Paper Round: Inter Milan stars Mauro Icardi and Yuto Nagatomo 'rejected Man United in January'

Following on from Friday's report that Gonzalo Higuain refused a transfer to Chelsa in January, Saturday's papers follow up with two more similar articles about Manchester United. The Metro reports - via Italy's Corriere dello Sport - that Mauro Icardi of Inter Milan was asked if he would go to Old Trafford last month, but the 22-year-old Inter skipper turned down the advances flat. Another report - in Four Four Two, via Inter's TV channel - says that he wasn't the only one: they say that Inter's Japan international full-back Yuto Nagatomo also said no at the same time.

Paper Round's view: While the likes of Higuain turning down a move from Napoli to Chelsea is a worry for the Blues given their lowly position and almost total lack of chance to get in to Europe next season, United fans shouldn't be too worried by this sort of report. Not yet, anyway. A big move in January is always a risk for any player, and come the summer these are the sort of targets that the Red Devils should be able to land. Assuming that they climb back into the top four, that is...

For the second weekend running, it's a clash of two of the top contenders for the title - and the papers have (rightly) gone crazy for Arsenal v Leicester. The mind games between Arsene Wenger and Claudio Ranieri dominate most of the back pages, with both bosses desperate to insist that all the pressure is on the other man. But the best line so far is from the Times's Sport supplement: Finance v Romance the headline accompanying a piece by the paper's chief sports writer Henry Winter. "Love is in the air this weekend," writes Winter. "The world will learn whether Leicester City’s pursuit of the Barclays Premier League title is a passing fancy or a serious affair."

Paper Round's view: Passing fancy surely a bit harsh, because after six months at the top of English football Leicester have definitely gone beyond holiday romance. This is the next phase of the relationship; like a couple moving in together for the first time, the Arsenal v Leicester match will prove if the Foxes are a long-term prospect or just a few months of promise which never panned out.

The Daily Mail reports on comments from Zinedine Zidane insisting that Jose Mourinho will not be able to sign Raphael Varane if (or indeed when) he takes over as Manchester United manager. "He is the future of Real Madrid," Zidane said of the French defender.

Paper Round's view: Mourinho or no Mourinho, there's only one way this will end if Zidane and Real are serious about keeping the player. Real seem to be on the up under the new boss, while United don't even have guaranteed European football guaranteed next season.

The Daily Mirror reports - or rather passes on information from France's Le10 Sport - about two Paris Saint-Germain players who look in line for potential moves to England this summer. Liverpool are to make a new bid for winger Lucas Moura this summer, while United are apparently "at the head of the queue" to sign Edinson Cavani.

Paper Round's view: If Cavani is really being let go, that means one of two things must be true. Either Zlatan Ibrahimovic will extend his contract beyond this summer, or Laurent Blanc has a major new signing in the pipeline. Or quite possibly both. Either way, it seems that this story hints at better news for PSG than it does for United.