Paper Round: Manchester United plan for Paul Pogba exit with £35m Jean-Michael Seri

Manchester United have stepped up their pursuit of Nice's midfielder Jean-Michael Seri. The 26-year-old Ivory Coast international has a £35m release clause and Jose Mourinho regards him as an excellent all-action option in the midfield. He is seen as a possible replacement for Paul Pogba, who is at loggerheads with Jose Mourinho following a disagreement in the last few weeks, and could leave in the summer.

Paper Round's view: Mourinho already wants more midfielders, something he has regularly said, so there is no reason to think - yet - that Pogba is leaving. Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini are both set to leave in the summer, and Ander Herrera is a shadow of his former self this season, so he already needs to bring in two midfielders. Pogba and Mourinho have three or four more months to settle their current, relatively minor disagreement.

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez is interested in Galatasaray's midfielder Garry Rodrigues. The 27-year-old Cape Verde international has been scouted on several occasions by Benitez's team, and could be available for as little as £10m in the summer. However, they aren't the only club interested, with Lyon, Sevilla and Fiorentina also in the hunt.

Paper Round's view: Benitez has a difficult situation. There is still the chance that new owners will arrive and furnish him with a march larger budget than usual, but for now, he must suppose that not only that Mike Ashley will remain at Newcastle, but so will he next season. Rodrigues is experienced, and for just £10m, would be an affordable target even with Ashley's austerity.

Manchester City and Pep Guardiola have agreed a new deal that will see Guardiola remain at the club until at least 2021. Guardiola's current deal was due to run out next season, but he has agreed a longer deal that pays him £20m a year, representing an annual raise of £3m. Guardiola wants to announce the deal when he wins a trophy, and also wants to secure rewards for his staff.

Paper Round's view: Guardiola is onto a good thing where Manchester City are concerned. He has almost limitless transfer funds, and is paid a huge sum of money already. Not only that, they bought his football agent brother Girona's football club. Guardiola generally moves on after three or four years, but the huge financial advantages he enjoys might tie him down for a while longer in England. With his support for Catalan politician's following their jailing, the only possible problem on the horizon is that he takes a similar stand against the human rights abuses of the City owners.

Reports in France suggest there are difficulties in the discussions between Manchester United and their forward Anthony Martial over a new contract. RMC claim that Martial has just one and a half years left on his contract, with it due to expire at the end of next season. That means he could soon be on his way.

Paper Round's view: Martial has been one of United's better performers since displacing Marcus Rashford on the left wing of the attack, and at 22 has much to offer in the coming years. The problem with this story is that it fails to mention that Martial's deal only expires in 2019 if they don't trigger an option to extend it for yet another, explaining why there is little rush to resolve any problems.