Gossip: Spurs to battle Liverpool, Barca for PSG midfielder, Arsenal identify Aaron Ramsey replacement

David Silva rescuing Manchester City and nobody rescuing Manchester United.

OK, it was not a classic night of Champions League football, but it was a nice pre-cursor to this evening’s mouthwatering ties.

Liverpool’s game at Napoli will be a test of their mettle in the face of a red-hot atmosphere, while Spurs v Barcelona is the sort of marquee game that you need in the group stages.

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But Mauricio Pochettino’s side are down to the bare bones due to injuries, with four first-teamers out injured.

For a squad that saw no reinforcements added during the summer transfer window, that is the last thing that Spurs needed, so it is perhaps little surprise to see them feature in today’s jam-packed gossip column.

Are Spurs actually going to sign someone?

Everyone knows the story by now: Spurs became the first side since the transfer window was introduced in 2003 to not sign anyone in the summer.

But that is all about to change and PSG’s Adrien Rabiot could be the first man through the door come January.

That is according to The Mirror, who say that Tottenham have joined the fairly lengthy list of top European clubs monitoring the French international’s future.

His current contract runs out next summer and he has rejected a number of new deals from the French champions, meaning foreign clubs can speak to him at the turn of the year.

Spurs will face competition from Liverpool and Barca amongst others for his signature, so it may be case of so near, yet so far again for Pochettino’s men.

Ramsey replacement identified

Arsenal have wasted no time in finding Aaron Ramsey’s replacement, identifying Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski as the right man for the job.

Ramsey’s contract runs out at the end of the year and contract talks between the two parties have stopped in recent weeks, meaning his departure either at the end of the year on a free, or for a fee in January, is a near certainty.

And according to SportMediaSet Polish ace Zielinski is the man Unai Emery will turn to.

The 24-year-old was heavily linked with Liverpool before he moved to Napoli for £12m in 2016 and is likely to set the Gunners back £30m.

But the midfield will need beefing up once Ramsey leaves and early reports suggest Zielinski is one of the options to do just that.

The Mirror also report that Danny Welbeck could follow Ramsey out the exit door – his deal runs out in the summer and there has been limited progress on a new contract being sorted.

World champion to the French champions?

Well it wouldn’t be a gossip column if Paul Pogba didn’t feature, would it?

French champions PSG are ready to make a move for the midfielder, despite the Financial Fair Play investigation hanging over them currently.

According to The Sun, they are confident they will get through that investigation and be able to continue splashing the cash on players.

Barcelona and Juventus are also in the queue for the unhappy United man, if reports are to be believed, but PSG want to bring Pogba back to his home city as they continue to try and break into Europe’s elite.