There is “mutual tension” between Chelsea and their manager Antonio Conte after the Italian told striker Diego Costa by text message that he is not part of the plans for next season. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian)
The club wish to patch things up with Costa, 28, who is willing to discuss his future, but Conte is refusing to back down. (Sun)
Conte has also set a number of conditions which include a direct line of communication to owner Roman Abramovich, if he is to stay as manager at Stamford Bridge. (Daily Record)
Also at Chelsea, contract negotiations with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, 25, have stalled over his wage demands. The Belgium keeper is on a £100,000-a-week deal, which comes to an end in two years’ time.(Times – subscription required)
Cristiano Ronaldo, 32, has told Real Madrid he wants to leave Spain and his decision is “irreversible”. (A Bola)
Jose Mourinho has valued Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, 26, at £100m amid interest from Real Madrid and has told the La Liga champions they can sign the Spaniard for £45m plus striker Alvaro Morata, 24. (Daily Star)
But Real say they want £78m for Morata despite details of a “hugely attractive package” being agreed with Manchester United. (Independent)
Gianluigi Donnarumma set to leave AC Milan
Meanwhile, Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic, 28, is already planning for life as a Manchester United player. The two clubs are yet to agree a fee for the £44m-rated Croatia player. (Manchester Evening News)
After completing a deal for defender Victor Lindelof, Manchester United could go back to Benfica to sign £15m-rated midfielder Anderson Talisca, 23, who spent last season on loan at Besiktas. (Daily Mirror)
Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, 27, remains a target for Everton despite the Merseyside club signing Dutchman Davy Klaassen. (Wales Online)
Liverpool want to raise about £60m on player sales by offloading defender Mamadou Sakho, 27, for £30m, full-back Alberto Moreno, 24, for £12m and 23-year-old forward Lazar Markovic for £20m. (Times – subscription required)
New Watford manager Marco Silva could move for Markovic, having worked with the player last season when the Serbia player was on loan at Hull. (Times – subscription required)
Arsenal have had a £17.6m bid rejected for Juventus winger Juan Cuadrado, 29, but the Serie A champions are looking for about £30m for the former Chelsea player. (Sun)
The Gunners have also made a £10.5m bid for Fenerbahce centre-back Simon Kjaer, 28, who is also wanted by city rivals AC and Inter Milan. (Turksvoetbal – in Turkish)
Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal, 31, says he is “almost certain” fellow full-back Hector Bellerin, 22, will stay at the club next season amid interest from Barcelona. (Evening Standard)
West Ham have dropped their interest in £15-rated Manchester United defender Chris Smalling, 27, but Everton, Newcastle and West Brom are all keen. (Daily Star)
Manchester City striker Patrick Roberts, 20, who scored 11 goals on loan at Celtic last season, has held talks with French side Nice over another loan move. (Sun)
But newly promoted Huddersfield are set to offer him the chance to play in the Premier League. (Daily Record)
Tottenham are a number of clubs interested in signing Lazio forward Keita Balde, 22, who is valued at £30m by the Serie A club. (Daily Mirror)
Southampton intend to interview former Ajax boss Frank de Boer and ex-Valencia manager Mauricio Pellegrino to replace the sacked Claude Puel and hope to make an appointment by the end of next week. (Daily Telegraph)
However former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel has ruled himself out of the Southampton vacancy. (Sky Sports)
Stoke would want more than the British record £30m Everton paid to sign Jordan Pickford, if they were to sell goalkeeper Jack Butland, 24.(Stoke Sentinel)
Several Premier League clubs, most notably Newcastle, have enquired about Valencia’s £13.1m-rated centre-back Aymen Abdennour, 27. (Foot Mercato)
French Ligue 1 side Paris St-Germain have ended their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 27, as the club’s new sporting director Antero Henrique deems the £61m-rated player to be too expensive.(Goal.com)
Marseille are trying to sign full-back Bacary Sagna, 34, who is a free agent after being released by Manchester City. (Daily Mirror)
AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, 18, has rejected the club’s offer of a new £80,000-a-week contract. His current deal expires in 2018.(Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian)
Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare has made a bid to appoint Oxford manager Michael Appleton as his assistant. (Daily Mail)
Back pages
Meanwhile…
A hair restoration company has tweeted images of Wales midfielder Joe Ledley – a free agent after being released by Crystal Palace – who is having surgery for a hair transplant. (KSL Hair)
Manchester United full-back Matteo Darmian has returned to Italy… as he married his long-term fiancee at a ceremony close to his home town of Legnano. (Sun)
Darmian’s new team-mate, defender Victor Lindelof, headed to a well-known Chinese restaurant in Manchester after sealing a £31m move to Old Trafford. (Daily Mail)
Best of Thursday’s transfer news
Arsenal are prepared to use French striker Olivier Giroud, 30, as part of a deal to sign Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe, 18, or Lyon counterpart Alexandre Lacazette, 26. (London Evening Standard)
Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez is interested in reuniting with 30-year-old defensive midfielder Lucas Leiva, who is believed to be available for about £4m from Liverpool. (Northern Echo)
Paris St-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti, 24, could be nearing an £88m move to Barcelona after being spotted – with his agent – in the same Ibiza restaurant as the Spanish side’s superstar forward Lionel Messi. (Goal.com)
