Premier League: Christian Eriksen to stay and David de Gea to leave?

Eriksen staying at Spurs?

Christian Eriksen scored one of Tottenham Hotspur’s goals in their 2-2 draw at Arsenal on Sunday, but Mauricio Pochettino declared it unlikely it will be the last act of his career at the club.

The Danish playmaker has been linked with a move to Spain but with the European transfer window closing today the Tottenham manager said he believes the smart money is on Eriksen staying.

“I want to say it is going to be impossible, but it is going to be difficult [for him to leave],” Pochettino told reporters after the entertaining draw.

“I think nothing is impossible in football, but the most important thing is that it is only 24 hours and I hope that everything will be clear for everyone.”

De Gea set to depart

Manchester United are “scouring Europe for goalkeepers”, claims The Sun, prompting the paper to state that David de Gea is set to quit Old Trafford in January.

The Spanish gloveman has long been linked with a return to his homeland, and despite United bosses offering him a new contract he has so far refused to put pen to paper.

De Gea’s contract expires in June and the Sun says United are drawing plans to sell him in the new year rather than run the risk of seeing him leave on a free transfer at the end of the season.

As for his replacements, the paper says that the Red Devils are monitoring Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak but they are also running the rule over Dinamo Zagreb keeper Dominik Livakovic

Darmian joins Parma

Manchester United’s Matteo Darmian has agreed terms with Parma over a permanent transfer. The Daily Express says that the 29-year-old has moved to the Italian outfit in a deal worth “around £2m”, although the Manchester Evening News puts the figure at nearer £1.4m.

Darmian’s departure follows that of Chris Smalling, who has joined Roma for the rest of the season.

“I’m happy to be back home, it’s an important opportunity,” said Darmian on arriving in his native Italy. “It’s certainly an important opportunity to get back into the Italy team.”

Smalling to Roma

Darmian will encounter Smalling when Parma play Roma after the latter signed for the club on a loan deal. According to BBC Sport the Serie A side will pay €3m (£2.7m) to keep Smalling for a year.

The deal ends Smalling’s nine-year association with the Red Devils, but the defender sees it as a fresh challenge.

“This is the perfect opportunity for me,” he said. “The chance to experience a new league, with a big team that has got big aspirations is exactly what I needed.”

Azpilicueta to be axed

New Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is continuing to identify the weaknesses in the squad he inherited in the summer and the Daily Star claims that the “next big-name casualty” will be skipper Cesar Azpilicueta.

According to the paper, the Spanish right-back “will be axed” to make way for Reece James. The 19-year-old is recovering from an ankle injury but once fit he will usurp Azpilicueta in the Blues’s starting line-up and the Spaniard could be moved on next year.