Paper Round: Paris Saint-Germain's gigantic wages make them favourites for Cristiano Ronaldo

Paris Saint-Germain are preparing their bid for Cristiano Ronaldo and it includes £250,000-per-week after tax, according to The Mirror - that's equivalent to £500,000-per-week in England, a wage packet that is expected to force even the mighty Manchester United out of the race for the superstar's signature. PSG see Ronaldo as Zlatan Ibrahimovic's successor in the French capital and they're willing to boost the Portuguese's pay accordingly to a deal that is £30,000-per-week more than the Swede's after taxes.

Paper Round's view - PSG don't look like the favourites for Ronaldo because they offer him the highest level of competition or the most fame. They happen to be a team that's big enough and in a glamorous enough city to put them in the conversation for Ronaldo so wages can lure him. If he's going to go there, it's going to be for an incredible amount of money, and £250,000-per-week after taxes is definitely that.

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Pep Guardiola isn't going anywhere. At least that's what Bayern Munich believe. The Mirror claims that the Bavarians are confident their manager will sign a new two-year contract with the club that will keep him at the Allianz Arena until 2018. Guardiola's current deal expires in the summer and both Manchester City and Chelsea were keeping an eye on his situation. The new contract will see his pay rise to £17 million-per-year.

Paper Round's view - Guardiola has looked likely to stay at Bayern Munich for a few months now. While he has made it clear that he doesn't like staying at any club for too long, it's not as if he's been around for a decade. Man City have some instability and it's tough to imagine him making them Champions League contenders right away. The same is true of Chelsea. Both have troubles with their squads. Bayern are easily the best team for him right now and getting paid £17m helps.

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Sven-Goran Eriksson is trying to get Wayne Rooney to make the move to China. The former England and current Shanghai SIPG manager told The Sun that Rooney should join a Chinese club and thinks he would enjoy it. “I live in Shanghai, and if you asked me to compare it to London, I honestly couldn’t say which was better," Eriksson said. The Chinese Super League is ready to offer Rooney big money to join up.

Paper Round's view - Rooney is struggling at Manchester United and his place in the team going forward will be in question unless he drastically improves. Being relegated to bench duty would be tough to watch, while a move to China would allow him to be a star and make a ton of money. The question is whether it's worth leaving the spotlight and the top flight, as well as living in a new country. Eriksson can say whatever he wants, but moving from England to China is a major change and one not everyone can and wants to make. We just don't see this happening.

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Alexandre Pato's representatives are trying to get their client into the Premier League and have made his availability known to Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham, according to The Standard. The forward is at Sao Paulo, on loan from Corinthians, who want to sell him for about £11m. Pato has been playing well in Brazil after a rough spell at AC Milan, where he dealt with injuries, but he's been generally fit back in his home country.

Paper Round's view - Pato has been linked to English clubs since the summer, when Corinthians first started to offload him and his wages. Tottenham have been the most common team linked, but Spurs want an outright striker and Pato is better on the wing so they're out. Arsenal don't really need another winger either. If any of these three clubs are going to sign him, it will probably be Liverpool, if only because we don't know what Jurgen Klopp will do, so we can't rule them out.

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Manchester United want Sadio Mane. Again. But The Mail understand that Southampton are insistent that their star winger will not be sold in January. Louis van Gaal tried for Mane in the summer and still wants a winger so he plans to come back in January, but the Saints will be as determined to keep him as they were months ago. However, while Southampton will not sell Mane in January, they are starting to accept that he will probably leave the club in the summer.

PaperRound's view - Southampton can't sell Mane in the middle of their season. They have too much to play for and if they could be so resilient in the summer, doing so in January will be easy by comparison. But Mane's contract expires in 2018 so if they can't get him to sign a new deal then they almost certainly will have to sell him in the summer. By then, they might be able to get £30m for him, though.

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Steve McClaren will have Newcastle active in the January transfer window. The Chronicle say the Magpies board are not panicking and are completely behind their manager. The 3-0 loss to Leicester City hasn't caused the club to reconsider their direction and McClaren will be given money to spend when the transfer window opens as they look to strengthen the side.

Paper Round's view - Newcastle are in a relegation fight and the worst thing they can do now is be hesitant. If McClaren is the man they think will get them to safety then back him. Do so behind the scenes and do so by giving him the funds to strengthen the squad in January. It looks like they are confident in McClaren so acting that way, and supporting him, is the only reasonable way forward.