Man Utd & Arsenal eye Croatia striker - Sunday's gossip

What the report says

BBC Sport’s Sunday gossip roundup says Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are among the Premier League clubs monitoring Freiburg striker Igor Matanovic, a 23-year-old Croatia international. The report attributes the interest to a round of transfer speculation and does not say that any club has made a formal bid or opened talks.

The same roundup adds that Juventus are interested in Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni, 19, as they look to increase the number of Italian players in their squad. It also says Newcastle United are open to letting midfielder Joe Willock leave in January, with his contract due to expire in the summer and no new deal yet agreed.

Elsewhere in the piece, Tottenham are said to have no plans to sell defender Micky van de Ven despite reported Liverpool interest, while AC Milan are weighing a move for Brighton midfielder Yasin Ayari as a possible future replacement for Luka Modric if he retires. The roundup also mentions scouting and contract news involving several other clubs, reflecting the usual mid-season transfer market background rather than confirmed deals.

As with BBC Sport’s gossip columns generally, the items are sourced from other outlets and should be treated as reported transfer links, not finalized moves.