Paper Round: Who nearly gazumped Manchester United for Anthony Martial?

Chelsea to bid for Porto's Neves: The Evening Standard are calling this a long way in advance - they reckon Chelsea will put in an offer for teenager Ruben Neves of Porto next summer. They're predicting it'll be around £29m on the table as well to ensure the trigger of the release clause in his contract. Neves, incidentally, is managed by Jorge Mendes' Gestifute organisation.

Paper Round's view: It's particularly interesting the way this rumour is presented - it's a predicted offer (so not a confirmed deal) and it's going to happen next summer (so we'll all forget about it by then if it doesn't come off). Plus, of course, who knows if The Special One will still be at the Chelsea helm by then?

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United nearly missed out on Martial: Can you imagine Old Trafford without the shining light that is Anthony Martial? The world would truly be a much sadder, gloomier place were he not in Manchester. But it so nearly happened! His former club Monaco have spilt the beans about the higher offer they received from another quarter - but Martial had his heart set on becoming a Manchester United player. Phew.

Paper Round's view: This is another narrative step from 'United overpaid horribly for Martial' to 'United got a bargain'. Monaco haven't named the other club, and the club are unlikely to make themselves known, so this is just going to be a perennial mystery.

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Arsene Wenger didn't know Martial was for sale: We can at least be sure that it wasn't Arsenal who put in a bid. The Daily Star report that Arsene Wenger has admitted that he didn't know Martial was available for transfer and thus missed out on the teenager, who he'd been tracking for a while.

Paper Round's view: Seems completely legit. Not having the best of weeks, is he, Monsieur Wenger, all told? As Martial's agent put it: "Some clubs follow players, others buy them."

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Gareth Barry eyeing appearance record: Everton's Gareth Barry will make his 570th Premier League appearance against Liverpool on Sunday, and the Daily Mail say that he is aiming for a career of the longevity of Frank Lampard's or Ryan Giggs's.

Paper Round's view: Hardly earth-shattering stuff - the most noteworthy bit here is Barry's insistence that he won't stop having a beer after every game. Attaboy.