Paper Round: United face embarrassment over deal

‘United face embarrassment over deal’ – Manchester United are set to find themselves in a controversial situation next summer, all because of a big deal, reports the Daily Telegraph. United are going to face the absurd situation of wearing a Nike kit during next summer’s pre-season fixtures, despite agreeing a world record £750 million deal with Adidas from the start of the 2015-16 season. Adidas will pay United £75m-a-year over 10 years, but Nike will hold United to the embarrassing situation of wearing their kit right up until the end of July next year.

Paper Round’s view: It may not seem like a big deal, but just think of this: every big signing United make next summer will be unveiled wearing a Nike kit, with the company’s branding all over the club. It will be a big slap in the face for Adidas who, having agreed such a vast contract with the club, will have to watch on as United continue to be parading their Nike merchandise right up until the end of the summer. To put it into context, this is an extremely rare situation: United have previously always negotiated the early termination of previous sponsorship deals to avoid such a scenario.

‘Arsenal are chasing PSG midfielder’ - Arsene Wenger is making a fresh attempt to sign Paris Saint Germain whizzkid Adrien Rabiot, report the Daily Mirror. The Arsenal boss was keen on the 19-year-old midfielder in the summer window but they could not agree a deal with PSG. But Wenger is still trying to get Rabiot and Arsenal will go back for him in January as the French under-21 prospect is out of contract next summer.

Paper Round’s view: Arsenal will reportedly face competition from Italian giants Roma who also tried to get him last month, but it would appear that Arsenal are now stepping up their efforts. PSG are believed to be trying to sign Rabiot to a new long term contract to stop him leaving on the cheap, but Arsenal may be able to offer him more opportunities to feature prominently with PSG having spent big in recent seasons with more signings expected in Paris over the coming two transfer windows.

‘Liverpool will miss out on big target’ - Liverpool are set to lose out to Italian outfit Inter Milan in their pursuit of Dnipro midfielder Yevhen Konoplyanka, according to the Daily Mirror. The Ukrainian winger came close to securing a switch to the Anfield outfit in January, butsaw the deal fall through at the last minute when Dnipro reportedly refused to let the 24-year-old leave. The Ukrainian club are now said to be ready to sell Konoplyanka during the coming winter transfer window to avoid the midfielder departing for free next summer when his contract expires.

Paper Round’s view: It is believed that Konoplyanka has turned down a contract extension with his current side as he is set on joining Liverpool, but it is unclear whether Brendan Rodgers will make another offer for the 24-year-old in January. This may well be a situation in which Liverpool just have to be patient to land their man at the right moment and, at the age of 24, Rodgers will be likely to bide his time and allow the situation to develop. Liverpool do not currently need another winger, but Rodgers would have probably hoped to develop the player in his own system.

‘Arsenal face competition for target’ - Barcelona are ready to steal in front of Arsenal and snap up Swiss defender Fabian Schar, according to various papers. The FC Basel man has been linked with a switch to the Emirates in the past, following a series of impressive performances in the Champions League - most notably against Chelsea earlier this season. In November, his agent even claimed the Gunners - amongst other clubs - had made contact over Schar's availability.

Paper Round’s view: According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are extremely keen on signing the 22-year-old and are considering a summer swoop, but then this does not mean that Arsenal would be wasting their time in attempting to sign him too. We all know how quickly these things change and if Wenger sees Schar as a useful addition to his squad then they must stay in the running. There is no question that Arsenal need to reinforce their defence with very limited options in that department.