Real to seal the deal?
The Mirror start with...
'Lassana Diarra to join Real Madrid as Manchester City miss out'
Portsmouth last night agreed to sell midfielder Lassana Diarra to Real Madrid in an astonishing club record £20million deal.
Real pounced for the France international as new Bernabeu boss Juande Ramos got his man two weeks before the transfer window officially opens.
Manchester City believed they had a deal in place, but Pompey made no firm commitment.
And although City came back yesterday with an improved £12m bid, the package on offer from Real was simply too good for Portsmouth or the player to turn down.
With the deal between the clubs now done in principle, only the fine details remain - something expected to be completed in a few hours today.
Diarra, who left Arsenal for Pompey in January for just £4m, will earn a whopping £110,000 per week, more than double his Fratton Park wages.
He was last night packing his bags to fly straight out to Spain within the next 48 hours, even though he cannot legally join Real until January 1.
But the 23-year-old has played his last game for Pompey and will train with the Spanish giants for the next fortnight to acclimatise himself to his new surroundings in La Liga.
Pompey play Dutch side Heerenveen in a UEFA Cup dead rubber tonight.
The Sun says...
'Ashton fit for January sale'
DEAN ASHTON will spark a bidding war by finally returning to action next month.
Aston Villa, Spurs and Manchester City are all chasing the £10million-rated striker — despite West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola saying he will not sell.
Zola is desperate to hang on to the England striker with vultures already circling Craig Bellamy, Matthew Upson and Rob Green.
Ashton, 25, has been out with an ankle injury since September but is scheduled to return in the reserves in early January.
Zola thinks Ashton has an outside chance of being fit for the Premier League trip to Newcastle on January 10 — just in time to show potential buyers what he is made of.
The manager said: “Dean is in rehab and seeing his physio. He’s doing very well but I don’t how long he will be out for.
“Hopefully it’ll be the very beginning of the New Year.”
And finally the Daily Mail add...
'I won't sign! Owen will cash in and quit Newcastle on a free'
Michael Owen is looking for a lucrative free transfer in the summer and has told his Newcastle team-mates he is hoping for Liverpool, Manchester City or Everton to make him an offer he cannot refuse.
If Newcastle thought Owen would rush to agree a new contract — complete with a £20,000-a-week pay cut — they would have been disappointed yesterday.
Instead they will be made to sweat by the exiled England striker, who looks certain to quit St James’ Park in the summer in search of a fresh future.
Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear finally offered Owen a new deal yesterday, eight months after his predecessor Kevin Keegan urged owner Mike Ashley to secure the former England striker.
But 29-year-old Owen and his advisers are in no rush to sign a new contract after months of waiting for Ashley to open negotiations.
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