Paper Round: Manchester United up the ante with £60m Alvaro Morata bid

Manchester United hit Thursday’s back pages with tales of a £60 million bid for Alvaro Morata after their first bid was reportedly rejected by La Liga champions Real Madrid. Having apparently had an initial offer of £52m turned down, the Reds aren’t ready to give up yet. However they may have to, as Mourinho is apparently not prepared to match the £78m the Champions League winners want for the striker.

Paper Round's view: There have been plenty of rumours circulating around Morata for a while now after it was reported by Spanish media that the 24-year-old was agitating for a move thanks to a lack of playing time. We’re sure he won’t be short of offers, with Chelsea initially the favourites to secure a deal. That said, Morata himself has said he “feels good” at Real Madrid – even if his dad says differently, hinting that United are the front runners. The Reds will definitely be in need of a new striker this summer, and we expect nothing less than an audacious deal when the time comes.

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Chelsea will apparently block Michy Batshuayi from moving on over the summer until they have signed a new striker, according to a report by the Mirror on Thursday. Though a number of clubs across European leagues are interested in the Belgium international, Chelsea are unwilling to lose him - despite making little use of him last season - until they’ve found a replacement.

Paper Round's view: Batshuayi made little impact for the Blues until the tail end of the season, having been given less time on the pitch than he wanted, though he proved he was capable of more, scoring in three of his last four games. With a World Cup on the horizon, the 23-year-old has already said he wants to be playing more in order to be ready for it and making him wait it out, though perhaps prudent amid speculation as to Diego Costa’s whereabouts next season, does seem a little harsh. That said, he may not have to wait very long if those other rumours about his compatriot Romelu Lukaku are true.

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Reports in Thursday’s papers suggest Wayne Rooney may be pricing himself out of move within the Premier League if he leaves Manchester United this summer. As one of the league’s highest earners, Rooney’s preferred club Everton are unlikely to be able to match his wage bill. Rooney also has two years left on his current contract at United, and the club would no doubt hope for a decent fee for their one-time star player. Would a move to China therefore be the only option?

Paper Round's view: Rooney may find himself equally frustrated at Everton as he has at United this season, as competition would remain fierce in a squad on the cusp of a place in the Europa League. Would there really be any point returning to his boyhood club for the sake of a nice story? We certainly don’t see him at Stoke or Newcastle. Rooney would be handsomely rewarded for a stint in the Chinese Super League and it would be less depressing than seeing him rotting on the bench for the final years of his career.

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Manchester United defender Chris Smalling features in Thursday’s papers after he revealed he had received two jabs in a broken toe last November in order to enable him to play, despite his boss Jose Mourinho’s assertions at the time that he lacked commitment. Mourinho called Smalling out in public saying that the 27-year-old needed to be “100 percent fit” to play, while other players showed more grit. Smalling said: “You always want to push yourself because you don’t want to let the fans down…” adding “I don’t think any player is ever 100 percent.”

Paper Round's view: Mourinho may not be best pleased by this revelation from Smalling, who also revealed that playing through the injury – and this isn’t a huge surprise – did nothing for his fitness. Though he added that Mourinho was at times “frustrated,” this only ever echoed the feelings of the players themselves. Smalling added that he thought Mourinho had not known the “full picture” when the comments were made, and that once he did, “it was all good.” Of course it would be even better if Mourinho could lay off throwing his players in front of the bus until in possession of all the facts.

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