Football news - Paper Round: David De Gea to join PSG for free in four-year deal with £60m wages

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea is set to join Paris Saint-Germain this summer, and he will do so for nothing, claims the Mail on Sunday. De Gea’s contract runs out in the summer, meaning PSG can afford to offer £300,000 a week, or £60million over four years, and will build their side around KyIian Mbappe at the expense of Neymar, in order to comply with Financial Fair Play obligations.

Paper Round’s view: The claim about Neymar being sold by PSG to meet FFP regulations is very possibly true, but there is a fundamental error in the story otherwise. United have an option to extend De Gea’s deal by a further 12 months, regardless of De Gea’s intentions. That means that the club can make sure that he remains at the club until summer before selling him to raise some funds.

Paul Pogba is a target for Juventus, but Inter Milan have entered the race for his signature. In order to prise him away from United, who are reluctant sellers, they will offer cash plus players. The first is central defender Milan Skriniar, and the second is winger Ivan Perisic. Both players are United targets, and the Italians will add cash to bring the value of the deal to £200million. Meanwhile, United have offered Juan Mata a three-year deal.

Paper Round’s view: If United are offered a deal worth £200million for Pogba, who has underperformed for years and does not appear to be leaving his funk, then they should immediately take it. Regarding Mata, he is clearly a lovely human being and in relatively decent form, but there is no suggestion he is going to change the mediocre performances delivered by the whole side.

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez might be on the verge of quitting the Premier League. His relationship with Mike Ashley is strained, and there is an offer from Guangzhou Evergrande for him to replace Fabio Cannavaro. Benitez would earn up to £10 million a year in a three-year contract, though the obstacle would be that he must first discuss the move with his family, and he would forego any bonus should Newcastle survive this season.

Paper Round’s view: Ashley does not deserve a manager as professional as Rafael Benitez. He has stuck it out in the north east of England despite receiving barely any transfer window backing. He might not produce attractive football, and there are plenty of criticisms to be made over his manager, but he can clearly be treated better and paid a higher wage elsewhere. If not China, someone else will eventually step in.

Arsenal are set for more transfer action in the January transfer window as they look to improve their defensive options. They have turned their attention to former Charlton defender Ezri Konsa, 21. Konsa joined Brentford in the summer for £2.85 million but a string of impressive showings has attracted the attention of Arsenal. They also want 23-year-old Leandro Trossard, the goalscoring Genk winger.

Paper Round’s view: Trossard has 15 goals in 18 games, and would be worth a huge sum should he be able to transfer that kind of form to the Premier League. Buying him in January would also give him the chance to settle in England ahead of next season. Konsa would probably be fine in England but may need some more time to raise his game to the top flight.