Paper Round: Manchester United and City battle for Neymar transfer

According to the Sunday Express, Neymar Jr's father, Neymar Sr, has advised his son to leave Barcelona and move to the Premier League. While Manchester City are in contention after Neymar praised Pep Guardiola, a move to Old Trafford is favoured. Neymar Jr is unhappy that he has to play in the shadow of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi at Barcelona. The Express also claim that Nemanja Matic is a target for Jose Mourinho.

Paper Round's view: City and United are one of only a few clubs who could afford both Neymar's transfer fee and wages, and both - assuming United win the Europa League - would have plenty to offer. Neymar would be able to link up with Paul Pogba and boost his already burgeoning reputation at one of the most famous clubs in the world, and at City he could work with the best manager in the world.

Liverpool have already started speaking to their summer transfer targets, and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will be given in excess of £100m in order to improve the squad. Klopp acknowledged, though, that Champions League qualification would define the season for the club. They face competition with Manchester City and Arsenal going into the last day of the season. Klopp said: "We have spoken to some players we want already. Liverpool is a really interesting prospect for players that might come to this club and Champions League would be the icing on the cake.”

Paper Round's view: If Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League, then the only thing that they can use to attract players will be the chance to work with Klopp. They have a smaller budget than the biggest English sides, and they will be chasing for the players that the best on the continent do not want, either. Should they finish in the top four, though, they should be able to attract far superior players for the challenge next season.

Jose Mourinho will pick several youngsters for his side's match against Crystal Palace today, after protesting that the game should have been moved. United play Ajax in the Europa League final and Mourinho is unwilling to risk the players who will feature in the final. That means starts for Joel Pereira, Demetri Mitchell, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Axel Tuanzebe. Eric Bailly is suspended for the final so will also play. The Premier League may not be impressed.

Paper Round's view: Mourinho has little choice. There is nothing to play for as far as he is concerned, and the same is true for Crystal Palace. There is nothing to be gained by risking any player who is due to start against Ajax, as the rewards - a Champions League place - are far greater than wherever United finish outside the top four. Like Liverpool, that has to be the priority when it comes to attracting players.

Alisher Usmanov's proposed takeover of Arsenal seems unlikely, meaning majority owner Stan Kroenke could receive yet more criticism of his management of the club - especially as he is set to give unpopular manager Arsene Wenger a two-year contract. However, as well as the friction between Usmanov and Kroenke is the dispute at board level over Wenger's position at the club. While Kroenke remains a fan, dissenting voices are growing louder.

Paper Round's view: If Wenger loses the FA Cup final, and fails to get Champions League qualification, it will be interesting to see just how furious the Arsenal fans become. This is a club that have failed to progress over the last decade, but from the point of view of the owner, profits are up as much as the valuation of the club is. However, if Wenger does scrape into the top four, then a great deal of the pressure will be off him, and two years would give him time to make meaningful changes.