Paper Round: Wayne Rooney staying at Man Utd, Yaya Toure takes inspiration from Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Wayne Rooney has no intention of leaving Manchester United despite being linked with a move to China, reports the Daily Express. The recent record-breaker has 18 months left on his current contract, with the option to extend for a further year which would keep him at Old Trafford until summer 2019.

Paper Round’s view: Football in England? Rooney’s completed it, mate. With five Premier League titles, an FA Cup and Champions League medal, plus the all-time scoring record at Manchester United, Rooney has essentially done all he can do in English domestic football. That does not mean he has to move on, but no one would blame him for finding a new challenge. But Ryan Giggs never left, nor did the likes of Gary Neville nor Paul Scholes when their powers waned. Rooney staying at the club could have many a benefit, even if that benefit is rarely seen on the pitch in years to come.

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Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure insists he would never move to China and wants to finish his career in England – pointing towards Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a player who will play at the highest level into his late 30s. The Mirror quotes Toure as saying: “Me to China? No....I’m still looking young, right? I want to play in Europe, especially in England. I want to continue doing that for a few years yet. I would like to carry on for a few more years. Look at my friend Ibrahimovic. He’s 35 and he’s going to play for maybe....three more years? He’s got the same mentality as me, he’s a big player, a champion who loves football. It’s football first.”

Paper Round’s view: It’s refreshing, if a little surprising, to hear Toure say this – and perhaps sheds a new light on a character people have come to associate with simply moaning about a birthday cake. Toure still has plenty to offer, but whether Guardiola sees it that way come summer is a whole different story.

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West Ham have rejected a fresh bid from Marseille for Dimitri Payet – with The Sun claiming the offer is just a €1m increase on their second bid last week. Time is running out ahead of the transfer window closing, and Marseille are still some way off the Hammers’ valuation of £30m, with the most recent bid being €26m (£22.3m)

Paper Round’s view: It’s déjà vu. Last week Paper Round reported on Marseillie’s second bid, suggesting that the valuation will be met by January 31 so long as the French club up their offer by a million each time. However, having waited a week for the next offer – the clock is ticking. Come February, it will surprise few to see Payet still in a Hammers shirt – if (or when) he scores a winner for them, now that will be interesting viewing.

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While debriefs after the weekend are commonplace in football, the Telegraph reports that Jurgen Klopp’s discussion with the Liverpool players following their loss at home to Swansea had a far more serious tone. The Merseyside club have slipped to fourth in the table and are 10 points off leaders Chelsea – a title charge that promised so much now appears to have fallen apart before February. But Klopp was keen to sit his players down, demand improvements, but also remind them of how far they have come.

Paper Round’s view: Sometimes it’s just not your year. That happened to be the case for all of the big clubs last season, and this time around, it seems like the nearly-men will have to accept that Chelsea are simply on another level. With 16 games to go however, it is not over, and a rallying cry after a home defeat to the basement club is a good a time as any. Liverpool should still aim for first, because finishing second would be a great consolation. Start fighting for fourth mentally, and you could fall short of the Champions League next season if you are not careful.