Football news - Paper Round: Chelsea target £50m Cavani

Chelsea are considering two moves in the winter transfer window. The first is to bid £50 million for 31-year-old Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani. There is also a chance that Maurizio Sarri could seal a deal for Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella. The 21 year old would join in the summer and remain in Italy for the rest of the season.

Paper Round’s view: Barella would be a useful replacement for Cesc Fabregas, who appears set to join Monaco’s relegation battle with former teammate Thierry Henry. Cavani is coming towards the end of his career but there are no real concerns over his fitness, and it is hard to believe that he would perform as badly as Alvaro Morata has in his time at Stamford Bridge.

One player that Chelsea are unlikely to sign is Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson. The 26-year-old forward has impressed this season, and the south coast club do not want to let him go. Bournemouth, however, have just let Jermain Defoe leave to join Rangers on an 18-month loan and his replacement, Dominic Solanke is unlikely to be fit until February, meaning Bournemouth can’t let Wilson leave.

Paper Round’s view: Chelsea have been linked to both Cavani and Gonzalo Higuain this transfer window. That means that Wilson might not be high up on their shortlist and only come into play should they fail to get their preferred targets from abroad. Chelsea could also send Olivier Giroud to the south coast for the rest of the season if they want to ensure Bournemouth have cover.

Colombian playmaker Juan Quintero has revealed talks with Manchester City. The 25-year-old playmaker has been on loan at River Plate, but his permanent contract is with Portuguese club Porto. Quintero said: “I know that my agent has met with Manchester City officials and I am very proud that they are interested in me. “But if I am to return to play in Europe it will be for the benefit of everyone, and not just an economic issue.”

Paper Round’s view: Quintero is a talented but inconsistent presence. There is room for a playmaker in City’s squad, if David Silva comes to the end of the season and decides to move on, and if Bernardo Silva is not able to step up in his absence. City could likely get a bit of a bargain as Quintero has not broken through at Porto yet.

Arsenal could bring in one more player for Unai Emery. With Aaron Ramsey set to depart at the end of the season on a free transfer to Juventus, Arsenal are in talks with Barcelona over their 24-year-old midfielder Denis Suarez. The midfielder played under Emery under Sevilla, and is available for 20 million euros.

Paper Round’s view: Selling the underused Suarez gives Barcelona some space on their wage bill to strengthen other areas, but for Arsenal it gives them extra bodies in the squad. Given adjusting to the Premier League can take time, this gives Arsenal the chance to acclimatise Suarez ahead of Ramsey’s absence.