Matteo Guendouzi 'taunted Brighton over wage disparity' with Arsenal – Paper Round

Matteo Guendouzi escaped an FA charge despite being seen to grab Neal Maupay’s throat during Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at Brighton on Saturday, and the Daily Mail have since brought to light reports of the Arsenal midfielder's alleged conduct during the match, with a source telling the newspaper he was taunting Brighton about the disparity of pay between the two clubs. Guendouzi is said to earn £40,000-a-week, but Mesut Ozil is the top earner at £350,000-a-week. Brighton, meanwhile, reportedly top around £50,000-a-week.

Paper Round’s view: Given Maupay suggested a certain Arsenal player needed to learn some humility, this alleged revelation fits in with the story. True or not, Guendouzi was walking a tightrope on Saturday and the defeat only added to the feeling that such an attitude can not be carried when there is little quality to back it up.

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Barcelona want to sell Philippe Coutinho by the end of June and would be willing to sell him for half the price they bought him more, the Mirror reports. Coutinho moved from Liverpool to Barca in January 2018 for a reported £142m, and now the Catalan club will listen to offers of 70 million euros – just over £63m.

Paper Round’s view: From Liverpool to Barca to Bayern Munich in two years, but no one seems willing to sign the Brazilian long-term. So much so that Newcastle – still awaiting a potential takeover to get over the line – are among the favourites to sign him. You would imagine a Champions League side somewhere would fancy Coutinho, would he really go full circle and return to Liverpool?

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Premier League clubs are set to discuss the transfer window timetable on Tuesday and the Daily Mail reports the league could defy UEFA in keeping it open beyond the proposed October 5 closing date. UEFA have recommended the date to member associations to fall in line with Champions League and Europa League squad confirmations required the following day, but one of the Premier League’s four options sees a October 19 deadline day.

The four options, per Daily Mail:

Paper Round’s view: Opening the window before the season finishes feels problematic, although there is already the awkwardness of players leaving who have not extended their contracts. Likewise, it does not feel likely an extra fortnight for domestic transfers would be implemented. Therefore, you have a 10-week vs 12-week option left… Would it make sense for clubs playing in Europe to plump for a window that goes beyond the UEFA deadline? Arguably not, see we’ll go for option No 2 please. Cue that being the first to be ruled out…

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Another day, another Jadon Sancho story as Manchester United look to drive Borussia Dortmund down from their £100m asking price for the forward, the Daily Mail reports. Sancho is also attracting interest from Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester City, but United remain favourites to sign the England international.

Paper Round’s view: It seems unlikely Dortmund would accept below £100m, and in the current climate that means they could hold onto him for another season. That being said, United may eventually cave and deem it a worthwhile investment given Sancho is still only 20.