Paper Round: Real Madrid offer £100m and Gareth Bale for Eden Hazard

Real Madrid are planning a move for Eden Hazard in the summer. The 27-year-old has long been linked with a transfer to Real, but now the Spanish club are planning to dislodge him from Stamford Bridge with a player-plus-cash deal. Chelsea will be offered £100m and Welsh winger Gareth Bale, 28, as Florentino Perez looks to swap one potential Galactico for another who is probably coming to the end of his best years.

Paper Round’s view: Real Madrid would do brilliantly well to pull this deal off. Bale is unreliable even in Spain, so it is hard to see why Chelsea would want to introduce him to the physicality of the Premier League after so much time away. While Bale would probably still be brilliant when at full fitness, it doesn’t seem worth the risk for Chelsea. If they are to lose Hazard, there are better players at Real to ask for.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is looking for another midfielder to bring in over the summer. He has turned his attention to another Borussia Dortmund player, the 22-year-old Julian Weigl. City have had scouts to watch the German international at his last few games for Dortmund, and there is speculation that an offer of £40m will be sufficient to complete a deal.

Paper Round’s view: £40m for a midfielder of Weigl’s talent and age seems an excellent deal for City. Guardiola’s track record of spotting talented midfielders, and his ability to vastly improve them, means that this could prove to be a bargain in the long run. With Fernandinho due to be phased out over the next season, bringing such a young player in with time to adjust would be a smart move.

Jose Mourinho has received a boost for his porous defence as goalkeeper David de Gea has said that he is ‘happy’ at Manchester United. He has long been linked with a move to Real Madrid and almost joined them two years ago. Since then, he has seemed content at Old Trafford despite constant rumours about interest from Spain. The 27-year-old goalkeeper says he is pleased with life at the club.

Paper Round’s view: There was never any suggestion that De Gea wanted to leave United because he was unhappy with the city or the club, but because he wanted to live in Madrid with his girlfriend. While this is positive news for United, it will only be put to the test should Real come back in the summer with a serious offer. United will have to make some serious improvements if they are to convince De Gea to remain in Manchester for the next few seasons.