Paper Round: Paul Pogba ready for Man Utd talks, Arsenal eye James Rodriguez loan

Paul Pogba is ready to commit his future to Manchester United and discuss a contract extension, according to The Sun. The World Cup winner was linked with a return to Juventus as his relationship soured with former manager Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford, but with the Portuguese gone and Pogba thriving under interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, reports suggest a new deal would put him closer to Alexis Sanchez’s wages of around £500,000 a week.

Paper Round’s view: This town wasn’t big enough for the two of them. It always felt as though it could only be Pogba or Mourinho – with the latter gone, it’s no surprise the former is happy.

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Arsenal are exploring the possibility of bringing James Rodriguez to the Emirates on loan, according to the Independent. The Colombian is currently at Bayern Munich on an extended loan from Real Madrid until the end of the season, and Real are said to be desperate to sell the midfielder. Arsenal would prefer a loan initially before pondering a permanent move.

Paper Round’s view: The curious case of James Rodriguez – just how good is the now 27-year-old? His career hasn’t gone quite to plan since he rose to stardom at the 2014 World Cup. Having played in Portugal, then France, then Spain, then Germany, perhaps England is next on the list.

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Maurizio Sarri has sought to clear the air after the head coach accused Chelsea of being “difficult to motivate” following the 2-0 loss at Arsenal – The Times reports. Sarri is said to have stood by his criticism, but spent 20 minutes ahead of training on Monday to outline his issues with the performance at the Emirates.

Paper Round’s view: Rock the Chelsea dressing room at your peril – it has been the downfall of many a manager before, and Sarri is right to try and calm the waters. The big test now will be how the players react against Tottenham on Thursday.

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Tottenham are ready to take a hit and sell Vincent Janssen in the January transfer window, according to the Telegraph. The striker joined from AZ Alkmaar for £17m in 2016, and Spurs are willing to listen to offers of £12m after he failed to force his way into Mauricio Pochettino’s first-team plans.

Paper Round’s view: It didn’t work out for Janssen at Spurs – that is an understatement, but Harry Kane’s importance, their desire for a taller Plan B (Fernando Llorente) and the rise of Heung-min Son means other forwards really would have had to make an impression to remain in Pochettino’s plans.