Paper Round: Manchester United suffer blow in Cristiano Ronaldo pursuit

Man United give up on Ronaldo return - Cristiano Ronaldo won't be returning to Manchester United this summer. The Sun understand that the Red Devils have given up on signing the superstar after Real Madrid quoted them a £84.5 million price tag. The Red Devils were willing to pay £60m for Ronaldo, which would have been a British record.

Paper Round's view - Ronaldo may have been upset with new Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez, but the Spanish giants were never going to sell him for just £60m. If it became a matter of Ronaldo or Benitez, Ronaldo was going to win out so any hope of a return to Man United would have needed a bid close to the £80m they sold him for in 2009. £84.5m is a lot, but his valuation is much closer to that than £60m.

Man City to join Stones chase - Manchester City are ready to get involved in the bidding for John Stones. The Mirror claim that Chelsea will submit a third bid for the defender after Everton rejected their second one of £26m, but that the Citizens will also make a run at Stones if it looks like the Toffees are ready to sell him. City have liked Stones for a while, but were hoping he'd spend a full season as first choice at Everton before they went after him.

Paper Round's view - Chelsea clearly want Stones badly and it would make sense if Man City also got involved. He'd be an excellent addition. That said, it's far more likely that they know the Blues got in on him first and desperately want him so joining the bidding is simply to push the price that Chelsea pay for him even higher.

- - -

Man United nearing deal for Pedro - Manchester United are getting closer to a transfer for Pedro, according to The Sun. The Red Devils are prepared to pay £17m for the Spaniard, while Barcelona want £21m. Frustratingly, Barcelona don't want to sell Pedro until after the Super Cup either, which means he wouldn't join the Red Devils until after the start of the Premier League season.

Paper Round's view - Pedro wants out, Man United want him and Barcelona know that they won't be able to hang on to their winger for long. So what's holding this up? It's tough to imagine that the Super Cup, a glorified friendly, is it. The £4m difference in valuation is far more realistic, but all of it is a bit strange because he reportedly has a reasonable £22m release clause. So basically all of the reports on Pedro make no sense.

- - -

Swansea demanding £25m for Williams - Swansea have no interest in selling Ashley Williams to Crystal Palace so they are demanding £25m for the defender to ensure he won't be sold, per The Mirror. Garry Monk has made it clear that Williams won't be sold, saying "he is going nowhere." Crystal Palace may want him, but the Swans believe a £25m valuation will scare them off.

Paper Round's view - Williams is a good defender and vital to the Swansea defence so it's no wonder they're desperate to hold onto him. It'd be one thing if Man United came calling for him, but this is Crystal Palace and the Swans have no reason to sell a key player to a club like that. There's no way Palace will pay £25m for Williams so this pursuit is over.

- - -

Aston Villa trying to hijack Leicester's Veretout deal - Jordan Veretout is near a transfer to Aston Villa. The Mail believe that the midfielder will fly to England and meet with Villa to finalise a deal to the club. This is despite Leicester having chased the Nantes midfielder for much of the summer. The Foxes will submit another bid to try for Veretout, but the player prefers a move to Villa.

Paper Round's view - Veretout is a talented young midfielder so it's no surprise that Aston Villa and Leicester are both interested. Tim Sherwood has already signed three players from Ligue 1 so he clearly likes players from the league and Veretout would be a fine addition. Villa have a bigger profile than Leicester and appear more ambitious at the moment, which could be why the midfielder prefers a move there. If he really does, Leicester might not have a shot.

- - -