Graham Dorrans arrived in Scotland this evening ahead of his Rangers medical as he closes in on his dream move to Ibrox.
• Celtic supremo Dermot Desmond has admitted players will move on from Parkhead this summer.

Source:skysports.com