Arsenal transfer news and rumours: Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City latest, club weigh up Kerem Demirbay move
A round-up of the latest transfer stories surrounding The Emirates
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Arsene Wenger has said Arsenal are yet to receive any offers for Alexis Sanchez and has reiterated the club’s desire to keep hold off the forward, along with German midfielder Mesut Ozil.
Both players are out of contract in the summer, meaning they are free to negotiate with new clubs this winter.
Sanchez has been repeatedly linked with a move to Pep Guardiola’s table-topping Manchester City, but Wenger has said that Arsenal are yet to receive any formal offers for the pair.
"We have not been contacted by anyone," he told reporters on Tuesday. "This club has lost many big players and responded well.
“But you want to keep your best players. I want them to stay. Why should I be scared?"
Wenger also insisted that even if the stars were to depart this summer, the club will sign more than adequate replacements.
"It will depend as well on the players out of contract in June. We have to take that and respond to it," he said.
“We have not lost them yet and [if we do], we will respond by bringing in players of top quality.
“We have not been contacted by anybody.”
One potential arrival is Hoffenheim midfielder Kerem Demirbay.
The 24-year-old has been in fine form and was recently called up to the German national team, and has previously been linked with a move to Everton.
But on Tuesday morning Newsmondo claimed Arsenal are readying a bid for the Bundesliga midfielder.
More Arsenal transfer news and rumours:
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Good morning and welcome to today's Independent transfer live blog.
The winter transfer window is now just around the corner with some of world football's biggest names possibly on the move.
Neymar smashed the world transfer record by swapping Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer but with money seemingly to burn
January could be the biggest ever with many closer to home possibly following the Brazilian in making multi-million pound moves.
We'll bring you all the latest news, done deals and breaking rumours throughout the day right here so don't touch that dial.
What the papers say:
Barcelona may have to be willing to pay an "astronomical" fee if they want to bring Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho to the Nou Camp, according to the Telegraph.
It comes after Nike reportedly advertised a Barcelona shirt for sale with the Brazilian's name on it - fuelling speculation of a January move. But Liverpool do not seem prepared to allow their star player to leave unless Barcelona can come up with an offer to beat last summer's bid of £115million.
Negotiations between Everton and Besiktas look uncertain following reports the Turkish club have upped their asking price to £27million for Cenk Tosun, the Daily Mail claims.
The Toffees were hoping to land the 26-year-old for £25million and are said to be reluctant to increase their bid, with boss Sam Allardyce saying "we've done all we can", the paper reports.
Swansea may be looking to West Ham's Diafra Sakho as part of their strategy to bring in out-of-favour players who are looking for more play time ahead of the World Cup, according to the Guardian.
But any potential move by Sakho, who has not yet made the starting XI for the Hammers this season, may rely on any possible agreement by Swansea to lose Alfie Mawson and Ki Sung-yueng, who are said to be on West Ham's radar.
Social media round-up:
BBC Sport - 'Who else is going to do it?' - Mark Hughes is confident about keeping his job as Stoke boss
TeleFootball - West Brom make a formal complaint to the Premier League over their "terrible" fixture congestion
Players to watch:
Monaco defender Terence Kongolo could be heading for Huddersfield on loan, it is reported. The Huddersfield Examiner said boss David Wagner confirmed a deal was "close" to being met for the 23-year-old.
The near completion of Alejandro Grimaldo's move with Napoli could open up the possibility of Faouzi Ghoulam's move to Manchester United, according to Portugal's Record newspaper. The club appears set to trigger his £53million release clause now that 22-year-old Grimaldo could replace him at the Italian club.
United locate new target:
Manchester United are reportedly in discussions with Paris St Germain to bring Lucas Moura to the Premier League.
According to The Sun, contact has been made regarding the 25-year-old Brazilian, but China's Hebei Fortune are also said to be interested in the winger.
Remember Hulk?
Brazilian striker Hulk will start his third season with Shanghai SIPG next month determined to deliver a trophy to the big-spending Chinese Super League club in the new campaign.
The burly forward signed for a then-record 55 million euros ($66.13 million) from Zenit St Petersburg in the summer of 2016 but has yet to claim any silverware during his time in China.
But the 31-year-old is focused on delivering the club's first trophy in the 2018 season with new coach Vitor Pereira at the helm.
"I've been with SIPG a year and a half now and I'm desperate to win a championship," he told Chinese media. "I hope we can do it in the new season. I'll try 100 percent to help my team and my team mates."
SIPG finished second behind perennial Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande last season while they were also runners-up in the Chinese FA Cup and semi-finalists in the Asian Champions League.
Coach Andre Villas-Boas left after just one season and has been replaced by his Portuguese compatriot Pereira, a man Hulk knows from his time working under the 49-year-old at Porto.
"I know Pereira well," Hulk said. "He's a very good coach who is ambitious. He has been keeping us on the right track on a daily basis and I hope his leadership can improve our results.
"Now there's a great atmosphere in the team. It's nice to have this kind of atmosphere at the start of the season and it will put us in a good frame of mind going into the New Year.
"Hopefully God will bless us with a great year and better achievements."
Hulk's position as the most expensive player in Asia was taken by his compatriot Oscar, who signed for Shanghai from Chelsea last January, providing SIPG with one of the most potent attacking forces on the continent.
The pair are joined by fellow Brazilian Elkeson as well as veteran defender Ricardo Carvalho and Uzbekistan's Odil Ahmedov as the club's foreign players.
New rules in the Chinese Super League, however, will allow teams to field no more than three foreigners in each game while forcing coaches to select the same number of Chinese players under the age of 23 as the non-Chinese players in their starting line-up.
The amendment to the regulations is certain to have a major impact on the upcoming campaign, but Hulk believes the added competition for places among the overseas players will beneficial to the team.
"As far as the international competition between the foreign players in the team is concerned, it will be a difficult choice for the coach but it will be a good thing for the team because we have a good pool of players to choose from," he said.
"What we need to do is perform well in training."
Manchester United want to bring in Joao Mario to Old Trafford, according to the Sun.
Jose Mourinho wants to sign the 24-year-old with Henrikh Mkhitaryan looking set to travel the other way after losing his first team place, the paper says.
Good news for Manchester City:
After this update perhaps Pep Guardiola won't feel obliged to dip into the transfer market after all...
Slimani a hot target:
Leicester's Islam Slimani is a man in demand - with both Newcastle and Watford keen on signing the £30m striker, according to the Mirror.
Slimani, 29, has struggled to make it into the Foxes' first XI with Marco Silva and Rafa Benitezlooking to sign up the Algeria international.
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