Gossip: Manchester United 'could sell De Gea' and City 'offered to triple Messi's wages'

Despite failing to keep up at the top of the Premier League, or perhaps because of it, Manchester United lead the transfer news on Sunday morning.

First up is the story that United are attempting to secure both David de Gea and Luke Shaw to new contracts. Perhaps understandably, De Gea is not rushing to put pen to paper on a new deal to stay at Old Trafford – there’s a chance Jose Mourinho might dismantle it brick by brick if he’s there for much longer – and so the club could activate their option to extend his contract by a year in January.

According to The Sun, that would notify clubs like Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain that they are worried over his future, and could lead to him leaving the club in the summer as they look to make sure they receive some kind of transfer fee. The paper also report that Antonio Valencia will be free to negotiate a move away in March.

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In more promising news for United, the Sunday Express says they are to offer a new contract to Luke Shaw, who is also approaching the end of his current deal, after he turned his career around at Old Trafford. The player had struggled with fitness for years after one manager after another complained he lacked focus. The Sunday Mirror report that United are to make a third attempt to bring in Aaron Ramsey now that the Welsh midfielder seems set to leave on a free transfer next summer.

Manchester City offered to triple Messi’s wages

The Sun runs with a story that Manchester City attempted to attract Lionel Messi to sign for them by offering to triple his wages. City chief executive Khaldoon al Mubarak said: “We asked [Pep] Guardiola to talk to him and we offered him triple the salary he had in Barcelona, but he never accepted.”

Despite the offer, Messi decided to stay at Barcelona, and he now has a release clause of 700 million euros, which could keep him in Spain until 2021.

One player who might not be tripling his wages at Manchester City is 18 year old Ben Foden. Foden is expected to sign a new deal to stay at the club after establishing himself on the fringes of Pep Guardiola’s first team. However, with Jadon Sancho’s success at Borussia Dortmund, the German team are lurking. Also interested, says the Mail on Sunday, are RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain.

PSG force Chelsea’s hand over Kante

PSG are also looking at another Premier League midfielder. The French champions have long been linked with bringing N’Golo Kante back to France, and their attention might end up with Kante signing a new deal at Stamford Bridge.

The 27-year-old won the World Cup in the summer and would be a popular addition to Thomas Tuchel’s side, who could lose Adrien Rabiot in the summer on a free transfer.

So concerned are Chelsea by the prospect of losing Kante that they are open to offering him another new contract, despite it having three years left to run. The former Leicester City man has established himself as a first choice midfielder under both Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.