Paper Round: Manchester United want Jasper Cillessen to replace David De Gea

‘United have found De Gea replacement’ - Manchester United will step up their bid to land Ajax’s Jasper Cillessen to replace David De Gea – on the advice of keeper coach Frans Hoek, that’s according to the Sunday Mirror. Hoek was asked to draw up a shortlist of candidates capable of taking over from De Gea after the Spanish international made it clear he wouldn’t be signing a new contract. He named 26-year-old Dutch international Cillessen as his top choice, so United will now move for him. De Gea is heading for Real Madrid – if the Spanish giants give him assurances that current number one Iker Casillas is on his way out and they also meet United’s £30 million valuation.

Paper Round’s view: Van Gaal may famously not trust Cillessen to perform in a penalty shootout, but he certainly impressed for Netherlands at the World Cup last summer. Hoek is clearly a close confidant of the United boss having worked with him previously at Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Holland. He was apparently instrumental in persuading Van Gaal to give Cillessen his first international cap in 2013, so it makes sense for the pair to be in favour of moving for him again now. With De Gea seemingly on his way, this is certainly not a bad replacement for United.

‘City to pay £150m for three top stars’ - Manchester City will pay cash up front in a bid to land £150m worth of targets, according to the Sunday Mirror. City have made it clear that they will not be outbid in their quest to sign Paul Pogba, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne. And they are prepared to really flex their financial muscle by paying all transfer fees up front in an extra effort to make all three deals happen. City have set aside £65m for Juventus’ highly-coveted French midfielder Pogba and will launch a second bid for Sterling after having an opening offer of £25m plus add-ons rejected by Liverpool.

Paper Round’s view: The paper’s reasoning behind this story is that “the gloves are off” for City. Why? After having their spending restricted last year for breaking Financial Fair Play Regulations, the paper understands that the club are going to make up for it and more with lavish spending this summer to provide Manuel Pellegrini with the world-class stars he needs. If even remotely true, this would represent a staggering outlay for City and a huge statement of intent as they look to hit back at Premier League champions Chelsea and launch a serious challenge next season.

‘Chelsea close to signing Falcao’ - Chelsea are edging closer to agreeing a deal to sign Radamel Falcao on a season-long loan from Monaco, that’s according to Jason Burt’s report in the Sunday Telegraph. Talks have been ongoing for the past two weeks with Chelsea having refused to budge on their insistence that Falcao takes a huge cut in his £265,000‑a-week wages, according to Burt. He says Chelsea have also told Monaco that they will only consider a loan – for now – for Falcao with an option to buy should he have a successful season. The club will not pay anything near the £43m fee that Manchester United had agreed to pay Monaco had they taken up the option to sign Falcao this summer.

Paper Round’s view: A loan move would appear to make sense for all parties at this juncture. Falcao has a big point to prove after his pretty dismal debut season in the Premier League with United and Jose Mourinho will hope to be landing a fired up striker not lacking in motivation. As a back up to Diego Costa, Falcao could be afforded the pressure-free environment in which he can shine, while for Chelsea the risk would be minimal with the option to buy him at the end of the season.

‘United on verge of signing defender’ – Manchester United are poised to complete a deal to sign Nicolas Otamendi, the Valencia defender, according to a report in the Daily Star. All the pieces are falling into place for the deal to go through, says the paper, with United having agreed a four-year contract with the Argentine and settled on a £25m fee with the Spanish club. Otamendi reportedly has a £36m release clause but United look set to do business for well below that.

Paper Round’s view: All the signs have been there that Otamendi could be a realistic target for United with his agent revealing that he had asked to leave the club last month. Eugenio Lopez said: "Nicolas told Salvo to his face that he wanted to leave Valencia in the summer. Nicolas is happy at Valencia and with the fans but he’s got an option to improve on a professional level. Nico is going to do everything [possible] to leave." Okay, so that looks pretty clear, and United certainly do need defensive reinforcements – perhaps this one could actually materialise.