Paper Round: United turn to former player to solve defensive crisis

United to bring back Pique: Manchester United are plotting a £20 bid for former player Gerard Pique, according to a report in the Daily Star. United boss Louis van Gaal is hoping to reinforce his back line in January and Barcelona defender Pique is top of his wish list. The paper claims that United are confident of luring the 27-year-old back to United, despite the player having stated his desire to remain at the Nou Camp. Pique has fallen down the pecking order since Luis Enrique took over at Barca, with the new coach preferring Jeremy Mathieu and Javier Mascherano. A club source told the paper: "The manager knows he still needs to strengthen his defence and he would love to sign Pique. He is a former United player so he knows the club and Pique is a player he can build his defence around. Signing him from Barcelona won't be easy though."

Paper Round's view: It's tempting to buy into this story; United's desperation for a quality central defender, Pique's existing connection to United, his lack of first-team football in Barcelona... it all adds up on paper. Even £20m seems like a fair price for a player who United could indeed build their back line around. But recent comments from Pique suggest he is happy to stay and fight for his place, while the 'Shakira factor' - his girlfriend is unwilling to move to Manchester, apparently - could play a big, even decisive, role in any of Pique's thinking.

- - -

Liverpool join race to sign teen star: Liverpool are tracking Porto teenager Ruben Neves, according to the Daily Mirror. The 17-year-old has a host of clubs monitoring his progress, with the Reds the latest to join the race for his signature. Brendan Rodgers has had the Portugal U21 star watched three times this season but will face competition from the likes of Juventus. Several Spanish clubs are also thought to be keen. Neves, who has been compared to Sergio Busquets, has made 10 first team appearances for Porto, scoring once.

Paper Round's view: At just 17, Neves clearly has a long way to go in his development, but already he has made a big impression on Portuguese football. And to be compared to Busquets is high praise indeed. The hope is that he can only get better, and Anfield would certainly give him an opportunity to do that. Whether Porto will let him go just yet is a different story. And with Juve, plus Barcelona and Real Madrid according to reports elsewhere, also interested, Liverpool would have an almight battle to convince the boy to move to Merseyside, if he were to leave Porto.

- - -

Premier League trio boosted in Khedira chase: Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have been handed a huge boost in their pursuit of Sami Khedira after AC Milan pulled out of the running. The Daily Star reports that Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani hinted that club are not in the race for the Real Madrid midfielder, due to his sky-high wage demands. That, according to the Star, will be "music to the ears" of Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.

Paper Round's view: Given the spending power of Chelsea, United and Arsenal (of late), Milan were never really expected to be able to compete for Khedira. So quite how much of a "huge boost" this is to the Premier League trio is uncertain. Between the three of them, they are more than capable of getting into a bidding war which may end with Khedira getting what he wants. And as an aside, a report in the Daily Mail claims that Carlo Ancelotti has insisted Khedira is going nowhere in January.

- - -

QPR to cut losses on Rio: Rio Ferdinand could be on his way out of Queens Park Rangers in January, just six months after signing at Loftus Road on a free transfer from Manchester United. The Daily Mirror is among the papers to report that Ferdinand's failure to impress so far this season has led to murmurings that the club is willing to offload the former England defender and rid themselves of his £35,000-a-week wages. There was opposition to Ferdinand's signing in the first place, the report claims, and his poor form has only vindicated those who held the belief that the Hoops should have invested in a younger player. QPR are now ready to revive their interest in Portugal international Rolando, while they have also watched West Ham's Winston Reid.

Paper Round's view: Oh dear, another expensive flop at QPR. The club hasn't had much success in the transfer market over recent years, splashing the cash to bring in several players with big reputations, only to see them flounder. Ferdinand, so far, fits firmly into this category, although the damage may already have been done and offloading him now to bring in a younger player might serve for nothing, given the Hoops' position in the league (bottom, conceded 18). Probably better that they just steer clear of these kinds of transfers in the first place.

- - -

Sunderland fan compensation plan to be discussed: Sunderland's player are poised to agree to compensate their fans who travelled to the south coast to watch their 8-0 defeat to Southampton by paying for their match-day tickets. The Daily Telegraph reports that the humiliated players discussed during training on Monday the idea first proposed by goalkeeper Vito Mannone. A firm decision will not be made until the end of the week. The players are ashamed of their performance, according to the report, and understand why supporters feel let down after they made a 700-mile round trip to watch the capitulation at St Mary's. They want to try to repair the damage done to the relationship with their supporters, although nothing has been unanimously agreed yet.

Paper Round's view: Let's do a little simple mathematics: considering the most expensive ticket at St Mary's was £24 and there were 2,600 Black Cats fans in attendance, that makes a total of £62,400 to be reimbursed. Fourteen players featured and, assuming the manager also played a role in the humiliation, make that 15 people in line to pay out. That makes £4,160 each man. Which, it's fair to say, is hardly a fortune to a Premier League footballer. So why has a unanimous decision not been reached, within two minutes of the idea first being touted? It's a no-brainer isn't it? That begs the question: who are those players who are not in favour of the idea?

- - -