Football news - Chelsea 'target Chilwell as part of £150m spree'

The Sun reports that Chelsea are preparing to spend big following the halving of their transfer ban. The club want to support Frank Lampard after a promising start and will give him around £150 million in order to recruit more players. One man on the list is Leicester City full-back Ben Chilwell, with the 22-year-old England international long rumoured to be a target.

Paper Round’s view: Chilwell is in the right age group to fit in at this new Chelsea squad after a collection of young players have burst through into the first team. At 22, he is the right age for a full-back given the amount of running they are asked to do in modern football. Another position worth investing in could be the forward line, to bring in a back-up striker in order to allow Olivier Giroud to leave as he has fallen down the pecking order.

There are mounting problems at Arsenal following the departure of Unai Emery as manager. The Mirror claims that striker Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang could be set to leave after deciding to pull out of contract talks at the Emirates. The 31-year-old would have a year left on his contract at the end of the season and the club may choose to sell him rather than lose him for nothing.

Paper Round’s view: Aubameyang has barely any medals as he comes to the end of career, and at 31 will soon likely lose the pace which is integral to his goal threat. If he can get out of Arsenal in the summer he may be able to secure a short-term move to a team who can offer him the chance of more success. The club may also be looking to refresh their forward line too.

It is not just the playing staff whose futures are in doubt at Arsenal, as the Daily Mail believes that there are growing doubts over the suitability of Freddie Ljungberg to take over as permanent boss at the club following two disappointing results. Other targets emerging are Nuno Espirito Santo, Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli, and Manchester City assistant manager Mikel Arteta.

Paper Round’s view: Taking Arteta from Manchester City is also a risk, given he has no experience as a head coach. Santo and Ancelotti have both impressed in the Premier League and perhaps Ancelotti is less attractive given his likely salary demands, and that he is more of a steady hand than a coach to lift a whole side in disarray.

Another rumoured Emery replacement, former AC Milan and Juventus boss Max Allegri, is likely to take a break from football until the rest of the season. The Spanish newspaper Marca is quoted as saying that: "I am not going to coach [any team] until next season. [I will not coach] before that."

Paper Round’s view: Allegri must be confident of his standing in the game if he is willing to wait until next summer rather than ignore the chance of joining up with one of the biggest clubs in the world. There is a rumour that he is willing to wait so that he can take over at Manchester United, but he could also be considered for the Real Madrid job if Zinedine Zidane departs.