Paper Round: Barcelona to make final £136m bid to woo Philippe Coutinho

Barcelona are set to make one final offer for Liverpool striker Philippe Coutinho – for a whopping £136 million, so says The Sun. According to the newspaper, the Catalans third and final offer would consist of £100m up front with add-ons of £36m. However, Liverpool may yet continue to play hard-ball over the 25-year-old midfielder’s future, having consistently denied they would accept offers.

Paper Round’s view: £136m would be a lot of money for Liverpool to turn down, but it is increasingly difficult to understand what’s going on in this situation. Coutinho signed a five-year contract with his current club just last year – a contract with no release clause according to The Sun, so we understand the club wanting to hold him to that. However, with no news on the “injured” Player’s return to training, this is a situation that could turn pretty nasty for everyone involved.

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Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has apparently issued a rallying call to his players to bag a double victory in the Premier League and the FA Cup this season. According to a report by The Sun, Mourinho also believes they should be aiming for the last eight in the Champions League after a strong start to the season. According to a club source: “He [Mourinho] has made them believe in what can be achieved and there is a real confidence in this squad they can do it.”

Paper Round’s view: It’s a little while since any team won the double, though of course it is something Manchester United used to do a fair bit. In fact the last time a team won the FA Cup and the Premier League in the same season was Chelsea in 2009-10, though that was under Carlo Ancelotti, not Mourinho. Must smart a bit. Why stop at the double, Mourinho? Why not the Treble? Ah yes, sorry you need somewhere between two to 10 years for that, I forgot.

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West Ham manager Slaven Bilic had some strong words for club record-signing Marko Arnautovic on Tuesday night. Speaking at a press conference ahead of his club’s Carabao Cup tie, Bilic banged the table in anger as he said, of the 28-year-old’s brutal elbow against Southampton’s Jack Stephens on Saturday: “You can’t do those kind of things…I am fuming, still now.”

Paper Round’s view: Bilic has a good point and certainly the Austrian forward was keen to make amends with fans after the event, posting a grovelling message on Instagram. But we can’t help but wonder if Bilic has slightly bigger things on his mind at the minute – like whether or not he can weather the storm at West Ham and live to fight another day after some dismal results last season, now spilling over in to the new system.

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According to reports on Tuesday, Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy could be taking his party to an altogether different location after it was rumoured that Premier League champions Chelsea were plotting a surprise bid for the 30-year-old.

Paper Round’s view: Of course, lest we forget, Vardy himself is a title-winning champion, so perhaps it wouldn’t be so strange to see the Blues make a move for him. But you all remember when Leicester won the Premier League – that was a weird year. Chelsea, you don’t have to do this.

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