Real Sociedad chief Roberto Olabe to leave as Arsenal seek sporting director – Paper Talk

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

THE TIMES

The Real Sociedad sporting director Roberto Olabe has announced he will leave the club at the end of the season, in the same week Arsenal officials are meeting in America to discuss the search for Edu’s successor.

Four of Manchester City’s main rivals – Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – have lodged legal notices reserving the right to seek compensation if the club are found guilty of serious charges among the 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules.

Steve Borthwick is strongly considering dropping scrum-half Ben Spencer for the South Africa Test on Saturday and could change his full-back too.

Warren Gatland has said that he has not considered resigning as the Wales head coach but if he is sacked he will “probably go back to the beach, have a glass of wine and enjoy myself away from some of the pressure”.

The financial challenges facing the Scottish Rugby Union’s new hierarchy have been laid bare in the latest set of Murrayfield accounts as it emerged that the discredited former chief executive Mark Dodson had been paid in excess of £400,000 to leave the business.

THE SUN

Arsenal have suffered another major injury blow after Ben White underwent knee surgery.

Ruud van Nistelrooy could be set for a quickfire return to football.

Sweden have been forced to abandon a training camp in Marbella following bad weather.

Brighton have banned some of the club’s own scouts from seeing the data they use to sign players.

Ex-Liverpool star Djibril Cisse has landed an eight-month suspended jail term in France – for failing to submit his tax returns.

DAILY EXPRESS

Sporting Lisbon star Maximiliano Araujo hopes to join Pep Guardiola at Manchester City despite his former manager, Ruben Amorim, recently taking charge of their local rivals.

DAILY MAIL

Darren Fletcher ‘had to be held back’ by another Man United staff member, according to a match official, with the coach accused of launching a string of insults towards a referee.

Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has spoken out about a lawsuit his ex-girlfriend filed against him in the wake of their split just days after he won the World Cup in 2022.

DAILY MIRROR

Arsenal’s search for a new sporting director has led them to Monaco chief Thiago Scuro, it has been claimed.

Cole Palmer admits he was ‘frustrated’ with former England manager Gareth Southgate over his lack of involvement at Euro 2024.

Lisandro Martinez is dealing with a hip injury that has left him unable to ‘function normally’.

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino will once again avoid scrutiny after taking the decision to host the qualifying draw of the 2026 World Cup as a virtual event.

Manchester United centre-back Matthijs de Ligt has suggested Erik ten Hag didn’t get the breaks he needed to keep his job at Old Trafford despite the Dutchmen sharing early dreams of success, while opening up on talks between the pair.

THE ATHLETIC

Tottenham Hotspur are expecting midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur to be hit with a lengthy ban over comments he made relating to team-mate Heung-Min Son.

Cole Palmer says he needed persuading to join Chelsea from Manchester City last summer.

Mohamed Salah insists Liverpool are not “underdogs” in the Premier League title race as they have one of the best squads in the world.

Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs was banned for two games for swearing at match officials as they left the field, an independent regulatory commission report has revealed.

Thibaut Courtois has told Belgium he still doesn’t want to be considered for selection while Domenico Tedesco is the head coach.

Barcelona winger Ansu Fati will be unavailable for the next four weeks due to a hamstring injury.

The homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were burgled last month, the team confirmed on Wednesday.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

The Football Association will speak to the incoming England head coach Thomas Tuchel over whether his new-look England backroom team will include a black or minority ethnic (BME) coach.

America’s Ryder Cup players are on course to be paid for the first time, in a break from a near 100-year tradition.

Anthony Gordon has revealed how incoming England manager Thomas Tuchel tried to persuade him to sign for Chelsea and “made me really want to play for him” during a post-game chat while he was still an Everton player.

THE GUARDIAN

Harry Kane is set to be a shock omission from Lee Carsley’s England team for Thursday’s must-win Nations League match against Greece in Athens.

Tottenham are resigned to Rodrigo Bentancur being given a lengthy ban of at least six matches by the Football Association for making an allegedly racist remark about his teammate Son Heung-min.

Lewis Hamilton is unlikely to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari in post-season Abu Dhabi testing with his Formula One debut looking set for the start of next year.

EVENING STANDARD

Crystal Palace and the Metropolitan Police have closed their investigation into alleged racist abuse of Daichi Kamada.

Denmark Under-18s manager Morten Eksen has confirmed they are in constant contact with Manchester United to manage the development of Chido Obi-Martin.

Martin Odegaard says it was his decision to pull out of Norway’s international fixtures this week and confirmed he expects to be fit for Arsenal’s next Premier League game against Nottingham Forest.

DAILY RECORD

Kasper Schmeichel insists he is completely relaxed about his contract situation at Celtic amid the veteran stopper’s flying start to life at Parkhead.

Bojan Miovski has been told that he needs to adapt quicker at Girona, with the club’s sporting director admitting he is looking to bolster their options in the January transfer window.

An American-based consortium is looking to buy Dunfermline Athletic.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has been publicly backed by Besiktas president Hasan Arat as he told punters not to expect change at the top.

SCOTTISH SUN

Andy Robertson has revealed he’s mentoring Ben Doak to make sure he fulfils his Scotland potential.