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Jurgen Klopp has plenty to ponder with West Ham planning a sizeable move for a Liverpool reserve, Manchester City have found their successor to Pep Guardiola, while Thursday’s transfer gossip claims Arsenal are closing on a Juventus star.

NAT PHILLIPS OFFER TO ARRIVE FROM WEST HAM

West Ham are reportedly planning a concrete move – thought to be for £15m – for Liverpool defender Nat Phillips in January.

The Hammers are in the market for a new centre-half after losing Kurt Zouma to a serious hamstring tear. The Frenchman, their big summer signing, looks likely to be sidelined until March.

David Moyes was in the market for a new defender anyway with Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna both in the veteran status.

But the injury to Zouma has intensified his search – and lead the Hammers to Phillips, claims the Evening Standard.

However, West Ham’s move for the defender presents Jurgen Klopp with a serious dilemma.

Indeed, after giving the defender a rare start on Tuesday against AC Milan, Klopp labelled Phillips “outstanding”.

However, with Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konata and Joe Gomez all ahead of him in the pecking, game-time at Anfield is likely to be sparse.

Klopp a big fan of Nat Phillips

In fact, Klopp rates the player highly and ideally would like to keep him.

But he knows that by doing so, he will hold his career back.

Furthermore, Phillips admits he wants to be playing as much as possible following his outing in Milan.

“Obviously I want to be playing as much as possible, but the competition is really difficult. So I’ve got to be ready when I’m called upon,” he told liverpoolfc.com.

“I felt like I stood myself in good stead (against Milan). It was tough towards the end.

“It was tough against (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic, someone who has been at the top throughout most of his career, so it was a really tough battle and I enjoyed every minute of it.

“I did get a bit fatigued – that’s going to happen when you play your first 90 minutes in a long time – but I felt overall I can be proud of my performance.

“And it just shows that the work that I have been putting in during training pays off.

As such, Klopp will now think long and hard before accepting West Ham’s offer for the defender.

MAN CITY PLANNING FOR ERIK TEN HAG

Manchester City fancy Erik Ten Hag as Pep Guardiola’s successor when the Spaniard departs the Etihad in summer 2023. (Daily Express)

AC Milan are emerging as favourites to sign Sven Botman, who is also reportedly a target for Tottenham, Wolves and Newcastle. (Daily Express)

Chelsea are considering a move to tempt Lucas Digne away from Everton in January amid talk of a training ground row with Rafa Benitez. (Daily Express)

Flamengo are emerging as candidates to sign Arsenal outcast Pablo Mari, although technical director Edu is reportedly not keen on letting him leave. (Daily Express)

Everton are in talks with Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey as they move ahead of Newcastle United in the race for the midfielder. (Daily Star)

Premier League clubs fear unvaccinated players will be prevented from playing under the government’s new Covid-19 crackdown. (The Sun)

KALVIN PHILLIPS ‘WANTS LIVERPOOL TRANSFER’

Leeds star Kalvin Phillips is likely to snub Manchester United in favour of a summer transfer to Liverpool. (The Sun)

Manchester United and Liverpool are locking horns over American teenage striker Ricardo Pepi. (The Sun)

Chelsea are in talks with Barcelona over loan deals for Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech, according to reports. (The Sun)

Arsenal are pondering a move for Georginio Wijnaldum with the former Liverpool man looking to leave PSG. (The Sun)

Arsenal representatives are preparing to fly out to Italy to try and secure the transfer of Juventus winger Dejan Kulusevski. (The Sun)

Liverpool are pondering a move for Denis Zakaria, with Borussia Monchengladbach looking to sell him in January. (Daily Mail)

AND MORE TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City are confident of calling on Phil Foden against Wolves after an ankle scare in midweek. (Daily Mail)

Roberto Mancini insists reports he’s due to become Manchester United’s next manager as ‘all false’. (Daily Mail)

Newcastle United are keen on signing Tottenham defender Joe Rodon, who looks likely to leave in January. (Daily Mail)

Nicky Hammond is in the running to become part of Newcastle United’s transfer team. (Daily Mail)

Highly-rated Colorado Rapids winger Dantouma Toure is currently training with Arsenal, according to reports. (Daily Mail)

Inter Milan are planning to end Luka Jovic’s torrid time at Real Madrid with a January move for the striker. (Daily Record)

Neil Lennon is emerging as a leading candidate for the Ipswich Town job, according to reports. (The Scottish Sun)

The post Paper Talk: West Ham give Klopp huge dilemma with meaty bid for Liverpool reserve; Man City identify Guardiola successor appeared first on TEAMtalk.