Jose Mourinho (credit: Ian Walton/Getty Images)
The top stories making Wednesday’s back pages in the UK…
The Sun: Chelsea’s hapless stars are turning on manager Jose Mourinho and each other as the boss clings on by his fingernails to the support of the club board.
Also: Southampton are ready to rescue outcast Andros Townsend from his Tottenham hell.
And: Louis van Gaal is starting to lose the Manchester United dressing room.
Plus: Manchester City are on tenterhooks over Pep Guardiola.
Daily Mirror: Roberto Martinez has revealed that John Stones knows he has NO chance of leaving Everton in January.
Also: Paul McGrath has blasted Randy Lerner’s running of Aston Villa and fears the Premier League basement team could end up stranded in the third tier.
And: Liverpool are yet to secure a deal for Marko Grujic, but remain keen on signing the highly-rated Red Star Belgrade midfielder.
Plus: Jose Mourinho has told his players he should have sold some of them in the summer.
Daily Star: Arsene Wenger should look at signing some midfield cover in January, according to Thierry Henry.
Also: Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will hold an emergency board meeting today to thrash out Jose Mourinho’s future.
And: Roman Abramovich will NOT sanction a Chelsea spending spree next month.
Daily Mail: Roman Abramovich will be forced to pay Jose Mourinho more than £40million if he fires the Chelsea manager at an emergency board meeting on Wednesday.
Also: Claudio Ranieri will land a bumper £1.7million bonus to his three-year contract if he can keep Leicester City at the top of the Barclays Premier League.
Daily Express: Chelsea will relaunch their £40million bid to sign Everton defender John Stones as soon as the transfer window opens in January as manager Jose Mourinho bids to kick-start his side’s Premier League title defence.
Also: Louis van Gaal is considering a quick recall for loan star James Wilson to ease Manchester United’s goal-scoring crisis.
Metro: Manchester United are ready to sign Premier League stars Romelu Lukaku, John Stones and Ryan Bertrand in January, say reports.
Also: Arsenal are ready to sign Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic in the January transfer window, according to reports.
Daily Telegraph: Jose Mourinho’s sacking is a matter of “when not if” as the Chelsea crisis deepens.
Also: Alan Curtis is expected to still be the caretaker manager when Swansea City host West Ham on Sunday, despite Huw Jenkins stepping up his campaign to appoint a successor for Garry Monk.
The Times: Gabriel Agbonlahor, Aston Villa’s club captain and long-serving forward, could be sold in January after falling out of favour with Rémi Garde, the new manager.
