Paper Round: Tottenham Hotspur ready to sell Danny Rose to Manchester United for £45m

Tottenham Hotspur are prepared to sell Danny Rose, but only if a club meets their £45m asking price. Mauricio Pochettino is happy to sell any players who are not committed to the club, and will use Ben Davies as his replacement, though they are looking at other options at left-back. Rose criticised Spurs in the summer, and while he is prepared to stay next year, Manchester United, Manchester City and Everton are all interested.

Paper Round's view: Manchester United are the obvious destination for Rose, as it allows him a return to the north of England and he is almost guaranteed a first team spot. Manchester City may be in the ascendancy, but there is more competition for places there, especially when Benjamin Mendy returns from injury. United also have the option to offer Luke Shaw as a makeweight to solve a problem for both United and Spurs.

Real Madrid are keen to sell Gareth Bale in order to raise funds for transfers for both Neymar and Kevin De Bruyne in the summer, but they will have to lower their asking price if they are to sell him to Manchester United. The Premier League side have been interested in Bale since he emerged at Southampton, but after yet another injury in Spain, and because he will turn 29 next summer, United want to offer around half the £100m that has been previously mentioned.

Paper Round's view: If true, this would represent a shift in transfer policy at United by Ed Woodward. His penny pinching has cost plenty of players at reasonable values, such as Pedro when he was at Barcelona, and his profligacy has meant that lots of players he did manage to sign are on astronomically high wages. If he can secure Bale for a relatively low sum of £50m, then it allows Mourinho to strengthen further in the summer.

Chelsea would prefer to let Thibaut Courtois run down his contract and leave for nothing rather than let him join Real Madrid in the summer. Courtois has a contract that runs until 2019, and if Chelsea cannot extend his deal further then they would rather allow him to leave on a free contract than sell him. Real are interested in David de Gea too, but his contract could run to 2020, assuming he does not sign another.

Paper Round's view: Real Madrid have emerged as favourites to sign the impressive young goalkeeper at Athletic Club, Kepa, and with Keylor Navas still performing well, they seem prepared to compromise on their goalkeeping position and focus further ahead on the pitch. Neymar, De Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe and others have all been mentioned as more important prospects.

Liverpool could sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund in January. The Gabonese striker has scored 17 goals in 19 games this season, but after a series of clashes with the club, he is expected to leave as soon as the transfer window opens. Aubameyang was a target for ex-Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp, and with Daniel Sturridge wanting first team football ahead of the World Cup, he has been linked with a move to AC Milan.

Paper Round's view: Aubameyang would be a huge upgrade on Sturridge, though is not clear how Liverpool would be able to afford him unless Borussia Dortmund are so keen to get rid of him that they are prepared to offload him for a reduced price. Sturridge's move to AC Milan to get more minutes makes more sense, but it is hard to believe that any run of form will be enough to dislodge Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford ahead of him.