Paper Round: Chelsea linked with shock Alexis Sanchez swoop

Another day, another rumour about Alexis Sanchez, who along with Mesut Ozil has yet to sign on the dotted line to extend his contract with Arsenal. With their contracts up for renewal at the end of the season, Arsene Wenger confirmed this week that contract negotiations are ongoing - with the double-act's salaries said to be the main issue. Sanchez's agent is said to be seeking a salary comparable with Eden Hazard, Sergio Aguero and Paul Pogba - all of whom earn considerably more, and Chelsea are said to be ready to capitalise on those demands...

Paper Round's view: We would be feeling pretty nervous right now, if we were Arsenal fans... Chelsea makes a lot of sense for a resentful Arsenal player - you get to stay in London, you probably get more money and you are just a little bit closer to the shops at Stamford Bridge. Let's face it, it wouldn't be the first time an Arsenal player had defected to their West London rivals. Get the chequebook out Wenger, for goodness' sake.

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The Daily Star reports on Roy Hodgson's recent interview in which the 69-year-old says he is read to return to football. Hodgson, who left his job as England manager after an embarrassing campaign at this summer's Euro 2016 tournament, reckons he is wiser for his experience and that with wisdom comes "less mistakes with players."

Paper Round's view: Sorry, we're having a coughing fit here at Paper Round. Yes, less mistakes with players, quite right... After a few months out of the game, The Daily Star reckons Hodgson would be the natural replacement for Tony Pulis at West Brom, should he end up getting the boot, or perhaps Norwich. We don't doubt that Hodgson would be a good fit for either of those clubs, though we would question if perhaps it might be a bit soon to return to the Premier League, with the summer's disappointments still fresh in the minds of many. A "big-money" move to China, also mooted by the newspaper, doesn't seem too outlandish - Hodgson has managed teams in a number of countries. Perhaps he could take his beloved Rooney with him?

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The Times reports that Aston Villa and Leicester are the two most recent clubs to be implicated in football’s historic sex-abuse scandal. Apparently the FA’s review will investigate a scout who worked at both clubs, Ted Langford, who was convicted in 2007 of abusing four young players during the 1970s and 90s. The FA’s review will apparently look, in particular, at the steps taken by both clubs and what they did or did not know in relations to abuse. Leicester City, meanwhile, said they were not aware of any allegations against or in relation to the club, but would investigate any specific allegations fully.

Paper Round's view: The extent of this issue now seems to be deeply worrying. Perhaps more worrying still is those cases where perpetrators of abuse are still the subject of investigations, even though successful charges were already brought against them - implying not all stones were unturned at the time. With this in mind, these sad revelations look set to continue for some time.

British Cycling’s former technical director Shane Sutton has been cleared of eight of the nine charges against him, in the probe which lead to his resignation ahead of the Rio Olympics this summer. The charges focussed on allegations made by former team-member Jess Varnish, who said she was bullied by Sutton – who has consistently denied the charges - and subject to sexism including remarks about her weight and that she should “get on with having a baby.” The Telegraph reports that legal teams on both sides are now considering action.

Varnish said on Wednesday night that she was “shocked and upset” having provided “substantial evidence” to back up her claims. However, Sutton will not be able to return to his previous position as since an internal review upheld one allegation that Sutton had used inappropriate and discriminatory language. The report by British Cycling’s internal review is at the crux of the issue – in that neither Sutton nor Varnish have been allowed to see it, apparently. You can’t help but wonder if British Cycling might find themselves in a stronger position on many issues if they demonstrated a little more transparency…

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