The top stories making Thursday’s back pages in the UK…
The Sun: Ashley Cole appears to be on borrowed time in Italy — after Roma left him out of their Serie A and Champions League squads.
Also: Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has blasted West Brom chief Jeremy Peace over the Saido Berahino saga.
And: Manchester United were so desperate to sign Monaco kid Anthony Martial they almost trebled their offer inside a week.
Plus: David De Gea is blaming Manchester United for the collapse of his dream move to Real Madrid.
Daily Mirror: Manchester United will make one last attempt to persuade David De Gea to stay at Old Trafford.
Daily Star: Manchester United’s bitter fall-out with Real Madrid has blown their chances of ever signing Gareth Bale.
Also: Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas sat on a private aeroplane waiting to fly to Manchester on Monday, it has been claimed.
Daily Mail: Victor Wanyama has no plans to extend his contract at Southampton despite the club proposing a new five-year deal. The Kenya international saw Southampton block a move to Tottenham on Monday but the White Hart Lane club may resurrect their attempt to buy him in January.
Also: Mario Balotelli has ‘changed radically’ after leaving Liverpool, according to AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani.
Daily Express: Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish claims he had agreed a deal for Michael Hector before Chelsea swooped in to sign the defender.
Also: David De Gea received support from his Spanish team-mates yesterday after his collapsed transfer to Real Madrid – but a warning from his international manager.
And: The mass turnover of players which have been a feature of Louis van Gaal’s first two summers as Manchester United manager will not happen again.
Metro: Chelsea reportedly came close to selling John Obi Mikel to Besiktas this summer, but decided to keep him after failing in their bid to sign Paul Pogba.
Also: David De Gea is ready to sign a new contract at Manchester United with a future transfer to Real Madrid now dead in the water, according to reports.
And: Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has aimed a sly dig at his old chairman Daniel Levy over the failed pursuit of West Brom striker Saido Berahino.
Daily Telegraph: Emmanuel Adebayor killed off any chance of playing football again before January after rejecting a Tottenham Hotspur pay-off and turning down a host of summer moves on the advice of his pastor.
Also: It seems Aaron Lennon has been taking lessons in how to smile like a human being.
And: Saido Berahino is unlikely to follow through on his threat to go on strike at West Bromwich Albion after being denied a move to Tottenham Hotspur – but does not plan to personally apologise to chairman Jeremy Peace.
The Times: Anthony Martial, Manchester United’s new £58.8 million signing, admitted yesterday that his family were fearful about the pressure that will come with such a huge fee.
Also: Vicente del Bosque has warned David De Gea that he is unlikely to go to the European Championship finals with Spain next summer unless he reclaims his place at Manchester United and puts the disappointment of a failed transfer to Real Madrid behind him.
The Guardian: Louis van Gaal’s splurge in the transfer market is over with the Dutchman having brought in 12 new players for more than £250m in his 12 months as Manchester United manager. Van Gaal is confident he is close to completing the rebuild that was required on the squad he inherited from David Moyes and in future transfer windows will aim to bring in only a smaller number of key players.
Also: Norwich City have denied that their striker Gary Hooper turned down the chance to join Sheffield Wednesday because the Yorkshire club refused to give him a VIP box for games.
The Independent: A section of disgruntled Arsenal “supporters” planned a protest outside the Emirates Stadium last night, owing to the club’s lack of activity in this transfer window, but thankfully for Arsene Wenger and Co, no-one turned up.
