Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil, 28, held talks with Fenerbahce over a move to Turkey in the summer. (Hurriyet, via Daily Star)
Former Manchester United and Wales winger Ryan Giggs, 42, will not be offered the Wigan Athletic manager’s job, with the Championship club instead ready to appoint United’s under-21 boss Warren Joyce. (Daily Mail)
And United are considering selling three first-team centre-halves – England’s Chris Smalling, Dutch defender Daley Blind and Argentina’s Marcos Rojo – with 23-year-old Germany defender Antonio Rudiger a target. (Daily Mail)
Barcelona have identified Liverpool right-back Nathaniel Clyne as a January transfer target and could pay £20m for the 25-year-old. (Sun)
LA Galaxy want to bring 31-year-old Manchester United and England forward Wayne Rooney to the MLS. (Sun)
Tottenham winger Erik Lamela, 24, wants to sign a new deal with the north London club. (Evening Standard)
Liverpool will sign 15-year-old 6ft 5in Bury defender Emeka Obi, once they get approval from the Football League and Premier League over his visa. (Daily Mail)
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, 30, is yet to convince manager Pep Guardiola that he can fit into the Spaniard’s plans. (Telegraph)
Real Madrid “tried to hire Pep Guardiola” to replace Rafael Benitez last November, according to the Manchester City manager’s biographer. (Cadena Ser, via Daily Mirror)
Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti has thanked Guardiola for the “marvellous job” he did with the German champions. (Manchester Evening News)
Arsenal’s 28-year-old forward Lucas Perez has been ruled out until December with an ankle ligament injury. (IBTimesUK)
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, 30, says football has taught him to “use negative people and experiences to motivate you”. He added: “I actually need my haters – they have helped me achieve all I have achieved.” (Coach magazine)
Former Tottenham striker Les Ferdinand has backed current Spurs forward Vincent Janssen to be a success, calling the 22-year-old a “top player”. (Talksport)
Borussia Monchengladbach hope Chelsea will allow them to extend 20-year-old defender Andreas Christensen’s loan spell in the Bundesliga beyond the end of the season. (Evening Standard)
Another Chelsea youngster, 21-year-old England Under-21 international Nathaniel Chalobah, says he is refusing to “give up” on the club, despite struggling for opportunities at Stamford Bridge. (Sun)
Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, 27, says he “will do everything to try and help the team”, despite only making four appearances since joining from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. (Guardian)
Leicester City and Japan striker Shinji Okazaki is the club’s “dilly-ding dilly-dong” – “he wakes everybody up, he is the bell!” – according to manager Claudio Ranieri. (Leicester Mercury)
Tottenham’s Cameroonian forward Clinton N’Jie, 23, currently on loan at Marseille, says his future will be decided at the end of the season. (Ligue 1)
Spain manager Vicente del Bosque says Chelsea boss Antonio Conte needs to be “a little more considerate when he celebrates victories”. (AS, via Metro)
Charlton chief executive Katrien Meire insists unpopular owner Roland Duchatelet will not be selling the League One club. (Talksport)
Best of social media
Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin or the ‘free-kick-taking’ cat? You decide…
Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger bumped into former Bayern Munich team-mate Owen Hargreaves after the EFL Cup derby against Manchester City on Wednesday. He said on Twitter: “Always great to meet my former mates like Owen at Old Trafford.”
Maya Yoshida celebrated Southampton’s EFL Cup win against Sunderland by tasting something new. He tweeted: “What a goal from Sofiane Boufal, what a goal kick from me. Now my first white truffle this time.”
And finally…
South Africa have dismissed former Bournemouth striker Tokelo Rantie, 26, from the national team after he broke wind at boss Ephraim Mashaba. (Sun)
Napoli head coach Maurizio Sarri says he will greet Juventus forward Gonzalo Higuain, 28, like “a father would with a son who made him angry” when the sides meet on Saturday, following the Argentine’s move this summer. (Sky Italia, via Goal)