Paper Round: Chelsea set to pip Manchester City to Jorginho signing

Chelsea may have pulled off the coup of the summer by beating Manchester City to the signature of Napoli midfielder, Jorginho. With City prepared to pay just £48.6m for the player, spread over installments, Chelsea have offered £51.25m as an up-front payment, with another £6.18 in add-on fees. However, that sum also includes signing Maurizio Sarri as manager. The 26-year-old Italy international should earn £102,000 a week for turning down City.

Paper Round’s view: If City miss out on Jorginho then they only have themselves to blame. The number of talented midfielders available at a relatively low price is so small that they were never going to have a clear run at Jorginho. The deal has been on the cusp of completion for what seems like months now, and they will need to act fast if they are to rescue the deal. For Chelsea, it strengthens a key area of the pitch.

Nabil Fekir has been in discussions with Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas in order to convince him to resurrect transfer discussions with Liverpool. The 24-year-old French international saw talks between the two sides fall apart over the transfer fee and concerns over Fekir’s medical results. However, Fekir has convinced Auas to be open to new talks, perhaps by restructuring a deal.

Paper Round’s view: Having qualified for the Champions League, Lyon do not need to accept the first deal that is put to them by Liverpool, and they can hold out for an offer that is too good to refuse. Having said that, £52m is a huge sum for the French side and would allow them to bring in several players with what might be a draining season ahead of them. Liverpool might no longer be interested if they manage to sign Xherdan Shaqiri though.

Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure may miss out on a move to Premier League side West Ham. The London club held talks with the 35-year-old player but were concerned by the astonishing attack he launched on his previous coach, Pep Guardiola. Toure is asking for £100,000 a week, despite previous claims from his agent he would accept £12 for the year in order to prove his worth.

Paper Round’s view: Nobody would have expected to sign Toure for such an absurdly low fee, but £100,000 a week is a risk for a player who is out of practice when it comes to regularly playing in the Premier League. Having signed Jack Wilshere, West Ham might not think it wise to spend so much on wages to bring in another midfielder with fitness worries of his own, and they might be scared of the hassle of dealing with each of Toure’s problems in public, as City had to.

Everton hope to sign Colombian international Yerry Mina. The 23-year-old central defender currently plays for Barcelona, having joined in January from Palmeiras, but has made just six appearances so far. That gives new Everton boss Marco Silva that there is a deal to be done, with a fee of £21m mentioned.

Paper Round’s view: Everton need to bring in some new, younger players after finding themselves with a squad that leans towards the wrong end of 30. Ademola Lookman is not necessarily happy to stay in England after a successful spell in Germany, so Mina would offer the chance to bring down the average age a touch. He should more talent and sophistication than some of his dirtier colleagues at the World Cup, but would not be physically overawed by the English game.