Paper Round: Raheem Sterling to sign for Manchester City this week

Manchester City to sign Sterling this week - Manchester City think they're near a deal for Raheem Sterling, according to the Daily Star. The Citizens are reportedly ready to give Liverpool £45 million, plus another £5m in potential bonuses. Liverpool want £50m for their young star, but City think that £45m with the rest in add-ons will be enough to get it done. From there, wages are a formality and Sterling will be a City player by the end of the week.

Paper Round's view - Liverpool have signed Roberto Firmino and Danny Ings to shore up their attack and with another striker or two likely to come in, they can let Sterling go. £45m is short of their valuation, but not by much and it would be a huge sum of money. There's little reason for Liverpool to hold out for a guaranteed £5m more - in fact, they must think Christmas has come early to get so much for a player who's become a real stone in their shoe.

[WHAT'S HE REALLY WORTH?: Raheem Sterling 'most highly rated young player in Europe']

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Benteke will tell Aston Villa he wants out - Christian Benteke will show up for the first day of Aston Villa's pre-season training, but The Guardian understand that he will do so just to tell Tim Sherwood that he wants a transfer. Benteke has no interest in staying at the club after three years of fighting relegation and while he will not hand in a transfer request, he will make his feelings known. Aston Villa have thus far held firm on demanding a club meet Benteke's release clause.

Paper Round's view - Liverpool appear to want Benteke badly, but his £32.5m release clause might be a bit too steep for them. If Benteke can convince Aston Villa to take a little less, they may be able to get a deal done, though. But Villa have been extraordinarily stubborn with Benteke for three years running now so his desires probably won't end up doing much to change things.

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Liverpool, Burnley going to tribunal over Ings - Liverpool and Burnley have yet to agree to a transfer fee over Danny Ings and the matter looks set for a tribunal, according to The Times. Ings has signed with Liverpool, and was free to do so since he was out of contract, but he was developed by Burnley so they're still owed a fee. Liverpool are offering £6m for the 22-year-old striker, but Burnley want £10m and unless they can agree to a price, a tribunal will determine things.

Paper Round's view - Neither side is in a rush to get things done. Ings can play for Liverpool even if the two clubs haven't sorted things out, but it would be nice to get the deal done so there is no drama left. Precedent has put the price anywhere from £5m to £11m, so both Liverpool's offer and Burnley's valuation are reasonable and both teams would be wise to find a middle ground.

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Spurs eyeing McCarthy - Spurs are going to submit a £20m bid for James McCarthy, according to The Mirror. McCarthy is Tottenham's priority and are willing to pay big money for him. They will even offer up Aaron Lennon as part of the deal to entice Everton to part with McCarthy, who has drawn interest from Man United and Arsenal as well.

Paper Round's view - Ryan Mason did a decent job for Spurs last year, but it was clear that he's not good enough to be first choice for the club. Tottenham need to add a player and McCarthy would be a fine one. £20m is a bit pricy, and more than the team planned to spend on any one player, but he is just 24 and fills a need. If sending Lennon to Goodison Park can save them some money it would be good business too because the winger has no place at Spurs.

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Lennon wants Leicester job, but owners want bigger name - Neil Lennon wants the Leicester City job and he's more than qualified. So what's the hold up? The Mirror say that Leicester's owners want a more high profile boss to take over and favour Guus Hiddink. Still, Lennon wants to take over the club he once played for and is trying to convince the owners that he has a big enough name to make them happy.

Paper Round's view - It's insane that Leicester would be intent on a big-name manager. They're going to be flirting with relegation again and staying up is the only thing they should be focused on. Either they think Lennon is a good enough manager to keep them up or they don't. If they think Hiddink is a better manager than Lennon, so be it, but his being high profile shouldn't play into the decision.

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Sunderland, Middlesbrough fighting for Downing - Stewart Downing is in demand, but there's no telling where he'll land. The Mail believe that Sunderland and Middlesbrough both want to sign the midfielder and the Black Cats have already submitted a £5m bid, which was rejected. West Ham aren't desperate to sell so they'll hold out for more, but Boro have offered the 31-year-old a four-year deal.

Paper Round's view - Downing probably wants to leave West Ham. He has the chance to cash in on one last big contract, which would tempt anyone in the waning years of his career. West Ham will want to sign another player before selling Downing, though. Sunderland and Middlesbrough will probably be on hold until the Hammers can do so, then they'll battle for Downing.