Paper Round: Ryan Giggs targeted by Swansea for manager role

Swansea's hierarchy are considering a shock move for United legend Ryan Giggs, according to the Daily Mail, though club owners Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien are reportedly somewhat concerned over Giggs' level of experience as they consider replacing current boss Francesco Guidolin. While the current board wants to give Guidolin time to turn the situation around, they also believe Giggs would be open to talks for the role.

Paper Round's view: Guidolin's appointment did come with some expectation after his successes at Udinese. But the problem is that despite a few individual players having a good start to the year, the whole squad is yet to gel. If marquee signings Llorente and Borja Baston start finding the back of the net, all this will be forgotten.

The Sun are reporting that Wayne Rooney is concerned about his spot in the United team, as Mourinho could axe him for the weekend's game against Leicester. The report says there are plans to play Paul Pogba or Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the attacking midfield role, after Rooney's first five games have yielded little impact.

In the Mirror, meanwhile, Rooney hits back, saying: "I don’t really listen to what a lot of people out there are saying because a lot of it is rubbish." Fair play for him defending himself, of course... but it's not "rubbish" to say that he's been playing badly, and to come out with this sort of thing before he's turned things round seems deeply unwise.

Paper Round's view: For the first time, Rooney should be well and truly afraid of his spot in the team. And not just United either: his England spot should also rightfully be up for question also after consistently limited performances - though of course it won't be, given his role as skipper.

Louis Van Gaal might be back in the dug out after being linked with a move to Werder Bremen. The report in the Sun says the former United boss has been keeping a low profile and has been considered for the role at the Bundesliga club, after Bremen sacked manager Viktor Skrypnuk after losing their first four matches of the season.

Paper Round's view: Regardless of criticisms about playing style, Van Gaal would be suited to a relegation battle in that he will bring in systems and structures to stop the rot. Perhaps his golden touch at the top end of the table might be over; but he still has many valuable things to offer sides lower down in their divisions who have ambition.

After consultation with clubs, Premier League 'B teams' will not enter the English football pyramid according to the Sun. The EFL in a statement said that the Premier League B teams and clubs outside the English football pyramid would not be part of ongoing discussions for the 'Whole Game System', ending speculation about Scottish clubs joining English football.

Paper Round's view: Good to see a victory for the little guys here, and the stance taken by those who support smaller clubs to boycott games against Under 23 Premier League sides. While the lower tiers do need reform and clubs need better financial reimbursement, these Under 23 clubs will only strengthen the best in the country rather than encourage growth elsewhere.