Paper Round: Spurs and United battle it out for Saul, City target Sociedad shotstopper

Tottenham will throw their hat in the ring for Saul Niguez with a large bid, according to The Sun. Spurs will offer the midfielder a £6-million-a-year contract, as they attempt to battle it out with Manchester United for the 21-year-old's signature. Saul has also reportedly turned heads at Barcelona too, with all clubs rushing to activate his £34m release clause.

Paper Round's view: Exciting times for Spurs. Finally they have the promise of big European nights to try and lure recruits, not to mention Mauricio Pochettino becoming a sought after manager to work under. If Spurs could land Saul or another big fish, they give themselves every chance of cementing their place in English football's elite.

Pep Guardiola wants Real Sociedad's Geronimo Rulli to act as Joe Hart's number two, as Marc-Andre ter Stegen is set to stay at Barcelona according to The Sun. Manchester City were on the verge of signing Ter Stergen from Barcelona for £25 million according to the report, but Guardiola had changed his mind after seeing improvement in Hart's distribution. City will look to sign Rulli and arrive as a back-up to Hart in the short term.

Paper Round's view: Fair play to City, as Rulli won't set them back as much and still has a lot of improvement in him to eventually take over as the club's number one. Hart's position is probably more guaranteed in the short term by the sounds of things, something that can't be said of his team-mates, as Pep is set to completely re-jig the squad in the summer.

A Chinese consortium is set to buy out Aston Villa for £75 million, according to the Mirror. Embattled club owner Randy Lerner will be selling the club to the Rui Kang Group, with Damien Comolli tipped to return to English football in a technical director role at the club. The Rui Kang Group are owned by the Chinese government and their main business previously was in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Paper Round's view: Exactly what Villa need, a fresh start from the Lerner years. Still unknown how much the new bosses will invest in a new playing group, but the profits that come with Premier League football will motivate them to turn the club around and get some return on investment.

The Mirror are reporting Arsenal are tracking Sehrou Guirassy, who's impressed on loan from Lille at Auxerre in the French second division. Guirassy has piqued the interest of Arsenal's scouts, according to the report, in the same way that Yaya Sanogo did three years ago when he came to Arsenal from Auxerre.

Paper Round's view: It's all well and good to keep pumping out those project players, but Arsenal have to keep their eyes on the prize. A world class striker and a midfield cleanout are still the priorities, so it's critical for Arsenal to get that business done before following up on these leads.