Paper Talk: London rivals pip Arsenal, Chelsea to £35m Ligue 1 ace

Fulham look set to sign one of Ligue 1’s most in-demand stars, while Nabil Fekir is doing all he can to force through a move to Liverpool, according to Thursday’s papers.

SERI SET TO JOIN….FULHAM!

Fulham have beaten a plethora of elite European clubs to sign Jean-Michael Seri, according to widespread reports.

The Nice star has a £35million exit fee in his contract and has been linked with the likes of Barcelona (last summer), Manchester United (in January) and this summer Arsenal, Chelsea and Sevilla.

But it is Premier League newcomers Fulham who look to have won the race for a player, who has already drawn favourable comparisons with N’Golo Kante at Chelsea.

The Sun claims a deal for Seri should be done in the next 24 hours, while the Daily Mirror claims Fulham have acted just in time to trigger his exit clause, which expires on Sunday.

The player is set to become the Cottagers’ first signing of the summer, with Aleksander Mitrovic soon expected to sign from Newcastle following a successful loan spell.

AND THE REST

Nabil Fekir has made clear to Lyon’s owner he still wants a move to Liverpool (Daily Mirror)

Liverpool face competition from Lazio for Stoke winger Xherdan Shaqiri (Daily Mirror)

Everton are trying to push through a £21m deal for Barcelona’s Colombia defender Yerry Mina (Daily Mirror)

Sporting Lisbon have filed paperwork with FIFA calling for Wolves to pay them £48m for goalkeeper Rui Patricio (Daily Mirror)

West Ham have been granted a work permit for Felipe Anderson as they prepare to smash their transfer record in a deal worth in the region of £40m (Daily Mail)

West Brom have contacted Leeds over a £7m move to re-sign Kemar Roofe (Daily Mail)

Liverpool face a battle to keep England youth international Rhian Brewster with the striker attracting interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus as he stalls over signing a new deal at Anfield (The Sun)

Chelsea believe bringing in Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri will persuade Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and Willian to stay (The Sun)

West Ham have held talks with former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, but are thought to be reluctant to offer the 35-year-old a contract (The Sun)

Nottingham Forest starlet Matthew Bondswell has rejected Manchester United and Liverpool to join RB Leipzig (The Sun)

Jose Mourinho has booked his Manchester United squad in for double sessions this week at the start of a brutal pre-season training regime (The Sun)

Southampton are willing to fund the bulk of Fraser Forster’s £65,000-a-week wages to loan out the former England goalkeeper (The Sun)

Bournemouth have been warned they will not land Leganes defender Diego Rico for less than his £17.5m release clause (The Sun)

Hugo Lloris believes France have developed into a “complete” team as the World Cup finalists hit back at Belgium jibes that they are an “anti-football” side (Daily Telegraph)

Crystal Palace are weighing up a £15m bid for Michail Antonio as they consider the sale of Andros Townsend to Newcastle (Daily Telegraph)

Claude Puel is ready to make a renewed £10m bid for Manchester City winger Patrick Roberts after Riyad Mahrez’s £60m club-record sale (Daily Telegraph)