Paper Round: United want Paul Pogba for £54m plus striker

‘United to offer £54m plus striker for Pogba’ – Manchester United have requested a meeting with Juventus over the potential transfer of Paul Pogba for £54 million plus Robin van Persie, according to a report in the Daily Express. Apparently the Italian giants have decided to sell their star midfielder this summer in order to strengthen other parts of Massimo Allegri's squad and United have now reportedly asked for a face-to-face meeting with club representatives in Turin. Louis van Gaal is, according to the report, ready to offer £54m plus £18m-rated Van Persie in order to bring the midfielder back to Old Trafford.

Paper Round’s view: There’s no doubt that Pogba would be well worth splashing the cash for, but would he even consider returning to Old Trafford after he left the club under a cloud under Sir Alex Ferguson? The 22-year-old will command a huge transfer fee whoever buys him and if United are willing to part with the money then losing Van Persie too does not seem overly problematic given his age and injury record. Pogba would take United’s midfield to another level and his arrival could turn Van Gaal’s team into title winners. That is, if this transfer saga will ever end. PSG are surely still the favourites to land the Frenchman.

‘City to offer two players to Juventus for Pogba’ – According to the Daily Star, Manchester City will go one step further and offer Juventus two players in order to land Pogba. The reigning Premier League champions are apparently willing to part with both Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko to sign the young French talent. The paper reports that the money on offer would be slightly less than what United are proposing, but with Nasri and Dzeko both in their prime, Juventus could prefer to receive two established players from Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

Paper Round’s view: Much has been made of Pellegrini’s ageing squad and Yaya Toure’s presence in midfielder has sadly been diminished of late. City could really do with a player of Pogba’s calibre to provide fresh impetus to a midfield that has really struggled at times this season, and offering Dzeko and Nasri could be very attractive to Juventus. It’s not unlike City to try to outdo United and nothing would give the club more pleasure than beating their rivals to the big signing of the summer. That said, again it’s PSG who have to be the frontrunners.

‘Arsenal keen to sign 18-year-old forward’ - Arsenal will have to pay a whopping £40 million to land Benfica forward Goncalo Guedes, according to a report in the Metro. The Gunners are supposedly long term admirers of the 18-year-old, who signed a new contract recently containing the release clause. The Gunners are reportedly keen to bring him to London as soon as possible and will have to stump up the huge transfer fee. Guedes has been dubbed ‘the new Cristiano Ronaldo’, although he is yet to make his league debut for Benfica.

Paper Round’s view: ‘The new Cristiano Ronaldo’ – well, we’ve heard this one before, we have to point out. Guedes is indeed receiving rave reviews, but he would not be the first player from the Portuguese league to have been massively hyped up in the wake of Ronaldo’s sensational impact at United. The fact that the Portugal U19 international’s new deal lasts until 2021 makes the story sound unrealistic - if anyone is willing to pay the huge release clause, it would represent a massive risk.

‘Burnley’s players offered huge bonus’ – Away from the transfer speculation and Burnley’s players will hit the jackpot if they manage to stay up this season, according to The Sun. Sean Dyche’s 25-man squad will pick up £200,000 each if they defy the odds and remain in the top flight in what is being reported as a ‘£5 million bounty’. The 19th-placed Clarets may have the smallest budget in the division, but they could all cash in with survival in the top flight.

Paper Round’s view: Frankly, this would be well deserved. Given that Wayne Rooney, Toure and others reportedly receive more than £200,000 in a week, it would be absolutely fair for Burnley’s tireless players to see their hard efforts rewarded. It would represent an outstanding achievement if the club achieves improbable survival this season given the budget at manager Sean Dyche’s disposal. Few football fans would begrudge the players their ‘summer bounty’.