Paper Round: Eden Hazard 'worth £200m plus Ronaldo'

Eden Hazard 'worth £200 million plus Ronaldo': The Daily Star Sunday, Mail on Sunday and Sunday Express back pages are rather ludicrous efforts today, based on equally ludicrous comments by Jose Mourinho pricing up his star player in extravagant terms following suggestions that Real Madrid could poach the Belgian in the summer: "Do you want a figure? £100 million, plus one of their three best players... No, £100m each leg – £100m each leg because he is very young... If they want him I would be the first to know because of my relationship with the club."

Paper Round's view: A silly question, a silly answer, and some very, VERY silly newspaper back pages. But it's all in good fun... unless you coughed up for one of those papers hoping for something a little meatier. The nonsense is only upped by the manner in which the Daily Star claims the story as an 'exclusive'.

Full Mail, Star and Express stories

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Real Madrid set to sell Bale for £75m: The Sunday Mirror reports that Manchester United "have been given fresh encouragement" over the chance of signing Gareth Bale from Real Madrid. "Real Madrid will cash in on Bale in the summer after a season in which he has been hounded by the Bernabeu fans," the paper asserts, though they have no specific evidence to cite.

Paper Round's view: Unlikely. The latest word from Spain is that Bale is more or less untouchable, since for some reason he is believed to be a real favourite of club president Florentino Perez. That will probably give Bale at least one more season, and possibly two, particularly if he helps the club land 'La Undecima' in the Champions League just a year after 'La Decima'. Just look at how long Roman Abramovich protected Fernando Torres at Chelsea if you want proof that such things happen - and Perez is not up for re-election until 2017.

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Liverpool cement Milner deal, and move on to double swoop on Manchester City: Brendan Rodgers will reportedly make summer moves for both James Milner - who is out of contract at the end of the season - and Stevan Jovetic. The Daily Star Sunday reports that the Reds "are convinced they have won the race to sign James Milner", with "an Anfield source described it as a "done deal". As for Jovetic? "Rodgers has also earmarked Stevan Jovetic as his No.1 striker target."

Paper Round's view: There's nothing new in the Milner link, but Jovetic? It doesn't ring true, particularly given Rodgers' comments just the other day about needing a consistent, week-in week-out striker - something that Jovetic has been very far from at City. The Mail on Sunday rains on that story in any case, claiming that Inter Milan will move in for Jovetic instead.

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Wayne Rooney tipped for Everton return: The Sunday Express picks up on Phil Jagielka's comments suggesting that Wayne Rooney could well return to Everton before his career is up. "It's s difficult for Wayne," said the Everton skipper. "You can imagine being the age he was and him playing for the team he supported and then the big move to United... I speak to him all the time and he's always keen to know how we have got on - he's still a big Evertonian. Obviously he has an affiliation with Manchester United, he has been there a long time, he's the captain now, so you understand that - but he still loves the club."

Paper Round's view: This is a classic case of the papers making innocuous comments into a back page splash. Jagielka also added this healthy proviso: "He has a big future at United and I can't see them letting him go anytime soon. And he wouldn't want to come back at the end when he wasn't the player he once was. Wayne has high standards. He would want to come back and make a difference." But the Express buries all that more negative spin at the bottom of their article.

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Falcao has blown his chance at United: The Manchester Evening News picks up on comments from Louis van Gaal that appear to debunk suggestions earlier in the week that Radamel Falcao could yet stay at Old Trafford next season, assuming that Monaco will slash his £43.5m purchase clause: "Falcao has been given the chance to be in the team this season. You can say he is unlucky – he has the quality to play... I like Falcao as a human being, just as I like Danny Welbeck and Chicharito - they are always professional. But when you are not in the team for season after season, there comes a time when you need a challenge. That’s why I have said goodbye to Welbeck and Chicharito. And now I have to talk with Falcao.” On top of that, the paper claims, Falcao himself doesn't want to stay anyway: "It is understood that he has already decided that his future lies elsewhere after failing to establish himself under Van Gaal."

Paper Round's view: "And now I have to talk with Falcao"? Ouch. That banging noise you hear is the coffin lid being nailed shut on Falcao's Premier League career. And LVG is absolutely right. Falcao has had plenty of bites at the cherry, and while he's shown willing he's shown a woeful final touch in front of goal.