Football news - Paper Round: Chelsea change terms to sign Higuain, FA confident Southgate won't go

We begin with a report from The Express, which says that Chelsea are changing their approach to bring Gonzalo Higuain to Stamford Bridge. Juventus, where Higuain is on loan at AC Milan from, have rejected the idea of Chelsea taking over the last six months of the existing loan deal. So instead Chelsea have now proposed that they take Higuain on an 18-month loan deal with various clauses that if met will trigger a permanent purchase in the summer of 2020.

Paper Round's view: This seems absolutely absurd from Chelsea. Higuain is a fine player and he could make a real difference to this Chelsea team but on these terms it makes no sense whatsoever. Signing Higuain permanently when he is 32, presumably on a long-term contract, seems extremely short-sighted. Not to mention a total breach of the club's policy to only offer over-30s one-year deals. Is there any rationale to Chelsea's transfer business at the moment?

We move to The Mail where it is reported that the FA are confident that England manager Gareth Southgate will not leave to take up a permanent role with Manchester United. Southgate recently emerged as a possible option for United should Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino be difficult to appoint but the report says that the FA are not worried about this. Southgate is contracted until 2022 and the FA have pointed to the performance of the young team at the World Cup last year and the potential of playing the vast majority of matches at Euro 2020 at Wembley.

Paper Round's view: If you were Gareth Southgate would you leave this job? He can do no wrong with England and has one of the most promising generations coming through. This England team really could achieve something special in the next 4-6 years and you would imagine that Southgate wants to be the man leading that charge. Plus on the other side Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is doing his chances of getting the United job long-term no harm at all.

The Guardian are one of a number of outlets to carry quotes from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who has said that his club will not pay £100 million for a holding midfielder, even one as 'excellent' as Ruben Neves, whose Wolves side face City on Monday night. Guardiola said his team still have to be responsible financially.

Paper Round's view: City may have seemingly limitless wealth but Guardiola is right in this instance. Neves is an extremely promising young player but £100m is absolutely absurd for someone who only has one Premier League season under his belt. It may seem obvious to say, but with the way money is splashed by club these days it also felt necessary to point out.

And we end with an exclusive from The Sun which says that Manchester United and Fulham are in a stand-off over Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who is on loan at Craven Cottage. Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri wants to send Fosu-Mensah back to United to free up a domestic loan signing spot so he can bring in Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill. However United would prefer Fosu-Mensah to stay at Fulham.

Paper Round's view: It seems odd that United wouldn't want to bring Fosu-Mensah back if he's not going to feature under Ranieri. Either they can send him out on loan to a different club where he will play or perhaps he could be of use to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the final months of the season. The defender staying at Fulham seems pointless for all involved.