Paper Round: Man City to battle Chelsea and United for Atletico Madrid star

City to battle United and Chelsea for Atleti star: Manchester City are pondering a £44 million offer for Atletico Madrid star Koke, reports the Daily Star. City want the Spain international to intensify competition in the centre of midfield and are willing to meet the release clause in the player’s contract, which is set at £44m. The Manchester club will offer Stevan Jovetic as part of any deal. Koke also interests Chelsea and Manchester United.

Paper Round’s view: Put simply Fernandinho and Fernando are not elite central midfielders. Yaya Toure and David Silva do fall into that category. Koke would be a welcome addition to what at times can be a laboured midfield. Whether Koke would consider a move is another matter altogether – he has been at Atletico for some 15 years. Further complicating any deal is the fact that Atletico already have an array of forwards, so the offer of Stevan Jovetic as part of the deal is not all that enticing.

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Liverpool eye move for Alvaro Morata: Liverpool are preparing a move for Juventus forward Alvaro Morata, according to a report in the Metro. Morata moved to Juventus over the summer and has excelled in Serie A, notching six goals in 19 games. Liverpool are keen to bolster their attacking options having been left short in that department by the injury to Daniel Sturridge earlier in the season.

Paper Round’s view: Morata broadly suits Liverpool’s transfer strategy in as much as he is young with great potential. He has proven that he can score goals in Spain and Italy and his bustling presence suggests that he would not be overawed in the Premier League either. There is a £25m buy-back clause in his contract which means Real Madrid have first refusal on their former player. However, if they fail to exercise that then a bid of that amount from Liverpool should do the trick.

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Liverpool close on new Sterling deal: Liverpool are close to agreeing a new deal with Raheem Sterling, reports the Daily Star. The two parties have been in negotiations since October and were said to be at an impasse. However, the Star claim that Sterling, 20, is close to putting pen to paper on new deal said to be worth £70,000-a-week.

Paper Round’s view: If Liverpool can tie Sterling down to a long term deal at £70,000-per-week then that would be quite the coup. Sterling’s rise under Brendan Rodgers has been exponential – so much so that he has attracted admiring glances from Real Madrid and a host of other top European clubs. Those overtures put Sterling at a considerable advantage when entering into negotiations. £70,000-a-week for a player of Sterling’s capabilities with his potential seems below the market rate. Well played, Liverpool.

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Manchester United to swoop for ex-City star: Manchester United are said to be considering a move for former Manchester City defender Stefan Savic, claims the Metro. It is a well-known fact that United are in the market for defensive reinforcement and have reportedly sent scouts to watch the 24-year-old, who is rated at £14.6m by his club Fiorentina. United almost pulled the deal off in January and are therefore confident of getting it done over the summer.

Paper Round’s view: United’s travails at the back are well documented and they are almost certain to sign at least one centre-back over the summer. Is Savic of the required quality though? Savic only made 11 appearances for City during the 2011-12 season but, had up until that point, only made 47 senior appearances at club level. His performances for Fiorentina suggest that he has matured since then. He has 29 caps for Montenegro and would a decent addition to the United squad.