Paris Saint-Germain reject Chelsea’s Neymar enquiry, Manchester United to continue Frenkie de Jong pursuit – Paper Round

Chelsea are preparing for a busy transfer deadline day after a disappointing start to their Premier League campaign. The Times reveal that the Blues approached Paris Saint-Germain about the possibility of signing Neymar, but the enquiry was immediately rejected. The report states that the west London club are engaged in talks with AC Milan over the potential signing of Rafael Leao in an attempt to improve their misfiring attack. The Blues have also made a €50-million offer for Ajax’s Alvarez, who can play in defensive midfield or at centre-back.

Paper Round’s view: Chelsea are playing real life Football Manager. The club have splashed the cash during the first summer of their new ownership and aren’t stopping yet. Despite all the new signings, it still feels like something is missing from this Chelsea side. The Blues have had a poor start to the season and you can tell manager Thomas Tuchel is getting frustrated with his squad. Leao could be a smart signing. They need a serious goal threat right now because Kai Havertz just isn’t doing business. Leao proved himself as a danger during Milan’s title-winning run towards the end of last season. Alvarez seems like he is going to be a long-term replacement for N’Golo Kante, which could rule Chelsea out of the race for Declan Rice next summer.

Manchester United have not given up their pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, despite failing to sign him this summer. The Premier League side spent the majority of the transfer window trying to convince De Jong to move to Manchester and even agreed a fee with Barca, but it looks likely that he will stay at the Camp Nou for now. However, the Mirror report that United will continue to target De Jong in future transfer windows.

Paper Round’s view: It makes sense. United were desperate to sign De Jong this summer and it nearly derailed their entire summer window. The Manchester club ended up signing Casemiro from Real Madrid, but it’s clear that they still need to add more quality to their midfield options. De Jong probably wasn’t interested in signing for United as they are a bit of a mess and are not competing in the Champions League. A huge season could change that. If Erik ten Hag adds some stability and makes top four, there’s no reason why they couldn’t attract De Jong next summer.

Jordi Alba could be set for a shock move away from Barcelona before the transfer window slams shut. Spanish media outlet Sport state that Barca have agreed terms with Inter Milan to allow Alba to join the Serie A side on loan for the season. The Blaugrana are keen to move the 33-year-old on and expect left-back Marcos Alonso to arrive at the Camp Nou from Chelsea. Inter are preparing to shift Robin Gosens to the Bundesliga and have lined up Alba as his replacement. It will now come down to Alba’s final decision.

Paper Round’s view: Alba has not started in either Liga victories this season, Barca boss Xavi seems to be favouring Alejandro Balde and all summer we have seen Barcelona chasing Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso. However, the news that Alba is going to be sent out on loan is still a shock. Barcelona might have left it too late in the transfer window, but they will have their fingers crossed that they luck out on deadline day. Alonso in, Alba out… and a right-back joins too. That would be a perfect final day for the Catalan club.

Aston Villa are ready to launch a deadline day bid to add a wide forward to their squad – but face relying on a transfer merry-go-round to capture their target. The Telegraph believe that Villa are interested in Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Moura, who could be allowed to leave the north London club if Spurs sign Leeds United forward Daniel James. Leeds may let James leave on loan if they complete the signing of Hwang Hee-chan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Paper Round’s view: So… Villa are relying on Wolves selling Hwang to Leeds in order to sign Lucas. The 30-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at Spurs since the arrivals of Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison this year and probably wants to play more minutes. Villa are struggling at the moment and could use an experienced attacking injection in their squad. Moura is a good player when he’s on form, but he has failed to get consistent minutes for a while now.