Paper Round: James Rodriguez, Romelu Lukaku on Antonio Conte's Chelsea shopping list

Diego Costa joins Antonio Conte on most of the back pages, with his Chelsea future very much in the balance. The Telegraph declares the striker "desperate to quit" Stamford Bridge - Costa has reportedly told team-mates he wants to return to Atletico Madrid because he is fed up with constant scrutiny of his discipline, or lack thereof. The Mirror, Guardian and Times carry the same story - the Times saying Conte will make a "determined attempt" to keep the striker and believes he can change Costa's mind.

Paper Round's view: Despite the apparently conflicting back page leads, the story is essentially the same in every paper. It's not surprising Costa wants to leave - he has become Public Enemy Number One in the Premier League (we'll leave discussion of whose fault this is for another day). What's more, with Chelsea out of the hunt for Champions League football, if the 27-year-old Costa stays he is essentially committing at least two more of his peak years to Chelsea.

Antonio Conte wants Romelu Lukaku to lead the line for his Chelsea side, and wants the signing wrapped up before Euro 2016, says The Daily Star. Conte was confirmed as the new Chelsea manager on Monday and has already told the Stamford Bridge bosses that he wants Lukaku to be brought back to Stamford Bridge. The Blues are rumoured to be prepared to offer £50 million for the 22-year-old, who they sold for £28m in 2014. The player’s agent has been talking up interested elsewhere from Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, while Lukaku himself has gone on record saying that he wants to play for a Champions League club.

Paper Round’s view: Lukaku would be well within his rights if he wants to leave Everton (which it sounds a lot like he does) and, seeing as Chelsea are crying out for a centre-forward of his style, this is an obvious link on the surface. However, would the Belgian really want to go back to a club who never really gave him a chance before shunting him out of the door to Everton? And if he’s keen to leave the Toffees to play Champions League football, then why would he move to a club who are likely to not even be in Europe next season? This one doesn’t add up.

Real Madrid are looking to get James Rodriguez out of the revolving Bernabeu door, with Manchester United and Chelsea being asked to stump up £60m if they want the Colombian star – says The Mirror. James moved to Madrid for the same fee following his spectacular performances in the 2014 World Cup, but has struggled to tie down a regular starting spot and is expected to leave. A raft of clubs are interested in signing the midfielder, but the hefty transfer fee has reportedly scared away the likes of Juventus.

Paper Round’s view: James is a strange case. He’s been outstanding at times for Real Madrid, but with Gareth Bale wanting to play through the middle and Spain international Isco also competing for a similar spot, there doesn’t seem to be room for him in Zinedine Zidane’s first-team plans. That doesn’t make him a flop by any means, but £60m is still an awful lot of money for a 24-year-old who has never consistently performed at a world-class level at any point in his club career. It’s a gamble, but both United and Chelsea need some spark and invention and it will be hard for them to find a player of higher quality or greater potential than James this summer.

Liverpool are also eyeing a 24-year-old attacking talent from Real Madrid, says The Daily Star. Lucas Vazquez caught the eye of Reds boss Jurgen Klopp during his season on-loan at Espanyol, and with the winger struggling to make the grade at the Bernabeu it is Liverpool who are eyeing a summer swoop. Vazquez has made just 24 appearances for the Real first-team this season, scoring once, and he could be on his way to Anfield if they up their interest.

Paper Round’s view: Failing to make the grade at Real Madrid is no disgrace, and Liverpool would be acquiring a decent striker if they do move for Vazquez in the summer. His pace and intensity would seem to fit in well with Klopp’s style – certainly more so than Christian Benteke – and his ability to play in wide areas is something that Liverpool could do with. Playing just 24 games for Real isn’t too bad either when you consider the competition he faces to get into the first-team.