Marcus Rashford is free to negotiate with overseas teams from next month, with his Manchester United contract expiring at the end of this season.
The 25-year-old England international has had a couple of difficult seasons at Old Trafford but remains hot property.
United are eager to re-sign their forward, with Metro claiming they are looking to exercise an option in his contract to extend his stay.
TOP STORY – PSG TO LODGE LUCRATIVE RASHFORD DEAL
Paris Saint-Germain are prepared to offer Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford a bumper contract to lure him to the French capital, claims The Mirror.
The Parisians are readying a fresh bid which would make the 25-year-old one of the best-paid players on the planet, amid interest from Bayern Munich along with Real Betis.
PSG's package would be worth up to £850,000 (€990,000) a week for Rashford, who has been with United since he was a boy.
ROUND-UP
– Juventus are interested in Chelsea's Mason Mount and would be willing to let three players go to fund any deal, reports Calciomercato. Adrien Rabiot, Leandro Paredes and Weston McKennie are among those named in the report.
– AS claims Arsenal have joined the pursuit of Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix , while the Mirror claims the Portuguese's agent is ready to speak with Aston Villa and Newcastle United about a deal. Manchester United and Chelsea have already held discussions.
– The Mirror claims Liverpool are in contention to sign Napoli's Mexican forward Hirving Lozano in January.
– Bayern Munich are interested in signing RB Leipzig's Josip Gvardiol, but Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United have already lodged bids for him, claims Foot Mercato.
Antony return to Manchester United will not be a distraction – Erik ten Hag
Erik ten Hag does not believe Antony’s return will be a distraction after Manchester United announced he will resume training and is available for selection amid police inquiries into allegations of abuse against him.
The 23-year-old was given a leave of absence on September 10 and returned to England from Brazil earlier this week, before attending a voluntary interview with Greater Manchester Police on Thursday.
Antony has always denied the allegations against him and United confirmed on Friday morning the winger will rejoin training and can resume playing Ten Hag’s side.
The Premier League club said in a statement: “Since allegations were first made in June, Antony has co-operated with police inquiries in both Brazil and the UK, and he continues to do so.
“As Antony’s employer, Manchester United has decided that he will resume training at Carrington, and be available for selection, while police inquiries proceed.
“This will be kept under review pending further developments in the case.
“As a club we condemn acts of violence and abuse. We recognise the importance of safeguarding all those involved in this situation, and acknowledge the impact these allegations have on survivors of abuse.”
United released the statement just over two hours before Ten Hag faced the media to preview Saturday’s match against Crystal Palace.
Antony will not be involved in that Premier League encounter but will return to training with the group on the day of the game.
“We make the statement, so I refer to the statement,” Ten Hag said. “I think everything has been made clear in the statement.
“No, I don’t think it’s a distraction. We focus on the games and he will do as well.”
Asked for details on his return, the Dutchman said: “On Saturday, he will be back in the training, so tomorrow.
“I have to see (how fit he is), but I think, yeah (he’s fit).”
Antony is facing several accusations of physical aggression towards his former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin, who spoke to Brazilian outlet UOL earlier this month.
The winger has denied those allegations, as well as further assault claims made by Rayssa de Freitas and Ingrid Lana.
Antony has not been arrested or charged in either Brazil or by GMP and he left the voluntary interview, where he presented evidence to support his strenuous denials, without any restrictions.
United will continue to monitor the situation while police enquiries are going on.
A spokesperson for the charity Women’s Aid said: “We know that this morning’s news from Manchester United about their player, Antony, returning to training and selection while police inquiries continue will have an impact on survivors of domestic abuse.
“We urge the national football organisations to work with specialist services, like Women’s Aid, to provide much-needed guidance for clubs on domestic abuse and the handling of domestic abuse cases.
“An informed and consistent approach is vital in order to create a society where domestic abuse is not tolerated and we will be writing to the national organisations to raise this.”
Thomas Tuchel warns Bayern Munich that RB Leipzig will be ‘dangerous’ opposition
Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel says Saturday’s opponents RB Leipzig are a “dangerous” proposition for his team.
