rewrite this title Transfer news LIVE: Man Utd face Mendes hurdle as Chelsea lead Mainoo race

Manchester City want to sign Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush to bolster their forward line, although they believe it will be difficult to sign the Egypt international this month.

Marmoush has scored 18 goals and contributed 11 assists already this season but with Eintracht challenging for a Champions League place, City are conscious it could be hard to persuade the Bundesliga high-flyers to sell.

The 25-year-old, who might cost up to £50m, could be a belated replacement for Julian Alvarez, who was sold to Atletico Madrid in the summer for a fee that could rise to £82m.

Liverpool have also been said to be interested in Marmoush in recent weeks.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is interested in buying Liverpool, according to his father.

A full sale has never been an option though, but Errol Musk maintains his son, owner of Tesla and social media platform X (formerly Twitter), would be open to acquiring the Anfield-based team.

“I can’t comment on that. They’ll raise the price,” Musk snr told Times Radio.

When pressed on whether Elon would want to buy Liverpool he added: “Oh, yes. But that doesn’t mean he’s buying it. He would like to yes, obviously. Anybody would want to – so would I.”

Manchester United need a sale in order to meet Paris Saint-Germain’s €60m valuation of Nuno Mendes, with Ruben Amorim and the new INEOS leadership keen to start a badly-desired overhaul.

The 22-year-old left-back has been targeted as a key first signing to give balance to the team, but the Old Trafford hierarchy are currently short on the salary offer as well as the transfer fee.

The situation reflects how difficult this crucial first window is for Amorim, with many at United openly talking about how much business needs to be done but how little money there is to spend amid Profit and Sustainability Rule restrictions. The club have essentially let it be known that they will listen to offers for almost any player, including popular homegrown talents such as Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho. Such reports have dominated the first few days of the window, only showing how stark the situation is.

Latest from Miguel Delaney:

Chelsea are at the top of the list of clubs who want to sign Kobbie Mainoo should he depart Manchester United.

The Daily Mail are reporting that there is a stalemate in negotiations over a new deal between the midfielder and the Old Trafford hierarchy despite Mainoo having two-and-a-half years left on his current contract.

If United do sell the player it would be financially beneficial given any proceeds from a sale would go down as pure profit on the accounts.

The fans would not be pleased as Mainoo is a homegrown talent that broke into the first team under Erik ten Hag and has continued to impress.

The winter transfer window began on 1 January, with clubs across Europe looking for value in a difficult market this month.

Injury crises, title challenges and relegation battles will force plenty of clubs into the market in early 2025, with plenty of eyes on the Premier League as clubs such as Arsenal and Manchester City look primed to make signings.