Arsenal 'to make approach for Dani Alves'

Dani Alves has been linked with a late move to Arsenal, according to a report in the Mirror. Alves left Paris Saint-Germain and is available on a free transfer, and while he would prefer a move to a Champions League side, the 36-year-old defender is interesting Unai Emery. Arsenal are also attempting to compete transfers for Kieran Tierney and William Saliba.

Paper Round’s view: Emery may have the edge over Manchester City in the pursuit of Alves. Many players like to live and play in London, with Manchester’s nightlife and weather less attractive to some. The transfer would also make sense for Arsenal as it would add to their squad without costing them a transfer fee.

The Daily Star reports some troubling news for Chelsea over Callum Hudson-Odoi. The 18-year-old winger is recovering from a serious injury, but Bayern Munich are still interesting in signing him. The club hope that Frank Lampard is able to improve the relationship with Hudson-Odoi and the club, who could still run down the remaining 12 months on his contract.

Paper Round’s view: Chelsea’s transfer ban has made Callum Hudson-Odoi essential to next season, with Christian Pulisic an untested player in the Premier League. With Eden Hazard transferred to Real Madrid, and no Gonzalo Higuain, the club lack goals. Hudson-Odoi could hold down a wide position for the next decade at Stamford Bridge, so losing him for almost nothing can't be countenanced.

The Sun reports that Romelu Lukaku’s desired move to Inter Milan could be thrown off course by Mauro Icardi. Icardi has been left out of Inter’s pre-season tour squad, but he has reportedly told the club he is happy to simply see out his contract and draw his salary for the next two years. The Italian club need to sell Icardi in order to raise funds for Romelu Lukaku, with Manchester United holding out for around £90 million.

Paper Round’s view: Lukaku told reporters that he expects developments next week, so perhaps Icardi’s posturing will force the Italian side to broker a deal to sell their player. Lukaku appears desperate to get out of Old Trafford after failing to be guaranteed a starting role, and will not work hard to fix that - United have too many players with that mindset.

Manchester City’s pre-season tour has been thrown into disarray, according to the Daily Mail. After failing to get clearance to enter Chinese airspace for a second day in a row, the players remain grounded in Manchester. The paper reports that the club is aiming to fly on Monday, but that remains in doubt, too. They have a game in China against West Ham on Wednesday.

Paper Round’s view: It would not be useful to wildly speculate over the reasons for City failing to get permission to land in China, but given they are partially owned by Chinese state-backed investment funds, you would have imagined that strings could have been pulled a little swiftly. If they fail to travel on Monday then this merits further investigation.