Football news, transfer rumours and gossip - Borussia Dortmund 'to sign Jude Bellingham'

The Daily Telegraph reports that Borussia Dortmund believe that they have won the race to sign Birmingham City’s midfielder Jude Bellingham. Manchester United had been chasing the 16-year-old and he had even met with Alex Ferguson at their Carrington training ground. Despite being told he would have a chance to immediately stake a claim for a first-team spot in Manchester, Dortmund think they will sign him.

Paper Round’s view: Dortmund are a stable club who have a track record of developing young English talent that can rival Manchester United’s recent performance. Yes, they have Marcus Rashford, but the German side have Jadon Sancho, who could be moving to Old Trafford just in time to make room for Bellingham in the first team.

The Sun newspaper claims that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in line for a £1 million bonus at Manchester United, providing he can qualify for the Champions League this season. United are in fifth ahead of the restart, but with Manchester City set for a European ban and the chance of a Europa League victory, the United manager could be set for a payday.

Paper Round’s view: United looked likely to claim a top four or five spot before the break, but it is hard to tell what is going to happen with the disruption of coronavirus. They have Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford back in the first team and fit, but there are few games left and a small slip-up could be seized upon by Sheffield United who are also closing in on the top sides.

In yet another Manchester United story, the Mirror believes that the club are keeping tabs on Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey. The Italian side are looking to cut costs due to the coronavirus and with the 29-year-old former Arsenal man on £400,000 a week, he is a prime target. United would, however, require him to take a pay cut and there is some doubt over a potential transfer fee.

Paper Round’s view: While Ramsey was available for nothing, the wage outlay for what is an effective but unspectacular player was quite a risk for Juventus. In extraordinary times, that appears to have backfired and moving him on, perhaps in exchange for Paul Pogba, could be a pragmatic move for all concerned. Whether Ramsey would want to leave so quickly is another matter.

After the recent controversy over the involvement of a controversial businessman in the arranged double-header fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, broadcaster BT is distancing itself from any negotiations. BT have said: 'We cannot comment further on a potential fight which to the best of our knowledge is not confirmed, and which has not been offered to us.’

Paper Round’s view: Given the recent news about Daniel Kinahan and the speculation about his position in Irish society, it is sensible that BT elects to wait it out until the situation becomes clearer. However, Fury-Joshua will be perhaps the biggest UK fight in at least a decade, and so there will be a temptation to seal the rights to any deal regardless of controversy.