Paper Round: Manchester City offer Andres Iniesta player-coach deal

Manchester City are late contenders for the signature of Andres Iniesta. The Spain international has drawn his Nou Camp career to a close, and had previously said he would not play in Europe so as to avoid taking on Barcelona. However, City are offering him a deal to become a player-coach in order to replace the departing Mikel Arteta, who is believed to be on the verge of taking over as the new Arsenal boss.

Paper Round's view: Iniesta has said that he does not wish to face Barcelona, and that request could be easily accommodated. The most that City could play Barcelona would be three times in a season in competitive football - once in the Champions League final and twice in the group stages. As such City could easily drop him for those matches and make sure another of their many squad members takes over the role. He seems an ideal candidate to help City's younger players, and give Guardiola assistance.

Former Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini has emerged as the latest favourite for the West Ham job. Rafael Benitez was considered the most likely towards the end of the week after David Moyes stepped away from the club. Paulo Fonesca had also held talks about a move to London, but has signed a new deal at Shakhtar Donetsk. Pellegrini, currently at Hebei Fortune, would be much easier to extricate from his current job than Benitez, where he has a £6m release clause at Newcastle United.

Paper Round's view: West Ham are doing a careful job of interviewing candidates and identifying the best man for the job. Of the two currently of consideration, Benitez can point to his success at the top and the bottom of the Premier League, as well as the ability to work on a budget. For Pellegrini, he did well enough at Manchester City and Real Madrid, but has hardly convinced in the last few years that he has what it takes to deliver success at the London Stadium.

Joe Hart is a Manchester City player again after West Ham chose not to pursue a permanent deal for the - perhaps former - England international goalkeeper. However, he will be given the chance to stay in the Premier League, with two offers to consider. Wolves are interested in the 31-year-old as they prepare for life after promotion, and Southampton are eyeing him up as a replacement for Fraser Forster. Alex McCarthy may also leave.

Paper Round's view: Hart is a reliable enough goalkeeper in the Premier League. He has his weaknesses, and it is understandable that Pep Guardiola and Gareth Southgate are looking elsewhere. However, he is unlikely to command much of a transfer fee, so perhaps only his wage demands would be a sticking point. Southampton have the benefit of offering the chance to work again with Mark Hughes, while Wolves are clearly a team on the up.

Jonny Evans is attracting interest from Leicester City, and is available for just £3m in transfer fees after West Brom were relegated. However, things aren't quite so simple, as Evans' agent, Colin Murdock, is requesting £4m in order to complete the deal. Leicester are concerned about paying a fee to an agent that is even larger than the transfer amount itself.

Paper Round's view: It is remarkable that an agent should be asking for such a cut. The agent and player should be concerned that he does not price himself out of a move before next season starts again, and clubs find alternatives.