Paper Round: Tiemoue Bakayoko undergoes Chelsea medical as Blues plot £95m transfer spree

Speculation linking AS Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko to Chelsea continues in Thursday’s back pages as the France international is said to have undergone a medical at Stamford Bridge. According to The Sun, Chelsea hope to announce the signing as the transfer window opens on July 1, and he could be joined by three other big names, with Juventus wing-back Alex Sandro, Everton’s Romelu Lukaku and Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk all on Conte’s wish list.

Paper Round’s view: We wouldn’t like to say who we’d prefer to work with out of Mourinho or Conte but, well, we can see where Bakayoko's coming from after it was rumoured he spurned the advances of Manchester United in favour of the Blues. But if other rumours are to be believed, Bakayoko’s arrival could result in a reunion between Mourinho and Nemanja Matic, who is said to be in his former boss’s sights for a transfer swoop.

[Read the full story here]

***

The Daily Star reports Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has become the prime candidate for the No.1 job at Real Madrid next season. According to reports, Manchester United stopper David de Gea had been the La Liga champion’s preferred option, but manager Zinedine Zidane’s focus has shifted to Courtois – last season’s Premier League Golden Glove recipient, for the most number of clean sheets.

Paper Round’s view: At the root of this story seems to be the rumoured ongoing discussions between Courtois and Chelsea to agree an enhanced contract that would see the Belgium international’s salary double. And of course some chit chat by Courtois’ agent who says he is in “regular” contact with Real to “evaluate” the 25-year-old’s situation. The current situation being, of course, that he is under contract with Chelsea for another two years yet.

[Read the full story here]

***

Arsenal’s bids for France internationals Alexandre Lacazette and Thomas Lemar are said to have hit the skids. Thursday’s papers report that while talks over the future of Lacazette are ongoing with Lyon – who have demanded a club-record fee of £57m for the 26-year-old - AS Monaco have outright rejected a £30m offer for Lemar

Paper Round’s view: It’s hard to imagine why any relatively well-established talent would look to join Arsenal next season. Under other circumstances Lacazette would be a decent fit. However, he will not be enough to buoy the ship in choppy waters without Alexis Sanchez or Mesut Ozil, even if he does decide not to pursue previous interest from Atletico Madrid.

[Read the full story]

***

Any number of Premier League clubs could be in for disappointment if Thursday’s papers are to be believed. Liverpool and Manchester City target Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was also linked with Paris Saint-Germain, will apparently shun offers from top European clubs in what The Mirror hails as a “stunning” move to Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian. The CSL club are said to be willing to part with £71m for the Borussia Dortmund forward.

Paper Round’s view: Nope, sorry, we don’t buy it. Though some reports suggest Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp didn’t see eye to eye with Aubameyang during their time together at Dortmund, as last season’s top Bundesliga scorer, the 28-year-old has options. We’re also a little sceptical about the “cryptic” Instagram post that’s said to have sparked this, captioned “Ready for new adventures.” Less cryptic still alongside the hashtag #holidays.

[Read the full story here]