James Maddison and Jack Grealish top Manchester United's transfer wishlist - Paper Round

Manchester United have reportedly made Leicester City's James Maddison and Aston Villa's Jack Grealish their top transfer targets in the current winter window. According to the Independent, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate to add some creativity to his side's current lacklustre midfield and the 46-year-old has identified Maddison and Grealish as the solutions to his problems. An injury to Scott McTominay and "ongoing issues" with Paul Pogba means the Red Devils have been struggling in midfield and the club is ready to bring in new faces this month. English duo Maddison and Grealish have starred for their respective clubs so far this season and won't come cheap. The Independent also report that United could also be tempted by Tottenham Hotspur's Christian Eriksen, who would be available for a lower fee, due to his contract expiring in the summer.

Paper Round's view: United are crying out for players like Maddison and Grealish. Their current midfield is so uninspiring and it needs an injection of hunger, flair and creativity. The Pogba situation needs to be rectified by Solskjaer and the club, but there's no reason why they shouldn't still be trying to sign at least one of Maddison and Grealish to rejuvenate their season. It's unlikely that Maddison would want to leave Leicester this month, mainly due to the fact that the Foxes sit in second place in the Premier League. However, a move for Grealish wouldn't be too outrageous, especially with Villa struggling just outside of the relegation zone. United would probably have to accept that they will need to be willing to meet Villa's financial demands, but the potential transfer could really push Solskjaer's side towards a vital top four finish.

Mikel Arteta might be in for a busy first month in charge at the Emirates with the January transfer window proving to be more stressful and important than he anticipated. Arsenal are now in desperate need for a new centre-back after it was confirmed that Calum Chambers suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage against Chelsea last weekend, leaving Arteta short of defensive options. The Telegraph have reported that RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano, Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake and Juventus' Daniele Rugani are all names that are on Arsenal's shortist. Arteta had previously made a new midfielder his "number one priority", with Juve's Adrien Rabiot one of his targets.

Paper Round's view: The injury to Calum Chambers might be a blessing in disguise for Arsenal supporters as it will finally force the club to address their long-standing issues at centre-back. The north London club have been crying out for a dominant centre-half for the past decade, but instead the fans have seen their club sign players like Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz - who are all yet to convince in an Arsenal shirt. The Gunners were linked with Upamecano, Ake and Rugani before settling on Luiz last summer and they all seem like strong options compared to what they currently own. It seems like Ake could return to his former club Chelsea and Rugani has only started one Serie A match for Juventus this season, so maybe the best option would be to go all out for French defender Upamecano. However, RB Leipzig are currently top of the Bundesliga table, so would he want to leave a potential title win in favour for a rebuilding job at the Emirates?

Chelsea have had a cash-plus-player offer worth around £34 million rejected from Lyon over the transfer of French forward Moussa Dembele. According to the Sun, the Premier League side used Olivier Giroud as a pawn in a potential deal for Dembele, but Lyon quickly "swept away" the offer and released a statement on their website proclaiming their desire to keep the 23-year-old at the club. Chelsea's bid is said to have "hardly moved" the transfer officials at the Ligue 1 outfit, but Blues boss Frank Lampard is ready to return with an improved offer for Dembele. The Sun report also states that the west London club also hold interest in RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner.

Paper Round's view: Chelsea are clearly looking to shift the unwanted duo Giroud and Michy Batshuayi, but need to find an adequate replacement first. Tammy Abraham is enjoying a fruitful first full season at Chelsea in the Premier League, but he's still young and fairly inexperienced at the top level, so it makes sense why Lampard would want another striking option who can provide positive competition in his squad. Dembele proved his worth at Celtic where he won back-to-back domestic trebles before moving back to France in 2018. The French forward has also attracted the interest of Manchester United in previous months, with the Red Devils viewing him as a Romelu Lukaku replacement last summer. It seems like Chelsea will either need to up their bid or return in the summer if they want to bring Dembele to Stamford Bridge.

As previously mentioned, Batshuayi is a player that looks unwanted by Lampard at Chelsea, but he could be set for a loan move to Aston Villa following the season-ending injury that Wesley suffered at Burnley on New Year's Day. The Mirror report that the Midlands club are chasing the Belgian striker with Wesley looking at about nine months out after suffering cruciate ligament damage. The Villans sit in 17th place in the Premier League and their only current recognised striker at the club is 30-year-old Jonathan Kodjia, who is out of contract this summer. In addition to holding interest in Batshuayi, the Sun have reported that Villa are also interested in signing the Belgian's Chelsea teammate Olivier Giroud on a permanent transfer.

Paper Round's view: It's a tough position for Dean Smith to be in. His side are struggling in the league despite spending big in the summer and now his £22 million forward is sidelined with injury for the remainder of the season. To make things worse, his only forward option, Kodjia, has featured just six times in the league this season, all coming as a substitute, which says a lot about how much his manager rates him. January moves for both Batshuayi and Giroud would be massive risks, but a loan offer to the Belgian could be appealing. Giroud wouldn't want to risk going to a club that could be relegated, but for Batshuayi it could resurrect his career before returning to Chelsea at the end of the season. However, it would be the 26-year-old's fourth loan spell since 2018, a number that doesn't exactly fill Villa fans with much confidence. Either way, Smith's side need a new striker this window and they probably need it to be a cheap option or a loan.