Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and AC Milan eye Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang loan from Arsenal - Paper Round

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is considering whether to leave Arsenal in January after he was stripped of the club captaincy role last week. Football.London reveal that the Gunners are "open to offers" for their former captain, who has been exiled by manager Mikel Arteta, but Arsenal are very keen to "avoid a repeat" of the disastrous Mesut Ozil situation from last season. Aubameyang is wanted by a handful of European giants, who could be interested in exploring a loan move. Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and AC Milan are all keeping the 32-year-old on their radar ahead of the winter transfer window.

Paper Round's view: Arsenal cannot let Aubameyang go down the same route as Ozil did last season. Arteta withdrew Ozil from their Premier League squad but the German remained in first-team training the entire time, before the Gunners finally agreed to let him join Fenerbahce on an initial loan, where they paid the majority of his salary. Aubameyang has not reached that level yet but Arteta has publicly played his cards. The difference between Aubameyang and Ozil is that the Gabon forward is clearly not finished at the top level yet. He would perform at any of the clubs that are interested in him if he were to leave north London in January.

Manchester United have returned to their long-term target Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, after reports stated that his future at Lazio is "uncertain". The Serbian midfielder is reportedly looking for a new challenge next summer and his agent Mateja Kezman confirmed this in a statement last month: "soon the time will come for him to live a new adventure and new dreams". Manchester United are anticipating that World Cup winner Paul Pogba will depart Old Trafford upon the expiration of his contract at the end of this season and Milinkovic-Savic is seen as an ideal replacement.

Paper Round's view: It's a nightmare that Manchester United are letting Pogba leave the club for free... again. The Frenchman left in 2012 for free to join Juventus, then returned four years later for a then-world record transfer fee and now the club are in the same mess again. Pogba's time back in the Premier League has not been a huge success, but you cannot blame him for wanting to leave as he is constantly seen as a scapegoat in England. Milinkovic-Savic would be a solid replacement, but United could use another midfielder with a more defensive mindset ahead of next season.

Former Manchester United wonderkid Adnan Januzaj is the centre of a transfer tussle between West Ham United and Barcelona. The pair are both keen on signing the 26-year-old when his contract expires at Real Sociedad next summer. West Ham have taken an early lead in the race as it is reported that Januzaj has "unfinished business" in the Premier League after his failure to make it at Manchester United. However, Barcelona boss Xavi believes the Real Sociedad star would "integrate well" into his squad and playing style.

Paper Round's view: It's absurd to see that West Ham may hold an advantage in a transfer battle with Barcelona. Obviously Barca have fallen a fair bit over the past 18 months or so, but they are still Barcelona. Their financial situations seems to be dictating their transfer policy at the moment as they are constantly linked with any players available on a free transfer. Could Januzaj actually turn down Barca for West Ham? He would get paid more, would probably get more minutes and could prove his haters wrong in the Premier League. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah could still be on his way out of north London despite his impressive hat-trick against Sunderland in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. The 22-year-old has rejected a contract extension with the Gunners and his current deal is set to expire at the end of the current campaign. Nketiah is desperate for more first-team football and will be able to open negotiations with foreign clubs from January. The Mail reveal that the young forward has attracted interest from clubs in Germany and France, while West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Brighton are all keeping a close eye on his situation too.

Paper Round's view: It must be a frustrating situation for Nketiah at Arsenal. He scores goals when he gets starts... but those starts only seem to come in the domestic cup competitions. His problems became tougher this season as Arsenal failed to qualify for any European competition, which has severely limited his minutes on the pitch. Furthermore, club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is out in the cold and Nketiah still can't buy a start in the league. Mikel Arteta prefers to start Alexandre Lacazette, whose contract is expiring next summer too. You can't blame Nketiah for wanting to leave in search of first-team football.