Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid battle for Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni - Paper Round

Spanish newspaper Marca reports that Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain could go toe-to-toe for the second time this transfer window. Kylian Mbappe decided to stay in Ligue 1 and now the same option is open to Monaco’s Aurelien Tchouameni. PSG have told their league rivals that they will pay 100 million euros for the midfielder, with Real reticent to match that offer.

Paper Round’s view: Real must consider a few competing problems here. The first is that they can't necessarily afford the blow to their reputation of losing out on another transfer target to PSG after the Mbappe saga. The second is that they still need to add some younger talent to their squad, especially with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos set to leave in the next year or two.

Romelu Lukaku is prepared to take a massive reduction in his wages if it helps him to secure a return to his former club Inter Milan. The Daily Mail suggests that the 29-year-old Belgian international will accept a wage cut of £3m a year to £6.4m a season, which works out at around £125,000 a week. Lukaku has four years left on his current deal though and it is unlikely Chelsea will take a large hit on the money they spent for him.

Paper Round’s view: Lukaku cost almost £100m last summer and the player’s contributions dwindled month by month. Something similar happened to Lukaku when he was at Manchester United, but he excelled at Inter Milan, so in many respects it makes sense for Chelsea to cut their losses, and for the player to go back to where he was at his best. Whether a deal can be done is more complex.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are in talks for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Palhinha, with The Mirror claiming that the 26-year-old is close to a £20m deal led by agent Jorge Mendes. That opens the way for Manchester United to sign Ruben Neves this transfer window when their fellow Premier League club are able to secure the signing of a new midfielder.

Paper Round’s view: Palhinha has attracted the attention of Manchester United and other Premier League sides before, but at 26 there must be a reason why he has never been given the chance to step up to one of the big leagues. As for Neves, he offers far more consistently better performances than Paul Pogba has done for the club, and United need to act quickly to get ready for next season.

As well as the exit of Pogba on a free transfer, Manchester United have also waved goodbye to another midfielder, Jesse Lingard, whose contract also expired. The Sun has suggested that in order to find a replacement for the Frenchman, Erik ten Hag hopes to land Barcelona’s midfielder Frenkie De Jong, with a fee of around £50m mentioned for the player.

Paper Round’s view: De Jong does not seem keen to leave with Barcelona and with the chance to work under Xavi Hernandez while he rebuilds the Spanish side, it is understandable that moving to Manchester United - who do not have Champions League football - appears to be a step down for the former Ajax man, even if he can be reunited with his old boss.