Napoli 'prepare £60 million bid for Wilfried Zaha'

Italian club Napoli are keen on a transfer for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, reports the Daily Mail. The 26-year-old Ivory Coast international wants to leave the club to play in the Champions League and has seen moves to Everton and Arsenal fall through after the clubs did not meet the £80 million asking price. Napoli are ready to see if a £60 million bid is enough to see Palace let him go.

Paper Round’s view: Palace have done barely any business this summer in the transfer window, and Roy Hodgson must be frustrated that the main point of business is still yet to be resolved. With just £2.52m spent on Jordan Ayew from Swansea, they perhaps feel they need to raise funds from another sale, but there is nobody who will match the talent of Zaha if they let him leave.

Harry Wilson will be given permission to leave Liverpool, according to a story in the Mirror. The paper reports that having impressed on loan at Derby County last season and in pre-season for the Reds, the 22-year-old midfielder is attracting interest from Newcastle and Bournemouth. While Jurgen Klopp will include him in the first team if no bid is forthcoming, he will be sold if a club can meet the £25 million asking price.

Paper Round’s view: At 22, a player who wants to displace Sadio Mane or Mo Salah on the wings would perhaps have to show more ability than Wilson has so far. It does not make him a poor player, and he will probably succeed in the Premier League, but Liverpool need to raise money to spend on positions where they are weaker, such as replacing James Milner or Jordan Henderson.

Despite Mauricio Pochettino’s complaints this week, Tottenham Hotspur do not plan on renaming the manager’s role as a ‘coach’, and will attempt to sign two more players before the transfer window closes. The Telegraph believes that Paulo Dybala, Giovani Lo Celso, and Ryan Sessegnon are all possible additions, though Manchester United are now favourites for Dybala.

Paper Round’s view: It is hard to read Pochettino’s attitude. After the failure to win the Champions League last season, perhaps he is truly ready to make the step up in quality with a squad, and if Spurs can’t do it then he will likely move on elsewhere in the summer. Lo Celso and Sessegnon would give them more quality in key positions, and improve the squad depth.

New Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce is set to offer four players new deals to stay at the club once the transfer window ends. Bruce wants to give Martin Dubravka a new deal to keep him as the first-choice goalkeeper, and he also intends to extend the stay of midfielders Matt Ritchie, Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden, the Sun believes.

Paper Round’s view: Dubravka is a solid and dependable goalkeeper, but the other three players are fairly underwhelming. Perhaps only 24-year-old Isaac Hayden has the potential to improve significantly while the other two merely pad out a squad. With the little activity in the market from Newcastle, it seems Bruce is going to have just as tough a season as Rafael Benitez enjoyed.