Roma’s Zirkzee deal deadlock – Thursday’s gossip

Manchester United and Roma reach stalemate over Joshua Zirkzee deal, Barcelona eye Aston Villa‘s Pau Torres, Crystal Palace want Bayern Munich defender Sacha Boey and AC Milan in talks with West Ham over Niclas Fullkrug transfer.

Manchester United and Roma are miles apart in their valuation of Joshua Zirkzee, 24, with the Premier League club demanding a fee of around £35m and reluctant to sanction a loan move for the Netherlands striker. (Corriere dello Sport – in Italian)

Barcelona are eager to extend the contract of Hansi Flick to 2028 despite the 60-year-old German manager only signing a new deal with the Spanish champions until 2027 in May this year. (Bild – in German)

Barcelona are also looking at Aston Villa‘s 28-year-old Spain defender Pau Torres and Borussia Dortmund’s 26-year-old Germany international Nico Schlotterbeck as they look to sign a left-sided centre-back. (ESPN)

Chelsea‘s priority in the summer will be bolstering central midfield – with England duo Kobbie Mainoo, 20, of Manchester United and Adam Wharton, 21, of Crystal Palace mentioned. (Telegraph – subscription required)

Crystal Palace are looking at right wing-back options for the January transfer window after an injury to Daniel Munoz that could rule out the 29-year-old Colombia international for an extended period. (Sky Sports)

One of the wide defenders Palace are interested in is Bayern Munich’s Sacha Boey – the 25-year-old French full-back who is expected to leave the Bundesliga club next month. (Standard)

Palace boss Oliver Glasner believes England defender Marc Guehi, 25, will see out his contract by staying until the end of the season. (Standard)

AC Milan are in talks to sign Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug, 32, from West Ham – having offered to take him on loan with option to buy. (Bild – in German)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer urged Manchester United to sign Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice while he was manager at Old Trafford – but they instead signed Donny van de Beek, Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo. (Mail – subscription required)

Leeds United are unlikely to spend about £25m to sign AC Milan and Mexico striker Santiago Gimenez, 24, and will instead eye a short-term loan deal for a new forward during the January window. (Football Insider)

Germany striker Nick Woltemade was a target for Bayern Munich in the summer before he joined Newcastle United from Stuttgart and the 23-year-old says that “in hindsight, I’m happy that it turned out this way”. (Sport Bild, via Sky Sports Germany)