Paper Round: Pogba 'agrees terms' with Barca, tells United he wants to leave

Paul Pogba has told team-mates he wants to leave Manchester United, according to The Mail. His agent, Mino Raiola, has informed Ed Woodward that his player wants to leave the club, and join Barcelona. Jose Mourinho is happy to sell Pogba, after the 25-year-old fell out with him over the course of last season. The club, however, do not want to sell, especially for the £50m plus players deal offered.

Paper Round’s view: United presumably don’t want to sell Pogba for a few reasons. For one he is worth much more than Barcelona’s initial offer. Secondly, they will expect more from him this season after an impressive showing at the World Cup. Thirdly, he is one of the few marketable players they have at the club, something that is central to the profit at Old Trafford.

Thibaut Courtois appears to have secured his move to Real Madrid, report the Telegraph. He has been AWOL from Stamford Bridge for two days and is set for a disciplinary hearing. Regardless, as Real Madrid are prepared to send Mateo Kovacic on loan to Chelsea, in order to secure a £35m transfer for Courtois, the move seems set to go through, though there remains some haggling over the transfer fee.

Paper Round’s view: Kovacic would be a handy addition to the Chelsea squad, at least for a season, and the team looks much stronger for some of their recent reinforcements. Other replacements for Courtois that had been suggested included Jack Butland, which is pretty underwhelming, so the signing of Kepa Arrizabalaga for £71m from Athletic means they can let Courtois go without weakening their side.

The Mirror runs a story saying there are signs that Leicester City are preparing to let Harry Maguire leave the club amid interest from Manchester United. They are on the cusp of signing two central defenders: Filip Benkovic, the 21-year-old Dinamo Zagreb player, for £13.5m, and £22.5m-rated Caglar Soyuncu, 22, from Freiburg. That would clear the way for Maguire to depart in a £65m move to Old Trafford.

Paper Round’s view: Manchester United are said to be close to a Toby Alderweireld move, but the same was said about Alvaro Morata before they signed Romelu Lukaku. With the transfer deadline approaching, they may be working on several deals at the same time to make sure that Jose Mourinho gets the central defender he has requested. Maguire might be pricey, but they have left it too late to find a bargain.

The Telegraph also insist that Tottenham Hotspur have made an initial offer for Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish. Daniel Levy has put forward a £25m bid for the 22-year-old playmaker, but as Villa are now on sounder financial footing there is no indication they are prepared to sell, especially when it is around half the going rate of players like Grealish. Spurs are yet to sign anyone, and they have still not sold any of Mousa Dembele, Victor Wanyama or Toby Alderweireld.

Paper Round’s view: Levy’s standard operating procedure is to wait until the last minute to act, but this season he might be hampered by the problems with the early transfer deadline day. Clubs have been caught out by the lack of time available, and with the amount of money in football, there are fewer bargains to be had for the Premier League clubs.