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Gossip: Chelsea 'consider Martial bid', Man Utd 'want Bellerin', Liverpool No.2 Buvac 'wants Arsenal job'

Bellerin, Martial and Buvac – in demand
Bellerin, Martial and Buvac – in demand

Chelsea have joined the list of clubs who would allegedly be interested in Anthony Martial should the French forward leave Manchester United this summer.

The Telegraph says the Blues are considering gazumping Juventus for the 22-year-old, with the Italians said to be readying a £44m bid.

Another man who could be on his way out of Old Trafford is Eric Bailly, who fears he has been “frozen out” by manager Jose Mourinho. The Mirror says Mourinho has given no explanation for dropping the Ivorian defender from his squad in recent games and is giving him “the cold shoulder”. Oh well, at least he isn’t doing post-match interviews saying he is rubbish.

Meanwhile, United are among the clubs keen to snap up Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin, who Spanish paper Sport says is “likely” to leave the Gunners this summer. Chelsea, Barcelona and Juve are the other sides keen on the 23-year-old, who would cost “about £35m”, which sounds quite reasonable.

READ MORE: Gossip – Arsenal ‘target Mourinho’s apprentice as manager’ and more

READ MORE: Gossip – Salah and Bale ‘set to swap clubs’ as Real Madrid circle

READ MORE: Buvac who? Arsenal set to make shock appointment to replace Wenger

You may not be familiar with the work of Bosnian newspaper Pravda BL, but today is a big day in the Sarajevo offices of the publication. Its latest story about Zeljko Buvac is proving so popular to international readers that it’s 50/50 whether you’ll actually get the Pravda BL website to load so you can read it. And even it does load, the story will be accompanied by a pop-up urging you to download “FastMusic Search”, which under no circumstances should you do.

Helpfully, the Mirror has stolen Pravda BL’s story and revealed the general gist, which is that Liverpool’s mysteriously departed assistant manager is on his way to Arsenal as the replacement for Arsene Wenger.

Buvac who? Gunners set to make shock appointment

The Reds say Buvac, who has worked alongside Jurgen Klopp for 17 years, has only left Anfield temporarily and for “personal reasons”. However, Bosnia’s finest are claiming the 56-year-old has emerged as a “serious candidate” for the Arsenal job.

Why Buvac would have chosen this point, after 17 years as a No.2, to become a manager is not clear (especially when he is on the verge of reaching the Champions League final). The only sensible conclusion to be drawn is that he is a lifelong Gooner who has been patiently waiting for Wenger to resign for the past two decades. Over to Pravda BL to do a bit of digging on that one.

Whoever replaces Wenger in north London, they shouldn’t expect to earn the same wedge as the Frenchman. The Mail reports that the Gunners want to “save money” and will offer their new boss less than the £8.5m a year Wenger was paid. This would appear to rule out Luis Enrique, who apparently wants double that amount.

Elsewhere, Chelsea are set to pay £31m for Bayer Leverkusen starlet Benjamin Henrichs, a 21-year-old full-back rated as the best young defender in the Bundesliga (Sun), Man Utd are leading the race for £70m-rated Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic because Barcelona think he is too expensive (Mundo Deportivo) and England’s medical team fear Harry Kane will not be at peak fitness for the World Cup because Tottenham rushed him back from injury (Times). We would have won it if it wasn’t for that.

@darlingkevin