Man City planning to rival Real Madrid in move for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz – Paper Talk

The top stories and transfer rumours from Tuesday’s newspapers…

THE SUN

Manchester City are set to go head-to-head with rivals Real Madrid again this summer in a battle for £85m-rated midfielder Florian Wirtz.

Tottenham are eying an ambitious £80m transfer swoop for Dortmund and England U21 star Jamie Gittens.

Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr has bought Portuguese second-tier club FC Alverca for £6.7m.

Thomas Frank was axed Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth’s first choice to replace Erik ten Hag, not Ruben Amorim.

Enzo Maresca has the backing of the Chelsea board despite an alarming post-Christmas slump, even if they miss out on the Champions League this season.

DAILY MIRROR

Mikel Arteta is hoping to have Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli back after the next international break.

The EFL will continue the trial of in-stadium VAR announcements by referees at next month’s Carabao Cup final despite the opposition of Liverpool manager Arne Slot.

Former defender Rio Ferdinand has urged Manchester United to stick with Ruben Amorim despite the club’s current crisis.

Minehead AFC have launched an investigation after players were involved in a shocking brawl with their own fans after conceding a late goal.

THE TIMES

The FA is allowing Thomas Tuchel the flexibility to make regular trips back to Germany to see his family, even though it has meant him missing three Premier League weekends, the third round of the FA Cup and all four Carabao Cup semi-final matches in his first six-and-a-half weeks as England head coach.

Darcy Graham and Finn Russell could feature in Saturday’s Calcutta Cup match despite both Scotland backs having been forced off after a sickening clash of heads in the first half of the 32-18 defeat by Ireland on February 9.

Alex Hales has become the first fully freelance elite English cricketer after ending a run of 17 consecutive seasons with Nottinghamshire by announcing that he will not play in England this summer.

DAILY EXPRESS

Young Wigan youngster Harrison Rimmer trolled Everton by holding up six fingers as a Liverpool gesture after scoring the first goal in a test event at the new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium, in reference to their Champions League trophies.

Manchester United could end up spending another £25m on Casemiro after the midfielder revealed his determination to remain until the end of his contract.

Emma Raducanu credited her new training regime after ending her losing streak at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Thibaut Courtois has confessed he was a Manchester United fan earlier in his life and idolised Edwin van der Sar.

THE GUARDIAN

Australia Women vice-captain Ellie Carpenter has thrown her support behind Sam Kerr as the star forward turns her focus to recovering from a serious knee injury after a high-profile trial in the UK ended last week.

DAILY MAIL

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has blasted the Blues after their recent poor run of form, while singling out a number of stars and Enzo Maresca for criticism.

Football fans who misbehave at matches could be drug tested under new powers that are set to be given to police.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Manchester United have been accused of setting “callous” ticket prices for their forthcoming FA Cup match against Fulham. Premier League away tickets are capped at £30 but Fulham fans face paying as much as £61 for a seat in Old Trafford’s away end.

EVENING STANDARD

Sunday’s protest by thousands of Tottenham supporters against chairman Daniel Levy and the club’s board is unlikely to change anything in the short term.

DAILY RECORD

Brendan Rodgers has insisted Celtic must go out against Bayern Munich with no fear and the belief that “anything is possible”.

SCOTTISH SUN

Celtic fans in Munich have been asked to be mindful of a memorial service taking place in the city before their match against Bayern Munich.