Jadon Sancho move to Manchester United close to collapse - Paper Round

The Athletic - and every other media organisation in Britain, it seems - is reporting that the proposed move for Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United is in the balance. The 20-year-old England international has not yet agreed terms with his potential new club, and Dortmund are asking for the full 120 million euros in a single payment.

Paper Round’s view: Given every single newspaper has this story, all at the same time, it’s a reasonable assumption that they have been briefed by United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. This is a transparent attempt at playing hardball, and unfortunately with this kind of briefing there is no way to tell if there is truth in it or not. Woodward may simply be trying to up the pressure to exact concessions on the fee.

Chelsea winger Willian is prepared to take less money from Arsenal compared to a big-money offer from Major League Soccer (MLS). The 31-year-old Brazilian international has a generous offer from David Beckham’s Inter Miami but he is willing to sign with Arsenal - who will also give him a three-year deal - in order to keep his family in London, the Mirror says.

Paper Round’s view: Willian was clearly distressed by the impact that coronavirus had on his personal life so it is no surprise that he would prefer to stay in England if he is able. Given the United States’ handling of the Covid-19 outbreak it also makes sense that he would not be willing to go across the pond and risk his safety.

Manchester City are reportedly close to a deal for Bournemouth City defender Nathan Ake. Chelsea are not keen on bringing the 25-year-old Dutch international back to Stamford Bridge and Pep Guardiola will agree a £41 million transfer to follow the confirmed deal for Ferran Torres from Valencia, according to the Telegraph.

Paper Round’s view: Manchester City’s central defenders have struggled this season, especially after seeing Vincent Kompany leave to become player-manager at Anderlecht. John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi could both leave too, meaning that City may even want to add two central defenders in this transfer window.

Spanish newspaper Marca reports on a story that suggests that Cristiano Ronaldo is entertaining the idea of a move to Paris-Saint Germain. The 35-year-old Portuguese international was ready to move on from Juventus before coronavirus struck, but the French club are not necessarily keen on adding the player to a front line of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

Paper Round’s view: Neymar, Mbappe and Ronaldo would probably rival Liverpool’s front three to claim to be the best in the world, but Financial Fair Play implications should surely put paid to that. However, when or if either of their two current forwards move to either Real Madrid or Barcelona, as has been rumoured, then Ronaldo would surely rack up the goals in France.