Arsenal prepared to pay off Mesut Ozil's £18m contract to accelerate exit - Paper Round

Arsenal are assessing their options as they attempt to accelerate the exit of Mesut Ozil from the Emirates Stadium. According to the Mirror, the Gunners are prepared to explore the possibility of paying off the German playmaker's £18 million contract or subsidise his wages in order to move him on. Ozil currently has one year remaining on his £350,000-per-week contract, but Arsenal need to free up some of their wages if they wish to successfully rebuild in the summer transfer market. The Mirror state that there are "no obvious takers" for the 31-year-old, who fell out of favour under Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta following the Premier League's resumption in June.

Paper Round's view: It's a nightmare situation for the Gunners. Ozil doesn't seem to have a future in north London, but why would he just walk away from a £350,000-per-week contract? There's no use in having a player earning that much money and sitting on the bench or - in Ozil's case - not even making the matchday squad. If Arsenal can come to an agreement with the World Cup winner and move him on by paying a percentage of his wages for the final year of his contract, it would probably be the best option. The Premier League side are desperate to increase their transfer funds this summer and that might be the most efficient way of getting rid of their highest-paid player.

Liverpool are closing in on Olympiacos left-back Konstantinos Tsimikas as they look to sign a back-up to Andy Robertson. The Premier League champions saw their £10 million bid for Norwich's Jamal Lewis rejected last week and weren't willing to meeting the Canaries' asking price, which was reported to be close to £20 million. The Independent reveal that Tsimikas will complete his move to Merseyside for £11.75 million and will fly in for a medical early this week. The 24-year-old was part of a four-man shortlist that the Reds complied as they looked to address their lack of cover for Robertson.

Paper Round's view: It's pretty efficient from Liverpool. Their number one target for the role was Lewis - but the club refused to pay over the odds for a player that would realistically only be a back-up. A few days on from hearing Norwich's demands, Liverpool's recruitment team seem to have already agreed a deal to sign their second choice. Full-backs play such an important role in Jurgen Klopp's playing style, so it was always going to be an area that needed to be addressed this summer. There would've been panic if Robertson suffered a long-term injury but now thanks to the inbound Tsimikas, there will be sufficient cover at the club for the upcoming season.

Tottenham are ready to make an audacious attempt to lure Ainsley Maitland-Niles across north London from their fierce rivals Arsenal, according to the Sun. The Gunners are in desperate need of transfer funds this summer and their manager Mikel Arteta is reportedly willing to sacrifice the 22-year-old, who is valued at around £30 million by his club. Arsenal have offered the versatile star to fellow Premier League clubs and an array of London teams - including Tottenham - have already confirmed their interest in signing him. Other clubs who are keen on the prospect of signing Maitland-Niles include Crystal Palace, Fulham and West Ham, who all believe they could sign him for closer to £20 million.

Paper Round's view: Arsenal fans won't be happy with this. Maitland-Niles is a solid squad player who has graduated from the academy and been at the club for the majority of his life. The asking price, £30 million, is a huge fee but it's very unlikely the Gunners will end up receiving a fee close to that. Obviously Arsenal must just be desperate for cash, but there are other players in the squad that could be sacrificed. Matteo Guendouzi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are all players who simply don't have a future at the club. However, if Maitland-Niles does leave - surely Arsenal would prefer to sell him to any other club in the world than Tottenham.

Mauricio Pochettino is set to return to management nine months after being sacked by Tottenham, according to the Star. The former Spurs and Southampton boss was being tracked by Juventus after the Old Lady parted ways with Maurizio Sarri following their Champions League defeat at the hands of Lyon. However, Pochettino's £8 million-a-year wage demands meant the Italian champions decided to go with former player Andrea Pirlo instead. Now fellow Serie A giants AS Roma are ready to replace Paulo Fonseca with the Argentine, following the club's £532m takeover last week.

Paper Round's view: Pochettino has gone from being linked to the likes of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus to now closing in on taking the reigns at Roma. No disrespect to Roma - they are a huge club - but they're not competing at the same level as the previously mentioned teams. Last week's takeover could change that. If they manage to convince Pochettino to take charge and he is allowed to rebuild like he did at Tottenham, they could challenge for the Scudetto. The 48-year-old took Spurs to the Champions League final on a limited budget, so who knows what he could do at Roma?