Jose Mourinho has been reluctant to give Memphis Depay the chance to resurrect his Manchester United career because he is expecting him to leave this month.
The 22-year-old midfielder arrived at Old Trafford from PSV Eindhoven in 2015 but failed to nail down a regular spot.
“I have to say that in the past couple of months my decisions in relation to Memphis were influenced by the feelings and information that he would like to leave in January,” Mourinho said.
“That obviously influences me. If I know, if I have the feeling that a player is leaving then I go to (Jesse) Lingard, (Henrikh) Mkhitaryan, (Anthony) Martial, the players I know 100 per cent who are going to stay with us.”
Berahino receives third offer from WBA
West Brom have made a third contract offer to Saido Berahino despite the striker’s wretched year.
The 23-year-old’s current deal expires at the end of the season and Albion have been in talks with him since the summer.
Without an agreement the Baggies will lose him for a tribunal fee in the summer and could see him go for almost nothing if he moves abroad.
“We’ve made Saido an offer and we’re trying to get him to sign,” said boss Tony Pulis.
“It’s there, the offer is there, it’s a fantastic offer. We’ve made it hoping the lad will sign, it’s up to him to come back and negotiate.”
Allardyce turned down China move
Sam Allardyce turned his back on a lucrative offer from China to keep himself feeling young with Crystal Palace.
Chinese clubs are throwing mind-boggling amounts of cash around in a bid to lure the world’s best players to the country.
Managers are also in demand and Allardyce has revealed he was offered the chance to head to Asia.
“An agent said there was a football club over there and you can go and have a chat with them if you want to, they’re interested in you,” Allardyce said.
“In all honesty, it wasn’t for me. Was it tempting? Financially, yes. But, it wasn’t right for my family.”
Striker Defoe not leaving Sunderland
Jermain Defoe has brushed off speculation that he could leave Sunderland this month amid interest from West Ham.
The 34-year-old’s scoring form have kept the Black Cats in with a chance of escaping the drop from the Premier League.
He told Sky Sports News HQ: “There’s going to be speculation because, let’s be honest, the people that score goals are wanted.
“Over the years, anyone that has scored goals has been talked about of moving to different clubs.
“It’s a good feeling to be wanted, but when you’re playing well and scoring goals then you must be enjoying being at the place you’re at.”
Inter planning Gustavo swoop
Inter have reportedly turned their sights on signing Wolfsburg midfielder Luis Gustavo during this month’s transfer window.
Last week, the Nerazzurri looked set to complete a loan move for Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva and the Brazilian also passed a medical.
However, according to reports yesterday, Inter are trying to bring in Gustavo this month and will only sign Leiva if they fail to acquire the services of the Wolfsburg midfielder.
Gustavo, whose contract with Wolfsburg expires in June 2018, is being valued at €20m by the Bundesliga side.
Iniesta in talks to extend contract
Andres Iniesta has confirmed that he has started negotiations with Barcelona to extend his contract with the Catalan giants.
The veteran Spain midfielder, 32, sees his current deal expire in the summer of 2018 and recently stated he wants to finish his career at his one and only club so far.
Iniesta told Sport: “I would be delighted if there was no need to talk about this matter tomorrow.
“We’ve spoken, but I still have a year-and-a-half on my contract. For everything to be calm, the most logical thing would be for it to be done as soon as possible.”
Jokanovic stands firm on Martin
Fulham head coach Slavisa Jokanovic has vowed that Scotland striker Chris Martin will not be leaving the London club during the January transfer window.
Martin, 28, has reportedly said that he wants to cut short his season-long loan at Craven Cottage to return to parent club Derby.
He did not appear in the Championship match at Reading, which was abandoned at half time due to fog with the score at 0-0.
“He (Martin) made himself unavailable for today’s game,” Jokanovic said. “He stopped in training but I have information from medical staff that he is available to play. He decided to take a day off.
“We need to check this situation but I don’t have any intention of making our rivals any stronger. I am not going to send him back to Derby. He is going to stay with us and he is going to respect the contract.”