Paper Round: Spurs name Eriksen price

The Sun reports that Daniel Levy has set a high asking price for their Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen. Speaking to the Danish press, the 27-year-old playmaker said he was ready to try something new, and he has been linked to both Real Madrid and Manchester United. Despite only having only a year left on his current deal, Levy will demand £80 million for the player.

Paper Round’s view: £80 million is oddly low for a first demand from Levy, who is an expert at making clubs pay his full valuations for players, so much so that it often prevents his managers from completing their own summer business. If Eriksen is available for that, then he would be a far superior alternative to Paul Pogba for either Real or United.

Daniel James has had to put his transfer to Manchester United on hold after the death of his father, but the Daily Mirror believes the deal is now ‘imiminent.’ The 21-year-old Welsh international will cost around £15 million, and the move has only come about after his proposed transfer to Leeds United collapsed in the winter transfer window.

Paper Round’s view: United have been struggling to get any transfer business done this summer, as Ed Woodward refuses to give up control on the activity he is least qualified for. It does seem that James is near to completing the deal, and that should allow the club to start moving on some of their underperforming forward line.

Manchester City are set to take UEFA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in order to halt their investigation for their actions. The Daily Mail claims that they are attempting to get the CAS to throw out the analysis of evidence that had appeared to indicate that they had misled footballing authorities over the true source of their income. They could face both a transfer ban and be excluded from the Champions League.

Paper Round’s view: The evidence in the emails, if accurate, is fairly damning. So is the attempt of City not just to provide alternative explanations, but instead to try to hobble any investigation. The nature of Financial Fair Play is not especially fair, but once the rules are broken then they should be met by severe punishments from UEFA, and such a punishment might see Pep Guardiola try his luck elsewhere.

Everton are in pole position to sign Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes. Tottenham Hotspur have dropped out of the race for the 25-year-old Portuguese player, and the Telegraph thinks that Everton could complete the move for less than 30 million euros. He had been thought to be interested in signing for a London club but now seems set to stay in the North.

Paper Round’s view: Gomes had one of his best seasons in the last few years, and perhaps it makes sense for both Everton and the player not to change his circumstances too much, for fear of throwing his career off course again. Everton, too, don’t need any more huge turnover in the squad and should tie down a player they can now rely upon.