Paper Round: West Ham in £50m swoop for Arsenal duo, Manchester City face battle for Dani Alves

West Ham are prepared to pay £50m for Arsenal duo Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott, according to the Daily Star. The Hammers have been linked with Giroud for the past couple of months, but now Slaven Bilic is said to be keen on landing Walcott too. And with Arsene Wenger looking to revamp his Arsenal squad this summer, the attacking duo could find themselves surplus to requirements at the Emirates.

Paper Round’s view: Is it unfair to suggest that West Ham are more Walcott’s level than Giroud’s? Despite scoring 19 goals in all competitions last season, Walcott is not the calibre of player Wenger needs if he wants to win titles – he has been there since January 2006 after all, and has rarely produced the goods on a consistent basis. Giroud, meanwhile, can still do the business when called upon, but if he stays he would have to put up with being second fiddle as the Arsenal boss is seeking a world-class striker. Both players would bolster West Ham’s starting XI no end, but whether they’ll sign is a different matter.

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Manchester City will face competition from Tottenham for the services of Juventus full-back Dani Alves. The Brazilian is heading for the exit door at Juve, and The Sun report Spurs are hoping to beat City to the punch. Pep Guardiola is also looking at bringing Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker to the Etihad, meaning they could be stacked with quality full-backs come the start of the season.

Paper Round’s view: If City can land both Walker and Alves, that is a serious statement of intent. With Spurs seemingly resigned to losing Walker, it’s clear they need a world-class replacement to come in – Kieran Trippier is a class act, but Alves would be a step above. However, it’s difficult to see anything but a Guardiola-Alves reunion. It’s worth trying, but Spurs will likely lose out on this one.

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Jurgen Klopp has stepped up his bid to bring Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain up to Liverpool, the Mirror reports. Klopp has long admired the Arsenal midfielder, and it’s claimed the German would have to fork out £25m for the England international, who has one year left on his current deal.

Paper Round’s view: Oxlade-Chamberlain is still just 23. It’s easy to write off a man whose best performance came five years ago against AC Milan, and has shown little signs of improvement since, but there remains an air of quality within Oxlade-Chamberlain that could well re-emerge in the right setting. Working under Klopp at Liverpool feels like that perfect fit, and in a season which ends with the World Cup, the midfielder would be wise to head north to Anfield.

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Daniel Levy will not entertain any offers for Tottenham striker Harry Kane, The Sun reports. Spurs’ chairman ‘will refuse to pick up the phone’ if a club comes in for the Premier League Golden Boot winner. It had been suggested that Manchester United would table a £100m offer for Kane, though no bid has come in for the England forward.

Paper Round’s view: £100m would test any club’s resolve, but Spurs and Levy are intent on keeping things as they are. Walker appears to be one player going out the door, but few, if any, will follow him out. Saying that, there are plenty of Spurs fans who would offer a personal chauffeur service for one Moussa Sissoko…