Paper Round: Jose Mourinho wants Paul Pogba, Saul Niguez and a former United legend

Jose Mourinho wants to reinforce the spine of his Manchester United team with “three elite-level signings”, including Paul Pogba, writes Duncan Castles in The Times. According to Castles, Mourinho is ready to make a bid for the Juventus midfielder, who has been informally placed on the transfer market. The 23-year-old is apparently ready to move away from Italy and Mourinho is sensing that he could be one of his three big targets for the summer to transform his side.

Paper Round’s view: It’s impossible to go a few days in the football transfer world without talking about Pogba and United are rarely out of that conversation. While it would seem unlikely that Pogba would want to return to Old Trafford, Castles clearly believes that Mourinho’s arrival may have changed that perspective and, if the money is right, this could be the big move that he is after. That said, he will probably still go to Real Madrid.

Mourinho has demanded that United “splash the cash on his X Factor star at Old Trafford - £54 million Saul Niguez”, shouts Steve Millar at the Daily Star. According to the paper, the 21-year-old will be available if United can meet his release clause and so Mourinho will be able to move for him right away. Millar writes that the new United boss “cannot wait to start working with the talented youth” and “Niguez is at the top of the wanted list” highlighted by Mourinho and the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

Paper Round’s view: The crux of this story is Niguez’s reported new deal at Atletico which, according to the paper, is “worth £80,000-a-week and with it his release clause rocketed from £34m to £54m” leaving clubs free to move for him at the right price. Atletico have never been averse to selling their top players and reinvesting on fresh talent, particularly with such a huge reported price on Niguez’s head. He would undoubtedly represent a very fine signing for United if he is happy to miss out on Champions League football.

There is one former United star who Mourinho desperately wants to bring in to join his backroom staff, according to The Sun, and that’s Rio Ferdinand. The paper reports that Mourinho has already made contact with Rio and made his intentions clear, but the former defender and now TV pundit has yet to make a decision on his future. According to Phil Cadden and Neil Ashton in the paper, “Ferdinand is seen by Mourinho as a key man to help take the club back to the top” and has “been sounded out about it”.

Paper Round’s view: When Mourinho was appointed, Ferdinand said, “this winner is a wounded animal which makes him such a mouth-watering appointment” and it would be intriguing to see him on the United bench. If the reports are correct that Mourinho is keen to have Ferdinand with him at United, it raises further questions about the future of Ryan Giggs. It may be that the best thing for Mourinho would be to have a completely fresh start – even if that means letting Giggs go – but that would not be overly popular with the United fans.

Mourinho “will start his revolution by bidding £10 million for West Ham teen star Reece Oxford this week”, declares The Sun. According to the paper, Mourinho wants to start his summer spending by bringing in the precocious 17-year-old. Mourinho will make further much more high profile signings, the paper reports, but he wants to begin the summer by snapping up Oxford.

Paper Round's view: Oxford may not come as cheap as the paper suggests given how highly Slaven Bilic and West Ham clearly think of the starlet. He came to prominence with an outstanding performance in West Ham’s victory over Arsenal on the first day of the season but was largely protected by Bilic thereafter. While United would love to acquire an outstanding young player of Oxford’s calibre, West Ham would likely want significant money for one of their top prospects.