Paper Round: Real Madrid, Juventus join Barcelona in race for Liverpool's Sadio Mane

Following reports that Barcelona have turned their attentions to Sadio Mane after missing out on his Liverpool team-mate Philippe Coutinho, The Sun reports that Juventus and Real Madrid are also keen on landing the Senegal forward. Mane, 25, has been one of Liverpool’s standout performers so far this season, particularly while Coutinho was out with his, er, back injury…

Paper Round’s view: The will-he-won’t-he surrounding Coutinho and Barcelona dominated summer headlines and proved to be an unwanted distraction during Liverpool’s preseason preparations. It appears the Reds will have to fend off interest from European heavyweights for another one of their prized possessions. They rightly do not want to be a feeder club to the bigger sides on the continent, but it’s difficult for a player to say no when clubs of this calibre come knocking.

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Manchester City will reward striker Gabriel Jesus with a new bumper contract, the Daily Mail reports. The 20-year-old has scored 12 goals in 15 starts since joining from Palmeiras in January, and the Mail say City will look to improve his “basic” salary of £70,000-a-week.

Paper Round’s view: It’s all relative. Jesus obviously arrived as a £27m gamble – not all Brazilians have thrived in the Premier League – but having proven himself capable (and then some) the exciting forward has warranted an improved deal. Not only that, but if he doesn’t earn 150 to 200,000-a-week soon from City, then there are a few clubs in Europe we can all think of that would be willing to make that a reality.

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In more contract news from the Daily Mail, a report suggests Marouane Fellaini is yet to accept a new deal at Manchester United. The Belgian’s representatives are said to be holding out for an improved offer, with the 29-year-old currently in the final deal of his contract.

Paper Round’s view: It would be intriguing to know what his camp are holding out for. As seemingly one of Jose Mourinho’s favourites, albeit off the bench predominantly, perhaps they have hope that their demands will be met. Best of luck to them, but a bumper deal for Fellaini seems unlikely.

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Tucked away neatly in the top left of the below tweet is the delightful headline, ‘Ham role on the menu for Jack’. Essentially, it is the Daily Star reporting that Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere wants West Ham to offer him a route out of the Emirates, as he looks set to let his contract run down with the north London club.

Paper Round’s view: Like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere is in need of a new challenge. Of course, that came his way at Bournemouth last season, but now it needs to be permanent. A few months back at Arsenal will have confirmed to the midfielder that he doesn’t feature prominently in Arsene Wenger’s plans. Will that course change in the next couple of years? Unlikely.