Football news, transfer rumours and gossip - James Rodriguez wanted by Arsenal and Everton

Mikel Arteta and Carlo Ancelotti are set to do battle for James Rodriguez, the Daily Mail reports, with both Arsenal and Everton interested in signing the Real Madrid midfielder on loan. Rodriguez is struggling to hold down a starting place under Zinedine Zidane, and Ancelotti – who coached the Colombian at both Real and Bayern Munich – would like to bring the midfielder to Goodison Park. Arteta is also keen to sign Rodriguez this month, and with Arsenal short on funds, they would be looking to secure a loan deal.

Paper Round’s view: Not beyond the realms of possibility and it adds a new transfer battle into the mix going into Friday’s deadline. Injuries have prevented Rodriguez from convincing Zidane he is a worthy, regular starter. Should he move on, any club would need to be convinced these injury problems won’t plague him persistently.

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AC Milan will offer Krzysztof Piatek to Chelsea if the Premier League club are able to sell Olivier Giroud to Inter Milan this month, the Daily Mail reports. Piatek is a Spurs target given Harry Kane’s lengthy injury absence, but London rivals Chelsea could swoop in if they are able to offload Giroud this week. AC Milan will demand £25m for the striker.

Paper Round’s view: So AC Milan will ease the blow of Chelsea losing a striker to Inter Milan by offering a striker of their own to Chelsea. Makes perfect sense… Poor old Spurs being cut out the loop, but you imagine talk of this messy merry-go-round will stretch until Friday as clubs seek guarantees before eventually selling themselves.

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Arteta will make his first signing this week in the shape of Flamengo defender Pablo Mari, with the Daily Mail reporting he will join on an initial loan with a view to making the deal permanent for £7.5m. Mari was part of the Flamengo team which won both the Brazilian league title and the Copa Libertadores.

Paper Round’s view:*Searches Mari best tackles on YouTube* - Let’s face it, few of us can claim to know much about Mari over in the UK and Europe, so the jury is out as to whether he will be their saviour or add to the list of problems they have at the back. They can’t get much worse, really.

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More Arsenal, and now more Everton, who have been linked with Inter midfielder Matias Vecino in the Mirror. The Uruguay international has reportedly given his blessing to the possibility of joining Everton, although with Manchester United also interested his future is up in the air after falling down in the pecking order at Inter.

Paper Round’s view: Is it even a transfer story these days if it doesn’t involve Inter or AC? That’s it. That’s the view.