Paper Round: Manchester United wait for Mesut Ozil, City plan Alexis Sanchez winter transfer

Manchester United will wait until the end of the season to sign Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil for a cost of just £8m. If United make their move in the summer transfer window, United will have to pay no fee to Arsenal. Jose Mourinho would happily pay an £8m signing-on bonus as it is still well under the £42m it cost Arsenal to bring Ozil to England from Real Madrid, and would allow them to spend money elsewhere over the coming transfer windows.

Paper Round's view: Manchester United were linked yesterday with a £26m move for Bordeaux's 20-year-old Brazilian Under-23 international forward Malcolm, who could play across the forward line. It may be that United are thinking about bringing Malcolm in during the winter transfer window, allowing them to save money and urgency when signing Ozil in the summer.

Following Manchester City's 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, Pep Guardiola was asked about whether City would go back in for their forward Alexis Sanchez. Guardiola failed to deny his interest in the 28-year-old Chilean international, saying: "Good question! That's why you're here. On the pitch you know. The transfer window is in winter time so I don't know. I don't know what we are going to do, because it's not...OK."

Paper Round's view: From Guardiola's words, it appears clear that City have at the least continued to consider a move for Sanchez in the winter. If United are preparing to wait for half a year more to secure Mesut Ozil, then it would make it more likely that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger would countenance Sanchez's exit in January. Such a move would surely take City to the title in very few games after the turn of the year.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has told Daniel Sturridge that he is free to leave the club on loan as he searches for first-team football in pursuit of a place in England's World Cup squad. Sturridge is behind Jamie Vardy and Tammy Abraham in Gareth Southgate's pecking order, so he is considering six months abroad with a team that can afford his £125,000-a-week wages.

Paper Round's view: With Roberto Firmino, Dominic Solanke, Mo Salah and others providing the goals for Liverpool, Klopp could understandably seek to reduce the Anfield wage burden by allowing Sturridge to leave. Because of Sturridge's fitness problems, there is no guarantee for Klopp that he would be available for action during an injury crisis. Therefore, letting him leave should have little impact.

Jose Mourinho is considering bringing Jonny Evans back to Manchester United. A fee of above £20m will be needed, and they will face competition from Arsenal and Manchester City for the player. Mourinho has said he would not have sold Evans as Louis van Gaal had done. With Eric Bailly out for up to three months, Mourinho is also interested in Thomas Meunier at Paris Saint-Germain, and Spurs' Danny Rose.

Paper Round's view: Mourinho wants to make many more improvements in the United squad, including in defence. Rose and Meunier would both be upgrades at full-back, and both seem happy to leave their current clubs to move to Old Trafford. However, as talented as Evans is, it might be no coincidence that interest in him has cropped up just in time to distract him as he prepares to face United today.