Paper Round: Kevin De Bruyne will be Manchester City player in next 24 hours

De Bruyne to join City in next 24 hours - Manchester City will complete their signing of Kevin De Bruyne in the next 24 hours, according to The Sun. De Bruyne will travel to England on Thursday, where he will take a medical and sign his contract. De Bruyne joined Wolfsburg for £18m a year ago, but is now set to leave the club for £50 million, with about £47m of that to be paid by City up front.

Paper Round's view - Manchester City's pursuit of De Bruyne has been a bit odd. They targeted him early in the summer, but never submitted a bid and seemed to be arguing over a few million, something that is silly in a transfer this lucrative and important. Then De Bruyne said he would be staying at Wolfsburg. Now he's ready to leave. In the end, City got the man they wanted and Wolfsburg got a fat payday that matches their valuation, so all is well, but it was strange from the beginning.

Mourinho, Fabregas convinced Pedro to choose Chelsea - Pedro had to choose between Chelsea and Manchester United, and The Guardian claim that Jose Mourinho and Cesc Fabregas eventually pushed him to the Blues. The Barcelona man will join Chelsea in a £21m deal, snubbing Manchester United despite the Red Devils' long-standing interest. Mourinho and Fabregas spoke on the phone with Pedro and explained what life at the club was like, as well as the role he'd play there, to convince him that Stamford Bridge was the place for him.

Paper Round's view - Pedro was going to play in the Champions League and get paid no matter which club he picked. Considering the reason he wanted out of Barcelona was playing time, that probably figured heavily in his decision making. United would seem to offer that, but Louis van Gaal has changed things up regularly so it's tough to predict where they would be in a few months and how Pedro would fit in. Meanwhile, Mourinho has a clear system and approach so it's not a surprise that Pedro would see that, envision how he'd fit in and sign on.

Otamendi passes physical, agrees to personal terms - Nicolas Otamendi's move to Manchester City is all but complete. The Mail understand that the defender has passed his physical and agreed to personal terms with the club, finalising any major outstanding details. All that is left now is for him to sign his contract, something that will be done in the next 24 hours to wrap up the £32m transfer.

Paper Round's view - Losing Otamendi has to sting Manchester United, who had been eyeing him for the better part of the summer. Losing him to their rivals just makes it sting that much more. City have set themselves on a path to be crowned Premier League champions again and while they may have overpaid for some players this summer, they look set to do just that. Otamendi makes them much stronger in defence and there's no doubt who has the best squad in England. If they add Kevin De Bruyne, they'll just be that much stronger.

Cuadrado could go to Juventus - Pedro's move to Chelsea could lead to Juan Cuadrado leaving, reports The Express. Juventus are interested in signing the Colombian, who has struggled since joining Chelsea in January. There was hope that Cuadrado was ready to become a world class player after a great showing at least year's World Cup, but he hasn't looked near that player for the Blues.

Paper Round's view - Mourinho doesn't like to carry a bloated team so if Pedro does indeed sign with Chelsea then someone is going to be heading out. It could be Willian, whose starting role will likely be gone and who could fetch a nice transfer fee, but Cuadrado could also exit. The Blues would almost certainly have to take a loss on him, but he would have some value, especially in a league where he's starred before like Serie A.

Chelsea haven't offered Ivanovic new deal - Branislav Ivanovic could be on the move. The Mail believe that Chelsea have yet to offer the defender a contract extension, setting him up to be a free agent next summer. Several clubs from around Europe are interested in him and would like to sign him to a pre-contract when he's eligible to do so in January, but the Serbian would rather re-sign with the Blues.

Paper Round's view - Chelsea's club policy is to only offer one-year contracts to players over the age of 30. Ivanovic is in that group so it isn't a surprise, or even news, that his contract is set to expire in the summer. Especially after Ivanovic's shaky start to the season, the Blues are not rushing to throw another year-long extension in front of the Serbian. Chelsea will wait a bit longer to see how things go and potentially offer that next one-year extension then. Nothing of note has really happened yet.

West Ham pull plug on Adebayor deal - Emmanuel Adebayor won't be going to West Ham. At least not for now. Sources tell The Telegraph that the Hammers have pulled out of negotiations to land the striker, who Tottenham are desperate to get rid of. Spurs were ready to let Adebayor go for free, but West Ham would have had to pick up his £110,000-per-week wages. Right now, that's not something they are not willing to do, but that might change before the window closes.

Paper Round's view - Adebayor isn't going to play for Spurs this season. They've made that abundantly clear and would love to get him off of their books. But he won't take a wage cut, leaving them with few suitors because many clubs can't afford him. Making matters tougher, Adebayor doesn't want to leave London. Tottenham are in a bad place with Adebayor and could very well end up being stuck with him for another year unless they agree to pay part of his wages for him to play elsewhere.