Football news - Paper Round: Paris Saint-Germain target £68m Kroos to challenge for Champions League

Paris Saint-Germain are starting their plans for a summer overhaul. The Sun reports that PSG’s owner Nasser al-Khelaifi is determined to act after the woeful exit to Manchester United in the last round of the Champions League. The player they have in mind in the capital is Toni Kroos of Real Madrid. Kroos, 29, could be the subject of a £68 million bid and be offered a 50% uplift in his salary.

Paper Round’s view: Zinedine Zidane is reportedly keen on having the German international midfielder stay at the club, but an offer of £68m for a player coming to the end of his career could be too good to turn down. Zidane and Florentino Perez could be planning a transfer campaign of their own, and some extra funds could help them reshape the Real Madrid squad.

The Sun also reports that Manchester United could be interested in Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot. The 23-year-old French international has been frozen out at the club after intending to let his contract run down. He has recently changed his contract demands from £8 million a year to an annual salary of £13 million, putting off Barcelona. .Other clubs are in the queue, too, including Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Paper Round’s view: PSG have decided that Rabiot is more trouble that he is worth after trying to promote him as one of their own. There is no doubting his talent on the pitch, but any club that is willing to take him on is also welcoming the likelihood of more contract and familial drama whenever his career stumbles.

Earlier reports suggested that Antoine Griezmann wants a move to Barcelona, but the Manchester Evening News reports that a transfer to Manchester United could be more likely, though Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are potential destinations. The 27-year-old French international ultimately turned down the chance to move to Barcelona last summer.

Paper Round’s view: Griezmann’s constant vacillating over his future has derailed the transfer plans of both Manchester United and Barcelona over the last couple of seasons and he now seems to have stagnated at Atletico Madrid. As talented as he is, his transfer fee for what would likely only be two more seasons at the top mean any transfer is a risk.

Following the exit of Jadon Sancho, Manchester City have lost another youth prospect. The Daily Mail reports that teenage goalkeeper Curtis Anderson, 18, has joined USL Championship side Charlotte Independence to get first team football. The player had also interested Preston North End before choosing to make the switch to the United States.

Paper Round’s view: With relatively little news about his future until the transfer was decided, it seems that Anderson is not a prospect on a par with Sancho or Phil Foden. Nonetheless, it indicates a problem for many young English players, in that the best teams can't offer their youth prospects a speedy way into the Premier League.