Leipzig have won their last two encounters with Bayern, including the season-opening DFL-Supercup last month.
Tuchel’s men have recovered well to lead the Bundesliga with 13 points from their opening five matches, with England striker Harry Kane’s seven goals spurring them on.
Leipzig sit a point and three places further back, but the trip to Saxony will arguably present the toughest challenge yet to Bayern in this season’s Bundesliga campaign.
“They’re dangerous as a collective, very unified as a team,” Tuchel said of Leipzig at his pre-match press conference.
“Leipzig are very clear in their processes, we fully recognise their qualities.
“We’ve lost our last two games against them, which hurt. We’ve been on a good run since the Supercup defeat, and now it’s about backing that up.
“The mood is good, the mentality is right. The time has come to turn the tables, but it will certainly be difficult.
“We’ve been very focused and confident in the last few games. Now it’s another step up. Leipzig have a very strong squad.
“They’ve managed changes well. They’ve beaten us recently, which we don’t like.
“It’s about coming up with a response and continuing from where we’ve left off recently. We know it’s a difficult task, but we’re confident enough to say we’re going to Leipzig to win.”
Bayern are set to be able to call on former Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano, along with fellow defender Kim Min-Jae and attacker Thomas Muller after they trained with no adverse effects this week following injuries.
Forward Serge Gnabry is set to miss out with an arm injury, while Dutch defender Matthijs De Ligt suffered a knee injury in the 7-0 victory over Bochum last weekend and is also expected to be out.
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer returned to partial training for the first time this week since his leg fracture in a skiing accident last winter, but is still some way off making a return to playing.
Tuchel added on Neuer: “It’s very good news. Manu did a partial integration. It wasn’t an intense session and he did parts of it. We mustn’t get carried away. It’s another step.
“Once he’s fully in training things can progress quickly, but he’s still some way off that.”
Amadou Haidara has trained following a muscle injury to be available for Leipzig, but Timo Werner will miss out due to a back problem.
Willi Orban and Dani Olmo are absent due to injuries suffered on international duty, while El Chadaille Bitshiabu is still sidelined by a medial ligament tear.
Vinicius Junior will start for Real Madrid at surprise LaLiga leaders Girona
Vinicius Junior will start his first game since August as Real Madrid attempt to dethrone early LaLiga leaders Girona on Saturday.
The 23-year-old Brazil international was used as a second-half substitute in Wednesday evening’s 2-0 home win over Las Palmas on his return from a hamstring injury, but manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed he will return to the starting line-up at the weekend.
Ancelotti told a press conference: “He’s fine and he’s going to play from the beginning. Then we’ll see how many minutes he can last – maybe 90, but it depends on what I ask him to do.
“I see him very well, fully recovered, and he’s going to contribute to us. We’re not going to change the system, but modify some details to be more successful and solid.”
Vinicius has not started a game since the 1-0 win at Celta Vigo on August 25, and sat out four fixtures – including last Sunday’s 3-1 derby defeat at Atletico Madrid – as a result of his injury.
His return comes as defender David Alaba prepares to sit out at the Estadi Montilivi with a muscle problem suffered in midweek.
The fixture brings together the sides currently lying in first and second places in the fledgling table with the hosts having won their last six after an opening-day draw at Real Sociedad.
Ancelotti said: “We have to play a complete game in the sense that the team has to have balance: defend well and with the ball show the quality we have to do damage.
“We are alert because of how well Girona are playing at the moment. Last time we went there, it wasn’t a good night, and the same thing won’t happen tomorrow.
“Girona is playing very well, but we have a good chance of winning the game.”
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Last season’s visit to Girona in April ended in a 4-2 defeat in which Valentin Castellanos scored all four goals for the home side.
Ancelotti said: “We are doing well and we are playing an important game against the leader. We will try to do our best and arrive with a good dynamic.
“The team is a little tired, but excited. We’re going to do it well.”
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