Paper Round: Arsenal to break record for Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that he has persuaded Alexandre Lacazette to join the club from Lyon. Lacazette was due to join Atletico Madrid, but their transfer ban ended their interest. Arsenal will have to pay around £44m for the French striker who has been one of the hottest Ligue 1 properties for the past few seasons. Lacazette could join Arsenal as soon as next week.

Paper Round's view: Lacazette will likely be a more traditional Arsenal striker than Olivier Giroud, faster and more technically able than their current Frenchman. However, more will need to follow because they are in danger of losing both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to their ongoing contract disputes. Lacazette might grow into the role as team leader, and ultimately become world class, but Arsenal need more than this to improve sufficiently for next season.

Chelsea expect to seal a £35m transfer for Monaco's midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko next week. The deal is agreed in principle, and will be finalised - along with personal terms for the player - over the weekend. He will be Antonio Conte's first signing after a fractious summer for the club. The transfer should pave the way for Nemanja Matic to link up with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, with a transfer fee the next step to be agreed.

Paper Round's view: Bakayoko is more mobile and energetic than Matic, and fits into Conte's approach to the game more easily than Matic. Matic and Cesc Fabregas often swapped minutes on the pitch, so Conte clearly prefers a high-energy approach. With a Champions League campaign on the horizon, Chelsea need this signing to be just the start of a busy summer, as they are going to be playing around 10 more games this season, with much less time for recovery.

Southampton's new boss Mauricio Pellegrino has to start his job on the back foot as he tries to convince some of his best players to stay at the club. Virgil van Dijk believed he was on his way to Liverpool only to see the move break down, for now at least. Chelsea remain interested in the central defender, and Manchester City are sniffing around left-back Ryan Bertrand. Pellegrino needs to convince the pair that they will benefit from another year at St Mary's.

Paper Round's view: Pellegrino is at a disadvantage. Most Southampton managers have been exciting and relatively young, able to give players hope. Pellegrino isn't a bad manager - he just won the Spanish Cup with Alaves - but he is far from exciting, especially compared to Chelsea's Conte and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola. It may be easier to turn to Southampton's excellent scouting network and secure replacements.

English tennis number three Dan Evans has confirmed that he failed a drugs test, testing positive for cocaine. In a press conference, Evans said: "Hello everyone, this is a very difficult day for me. I wanted to come here in person to tell you guys face to face, I was notified a few days ago that I failed a drugs test in April, where I tested positive for cocaine. I made a mistake and I must face up to it." Evans now faces a two-year ban.

Paper Round's view: At 27, Evans should be able to return for a couple of years' competition, at least. Indeed, some players find that time away from sport can extend their careers due to enforced rest. There has been a great deal of criticism for Evans for this transgression, but he has not taken performance enhancing drugs, and he will be the only person to suffer directly as a result of his actions.