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HOT FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP: Lavezzi, Debuchy, Terry, Costa, Long

The sight of Phil Jones celebrating Manchester United’s winner at Liverpool in amongst the away fans on Sunday has suddenly made Louis van Gaal’s side a more attractive proposition to players lured by the promise of free Premier League tickets.

After Michael Carrick and Marcos Rojo were also spotted among the United faithful at Anfield, Paris Saint-Germain’s in-demand winger Ezequiel Lavezzi opened talks with Van Gaal about a £6.1m January move to Old Trafford, reports the Star. Lavezzi then showed the footage of Jones’ ecstatic face to his team-mate Adrien Rabiot, who the Star adds is also wanted by United for £21.4m.

Arsenal right-back Mathieu Debuchy is so disillusioned with life at the Emirates that he wants to sign for Aston Villa, says the Mirror. Meanwhile, the Gunners have appointed the Leicester scout who spotted Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante to help prevent them making any more signings like Debuchy, reports the Telegraph. The scout is called Ben Wrigglesworth, which is a good name.

Chelsea captain John Terry is confident that his skill for scoring offside goals will persuade the Stamford Bridge hierarchy to offer him a one-year contract extension, reports the Guardian.

Otherwise JT could end up like his old pal Ashley Cole, who the Mail says is on the brink of a move to LA Galaxy after Roma terminated his deal following an unhappy 18-month stint in Italy.

The Blues are set to be without Diego Costa for a while, either due to injury or because he’s leaving the club. Spanish media say Atletico Madrid are poised to bring Costa back to the Calderon, while the Telegraph says the striker’s shin injury will prompt Chelsea to sign Alexandre Pato.

That’s the same Alexandre Pato who the Newcastle Chronicle claims has been offered to the Magpies, along with Swansea striker Bafetimi Gomis. But Toon boss Steve McClaren has apparently turned down both options to instead focus on buying West Brom’s Saido Berahino for £18m.

Steven Naismith is still apparently worth £8m, which is what the Mirror has tipped Norwich City to pay for the Everton forward on Monday. Everton are set to use the funds to sign Dynamo Kiev winger Andriy Yarmolenko and Leeds full-back Sam Byram.

Charlie Austin’s move to Southampton has opened the door for Ronald Koeman to sell one of his strikers, but it won’t be Shane Long - whose proposed £8m move to Liverpool has been blocked by the Saints, reports the Mirror. Instead, ESPN claims that Graziano Pelle will be the player allowed to leave St Mary’s.

Elsewhere, Crystal Palace are set to miss out on Porto striker Yacine Brahimi, Pablo Zabaleta could leave Manchester City in the summer and West Ham chairman David Gold has said £4m Austin’s £100,000 a week wages mean he is not a bargain. And he’d know - because that’s about the same as he pays Andy Carroll.

@darlingkevin