Football news, transfer rumours and gossip - Players under threat as clubs consider redundancies

Premier League clubs are looking to cut costs already, according to the Sun. The paper reports that sides are working out how to make some stars redundant in order to cut costs, with the end of the season not yet in sight - but only a few players would be targeted in this way.

Paper Round’s view: Some players may know that their contracts will be up before the end of the season is actually completed, if it is ever actually completed. Given that situation, it is hard to see how the transfer window can be sensibly and practically enforced, and some players may even find that they are kept on for a few extra months unexpectedly.

There’s some positive news for Newcastle United’s kit man, George Ramshaw. The Mirror reports that he was saved months of pain as he waited for a hip replacement, but the players at the club have clubbed together to allow him private treatment. Steve Bruce said: “Footballers get much maligned these days but they organised a whip-round between them and raised something like £15,000 and sent him off to a private hospital to get it done. He’s only just come back to work in the past couple of weeks and he’s all fixed and healed. Seems to have been a big success.“I think it might have been Andy Carroll’s initial idea. Andy of course, has known George since he was a kid.”

Paper Round’s view: Footballers are indeed often criticised, but sorting out Ramshaw’s operation now will be a blessing, with a huge amount of demand placed not just on the NHS, but with private resources also being called in as part of the fight against coronavirus. It is easy to point out that the sum is little to professional footballers, but it is an unimpeachably nice gesture.

The Telegraph writes that Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium might seem a little lonely when football eventually restarts. The Number 8 pub and a host of other local businesses are suffering with the lack of football after games were called off, and since many shops have now been ordered to stay shut in the face of the fight against coronavirus - they may be out of business for good when the season is finally completed.

Paper Round’s view: The chancellor’s announcement of help for businesses and some workers will go some way to helping these businesses stay open, but that will not be guaranteed if the shutdown goes on for longer than a few months. It is desperately sad to see and it is an almost impossible situation to fight given the resources demanded elsewhere.

Barcelona’s current boss Quique Setien looks likely to stay at Barcelona, with the Daily Mail believing that he is involved in planning for next season already. The former Real Betis manager has taken Barcelona to the top of La Liga before the enforced season interruption, and he is expected to be kept on after only a few months in charge of the current champions.

Paper Round’s view: With little else to do right now for football sides, and given the uncertainty weighing across every club, it makes sense to take some time to plan for the future. Transfers will need to be mapped out, and Setien may be used to persuade Lionel Messi to stay, who had appeared disaffected for much of the season under Ernesto Valverde.