Paper Round: Manchester United and Manchester City in battle to sign defender Nicolas Otamendi

City hoping to beat United to Otamendi - Manchester City are plotting a move for United target Nicolas Otamendi in what is set to escalate into a battle between the rivals, according to The Mirror. The Citizens are focused on wrapping up a deal for Kevin De Bruyne, but once they have done that they will move onto the £35 million rated Otamendi, who is a key target for United. Otamendi wants a Premier League move and now City want to go up against their rivals for him.

Paper Round's view - Otamendi is a fine defender so it's not a surprise that two big money teams who could use help at the back are interested in him. United looked to be in the pole position, with Otamendi wanting the move and willing to strike to make it happen. It was just a matter of whether Valencia would budge from their valuation. If City are indeed in for the defender then Valencia might not have to, with the competition pushing the price to £35m.

Ramos wraps up new contract at Real Madrid - Manchester United's hopes of signing Sergio Ramos are gone. The Mirror claim that the defender has agreed to a new five-year contract with Real Madrid that will keep him at the club until 2020 and he will sign it this week. That new deal ends any chance that the Red Devils can sign Ramos. United submitted a bid for the defender and while Real Madrid said he wasn't for sale, the Red Devils held out hope. Not anymore.

Paper Round's view - The Red Devils' chances of signing Ramos have been slim from the start. Real Madrid had no interest in selling and the stand-off between the two clubs over David De Gea only further complicated matters. It has long looked like United had given up on signing the defender and while Ramos only just agreed to a contract, the two sides have been close for a while so this is only a formality.

Spurs confident they can do Berahino deal - Saido Berahino could be a Tottenham player before long. The Mail understand that Spurs consider personal terms a formality at this point and just need to agree to the transfer fee. West Brom want £25m for Berahino, but right now Daniel Levy is only willing to pay half that. Many people at White Hart Lane think that West Brom will agree to a deal for £18m, but it's unclear if Levy will pay that.

Paper Round's view - Spurs need attacking reinforcements. By the time they sell Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado, Harry Kane will be their only front man. It does look like they will nab Clinton N'Jie, but they should sign another striker too and Berahino would be a terrific addition. They aren't going to play £25m for him, nor should they. £18m is perfectly reasonable, but Levy isn't always that. Regardless, there's no way that anyone at the club are confident of getting the deal done or that it will be done soon seeing as personal terms for a player on £15,000-per-week was never going to be an issue.

Arsenal could bid on Krychowiak - Arsene Wenger is considering a bid for Grzegorz Krychowiak. The Telegraph believe that the Gunners could submit a £22m bid for the midfielder after Arsenal scouts watched the Sevilla midfielder play in the Super Cup. Arsenal have long liked the midfielder and have been tracking him for the better part of 18 months. Now they're weighing up a bid that will meet Krychowiak's release clause.

Paper Round's view - Francis Coquelin played wonderfully down the stretch last season, but he's hardly a proven player and Arsenal could use depth at the position. Krychowiak has played at a high level for years now, both in La Liga and in Europe. He'd immediately improve the Gunners' midfield, but £25m is not cheap. If Arsenal are completely sold on Coquelin, Krychowiak isn't there man, but if they're still unsure about Coquelin then Krychowiak would be a nice signing.

Tottenham agree to fee for N'Jie - Spurs have agreed to a £10m transfer fee with Lyon for Clinton N'Jie, according to The Mail. Now N'Jie is set to fly to London, where he will undergo a medical and discuss personal terms with Tottenham. Spurs had two previous bids for N'Jie rejected, but eventually found a deal that worked and after all that effort, are confident that personal terms won't block this transfer.

Paper Round's view - Spurs now have two forwards for the future in Kane and N'Jie. That's huge for a team that had a lot of remaking to do up front and made it a priority to get younger with top talent from around Europe. N'Jie scored eight goals for Lyon last season so it reasons that he can contribute right away and at 21 years old, should only get better. Tottenham are taking a very different approach to the transfer market than they did in the past.

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