Paper Round: Liverpool line up Thomas Lemar as Philippe Coutinho replacement

Liverpool are weighing up their options following the exit of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for a fee of £142m. One of the potential targets is Monaco's winger Thomas Lemar, who allmost joined Arsenal in the summer. Another winger who has been linked is Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez. Other possible re[lacements are Bayer Leverkusen's Julian Brandt, Schalke's Leon Goretzka and PSG's Julian Draxler. Naby Keita may be brought in from RB Leipzig ahead of schedule, too.

Paper Round's view: Lemar would be perhaps the best player available, but Draxler has just signed a new contract at PSG and Goretzka is expected to join Bayern Munich on a free transfer this summer. Mahrez would make sense because he knows the Premier League and would be expected to adjust more swiftly halfway through a season. However, the money from Coutinho could raise the asking price from clubs who know Liverpool now have plenty of cash.

Jose Mourinho and Manchester United may make a surprise move for Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale, according to The Sunday Express. Real have grown tired of the 28-year-old Welshman's repeated trips to the physio room this season, and could countenance a January sale. Real Madrid need to raise funds for a move for PSG forward Neymar Jr this summer.

Paper Round's view: It does appear that Gareth Bale's time in Spain is finally up, but because of injuries it is now hard to see his signing as anything other than a risk. Mourinho expects plenty of hard work from his players, which might not sit well with Bale's lack of resilience over the course of a season. There are better targets for United, but a move for him in January might give them a brief advantage in the Premier League.

Manchester United and Arsenal lead the race for Shakhtar Donetsk playmaker Fred. Fred is rated at £30m by the Ukranian club, but they face competition for the 24-year-old Brazilian international. Napoli, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid and Valencia have all been linked, as has Pep Guardiola's Manchester CIty. Shakhtar are now ready to sell the player, sparking the recent interest.

Paper Round's view: Both Manchester United and Arsenal are in need of a new playmaker. Arsenal will soon be losing Mesut Ozil on a free transfer, and perhaps even earlier than that if a bid comes in this January. Mourinho has lost patience with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata lacks the pace to keep a first-team place for the longer term. If City are interested, it is best these two clubs act quickly.

Another player that is interesting Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is Jonny Evans, who also is a target for Manchester United and Manchester City. Tony Pulis had refused to sell the player in the summer, but the club are open to letting him go now, and the London club are negotiating with West Brom for the 30-year-old Norther Ireland international. A fee of around £25m should be enough to complete the deal.

Paper Round's view: Evans is one of the most consistent central defenders outside the top four, and has experience of playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world. However, it remains to be seen if he could cope with the step up back into the limelight. He may have flourished at West Brom because of his experience, or it may be the relative lack of pressure. At £25m it is not too much of a risk to take to find out, with few other players at his standard for the price.