Football news - Manchester United 'plan £300 million spending spree'

Manchester United are ready to spend £300 million in order to overhaul their squad, according to the Mail on Sunday. Having fallen so far behind Manchester City and Liverpool, they will target Leicester City’s James Maddison and Saul Niguez of Atletico Madrid. Moussa Dembele, the Lyon striker, is also a target for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team.

Paper Round’s view: United should be able to raise some more cash by letting players such as Phil Jones leave, but at that point they will be desperately short on numbers. The midfield and attack is where there are the biggest problems, with an obvious lack of quality, and in this market a third of a billion pounds might not even be enough to put the side back into the top four.

Tottenham Hotspur are continuing their transfer strategy despite the problems with the first team squad under Mauricio Pochettino. They have identified West Bromwich Albion’s 19-year-old right-back, Nathan Ferguson. Spurs could face competition from Crystal Palace but the club’s scout are keen on the right-footed player currently playing on the left, repors the Sun.

Paper Round’s view: Pochettino does not apper to trust Kyle Walker-Peters, which is his decision to make, but that has led Serge Aurier to take the right-back position as first choice. That brings its own problems but it’s hard to see why such a young player is the person to bring in such a pressured environment.

Gary Neville’s repeated criticism of Manchester United on Sky Sport has led executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to aim to improve the pair’s relationship. The Sunday Mirror reports that Woodward is aiming to get Neville onside, recruit a big name to be the media face for the club, and negotiate a deal to let the squad stay at Hotel Football across the road.

Paper Round’s view: All of this makes sense. If there is a shared financial interest for United and Neville, that will neuter the criticism. If a Class of ‘92 member becomes a front for United, they too would have to be positive. Of course, an easier way of preventing criticism would be to build and run a successful football team, but that appears well down the list for Woodward.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery is not concerned over Eddie Nketiah’s move to Leeds United, according to the Telegraph. The 20-year-old striker has found it difficult to break into the starting eleven under coach Marcelo Bielsa, but Emery said: "First I respect his coach and his decision. And I think he is going to play more, because he is going to deserve it."

Paper Round’s view: It is still early in the season but Arsenal are operating on a small budget compared to their rivals for a top four spot. That means that they will need to be able to bring through as many youngsters as they can, and they can ill afford letting Nketiah stagnate after showing such promise.