Paper Round: Manchester United to sign Bastian Schweinsteiger

‘United to land Schweinsteiger’ - Manchester United are nearing a £7.5million deal for Bayern Munich star Bastian Schweinsteiger, according to a report in the Sunday People. United boss Louis van Gaal is confident he can lure his former player away from the Allianz Arena and transfer negotiator Ed Woodward has been tasked with making it happen. The Germany star is reportedly keen to link-up with Van Gaal, who managed him when he was in charge at Bayern from 2009-2011. United will only have to pay £7.5m for the midfielder and so Van Gaal believes it to be a bargain worth prioritising early this summer.

Paper Round’s view: Schweinsteiger, who will be 31 in August, only has a year left on his deal with German champions Bayern and so it is clear that an opportunity has presented itself for United given the timing. Germany legend Lothar Matthaus was recently quoted as saying “Schweinsteiger needs a coach who will play him according to his strengths, and Van Gaal will do that”. The fact that Van Gaal has both managed Schweinsteiger and not managed to fall out with him is a good sign and there is no doubt that he would vastly improve United’s midfield.

‘City will meet Liverpool’s Sterling fee’ – Manchester City will now meet Liverpool’s £50 million asking price for Raheem Sterling, according to a report in the Sunday Express. City have so far lodged two bids, the last one amounting with add-ons to £40million - both have been rejected. Liverpool are prepared to sell the 20-year-old but not for a penny under £50m and City apparently won’t drop their interest for the sake of another £10 million in a summer in which they are committed to bringing in top English talent. They don’t want to miss out on Sterling and are expected in the next few days to submit a bid which will satisfy Liverpool.

Paper Round’s view: The City hierarchy surely know that other clubs including Rafael Benitez’s Real Madrid, Arsenal and Chelsea are lurking, so it makes sense for the club to act swiftly and decisively if they really do want to land Sterling as a priority. £10m is nothing for a club of City’s riches so it would appear churlish to miss out on one of their top summer targets over such an amount. Signing Sterling for the full price would not only guarantee that the move is clinched quickly but it would represent a statement of real intent from the club.

‘Liverpool target signing Llorente’ - Liverpool are turning their attentions to the Juventus striker Fernando Llorente and Sevilla’s Carlos Bacca after refusing to meet the £32.5 million release fee to sign Christian Benteke from Aston Villa, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph. Llorente is expected to be made available by the Italian champions, who are reshaping their attack this summer and signing Atlético Madrid’s Mario Mandzukic, while Sevilla have insisted, so far, that Bacca is not for sale. Liverpool are examining the possibility of signing either Llorente or Bacca. Juventus will try to hold out for as much as €20 million (£14.3 million) for Llorente but will probably let him go for less.

Paper Round’s view: It has been widely reported that Llorente will be made available by the Italian champions, who appear to be reshaping their attack this summer and signing Atletico Madrid’s Mario Mandzukic, while Sevilla have insisted, so far, that Bacca is not for sale. Liverpool need to add to their strike-force and had targeted Benteke, having signed Danny Ings, for a fee to be set by a tribunal but which could be £5 million to £7 million. Llorente, the Spanish international, is 30 while Bacca – a prolific goalscorer in La Liga, who is representing Colombia in the Copa America – is 28. This doesn’t fit with Liverpool’s supposed policy of buying young talent, but both represent proven quality players.

‘Chelsea holding talks for Song’ - West Ham United are trying to convince Barcelona to let them sign Alex Song on a free transfer, although talks have also taken place over a potential switch to Chelsea, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph. Barca are believed to have valued Song at around £5million, but the Hammers have suggested that they sign the midfielder for free and take on his entire £70,000-a-week wages. Chelsea and Manchester City have also shown interest in Song due to his status as a home-grown player, but it is unclear whether or not the two clubs are willing to pay a fee.

Paper Round’s view: Song still has two years to run on his Barca contract and the Spanish club face the prospect of paying a share of his current salary for that period if no club is willing to match it. They would surely be keen to sell the midfielder rather than let him head out again on loan, but the wages could be prohibitive. However, if Chelsea believe he would be an important squad player as back up to Nemanja Matic then they could surely stump up the cash in order to sign him on a permanent deal. The fact that he has home-grown player status would also be a tremendous bonus for any of the big clubs.