Harry Maguire 'angry over Leicester City asking price'

The Sun reports that Harry Maguire has told his teammates that he is angry that Leicester City are pricing him out of a move away. Both Manchester City and Manchester United have bid £70 million for the player, but Leicester want £85 million. United are expected to bid again before the end of the transfer window, and the 26-year-old England international thinks his current club have broken a gentleman’s agreement to let him go for a fair price.

Paper Round’s view: If there was a gentleman’s agreement between Leicester and Maguire, then this goes to show that they are not necessarily worth anything in football, and can be so vague as to be the root of problems rather than a solution. £70 million seems a fair valuation, but Leicester’s perception could be based on the fact there is no financial compulsion for them to sell.

Manchester United might be struggling to prise Maguire away from Leicester, but they are standing firm on their own wantaway players. The Mirror report that United will not budge on the £150 million asking price for Paul Pogba and the roughly £85 million for Romelu Lukaku. The paper also claims that United won’t sell Pogba for any price if a bid comes in from Real Madrid past the Premier League August 8 deadline.

Paper Round’s view: Real Madrid have a history of leaving their dealing with United too late - and it was that error that cost them the signature of David de Gea a few years ago. Real have signed several players but now have to sell some of their squad to raise additional funds - they have three weeks to do it if they are to make a move in time.

The Mail believes that Arsenal are making their move for Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney. They have made a second, improved bid for the 22-year-old defender, worth £25 million, which put them ahead of Italian side Napoli. They need to sell Mario Rui if they are to finance a move for the Scotland international, who is currently out injured.

Paper Round’s view: Tierney reportedly feels ready for a bigger challenge, and he is in danger of treading water at Celtic if he stays for much longer. However, with Laurent Koscielny’s recent refusal to play for the side, he is going to join a side that could be approaching a crisis under Unai Emery.

Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho is to turn down a possible move to Manchester United, according to the Express. He still feels loyalty to his former club Liverpool, and would be open to a return to Merseyside rather than their historic rivals. More likely, though, is that the 27-year-old Brazilian international would be a makeweight in any deal between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar.

Paper Round’s view: It does seem that Barcelona have decided to cut their losses with Coutinho after he has failed to properly adjust to life in Spain. Neymar’s actions are driving down their worth and PSG would do well to be rid of him, and would probably get a harder working player if they were to bring in Coutinho to the Parc des Princes.