Football news - Paper Round: Pep Guardiola 'agrees four-year deal with Juventus'

The Mirror leads with what would be the biggest story of the year so far: a report that Pep Guardiola has agreed a four-year deal to take over at Juventus. Il Giornale reporter Luigi Guelpa told Radio CRC in Italy that the same person who told him about Guardiola was the source who indicated that Cristiano Ronaldo would join the Italian champions from Spain.

Paper Round’s view: With Manchester City facing investigations by both UEFA and Premier League over the degree of honesty with which they present their accounts, now might be the time for Guardiola to jump ship before he is denied limitless funds and forced to coach the players he has already. Juventus are obviously preparing for success on a bigger stage and Guardiola would be the manager to help them accomplish that.

Arsenal are closing in on a new technical director after their head of recruitment, Sven Mislintat, departed. The Spaniard left Roma just before Claudio Ranieri took over as manager until the end of the season, which means he could team up with former Sevilla boss Unai Emery at Arsenal. Emery said: “I worked very well with him in Sevilla for 3½ years. I can say to you only that he is a good person and a good professional.”

Paper Round’s view: Monchi had an excellent track record at Sevilla, discovering Dani Alves, Ivan Rakitic and others, and given Arsenal are set to work with a limited budget again this summer then his expertise will be needed. Bringing him in now would give him time to properly prepare for the summer.

Real Madrid’s president Florentino Perez has grown tired of the lack of success at the club after placing his trust in a collection of younger players this season, following the Champions League exit at the hands of Ajax earlier in the week. He is now preparing a €350 million bid to bring in Brazilian Neymar, 27, from Paris Saint-Germain, according to Spanish newspaper Sport.

Paper Round’s view: Neymar is clearly still unsettled at PSG and the club could use a cash injection to help their own Financial Fair Play problems. Real are probably one of the few teams who could afford such an outlay and remain a going concern, and they plainly need to replace the limited Gareth Bale, and refresh the outlook of the squad in general. Teaming him up with Vinicius Jr could be a masterstroke.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are already planning to spend big in the summer, and have sent scouts to Portugal to monitor 19-year-old midfielder/striker Joao Felix, says the Birmingham Mail. The Benfica teenager carries a £105 million price tag, with Juventus and Real Madrid potential rivals for his signature. There were 16 scouts at Dinamo Zagreb’s ground to see Felix run out as a 1-0 loser this week.

Paper Round’s view: Wolves have the huge financial backing of a Chinese company, but with the economic downturn in China it is not clear just how much money the club will be granted by the owners in order to succeed in the Premier League. Felix seems hugely promising and could eventually provide a profit in a couple of years if he starts to develop on his potential.