Football news - David Beckham 'aims to sign Kylian Mbappe'

David Beckham wants to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe, but not for his Inter Miami side. Instead he wants to recruit the player to Footwork Management, his new player agency. He has had several meetings with the 20-year-old French international, and has contacts at PSG from his short stint there as a player, according to the Daily Mail.

Paper Round’s view: Following on from Jay-Z and Drake, it seems that player management is now being taken over by ex-players and others with cultural importance to existing players, rather than those traditional figures in football agency. Beckham can demonstrate to any player who to work hard and also be a prominent name off the pitch, too.

Spanish newspaper Marca reports that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen wants to leave the club. The paper reports that Daniel Levy has accepted he will not tie the 27-year-old Danish international down to a new contract, so has contacted Real Madrid with a view to selling him for between 20 and 25 million euros in January.

Paper Round’s view: Such a low fee is a bargain where Real Madrid are concerned, and it would give them an extra six months to bed Eriksen in and make sure that he starts the season settled. While it would cost them a little bit of cash, it would also mean they weren’t at risk of being usurped by other clubs in the free contract market.

Despite reports in the media elsewhere, the Sun reports that Paul Pogba is fit enough to start the game against Liverpool when the Premier League returns from the international break. However, United’s medical team are confident he will be back for the crucial game as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faces growing pressure.

Paper Round’s view: Pogba has been desperately underwhelming in his time at United so far but with Scott McTominay, Fred and Nemanja Matic the other midfield options perhaps it is fair to say he is still able to offer more than most of them. As well as that, if he chooses to, he is one of the few players in the United squad able to win a match by himself, something the club desperately needs.

A Russian agent has claimed that he offered Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette to Zenit St Petersburg in the summer transfer window. The Mirror reports that Dimitri Cheltsov offered the 28-year-old French international for £45 million, and that he has a release clause of £61 million. Instead, Zenit elected to sign Malcom from Spanish side Barcelona.

Paper Round’s view: You have to take agent stories with a pinch of salt, as it is never clear what the intention of an agent is in the pursuit of their own interests. But if it is true, it would demonstrate the limits of Unai Emery’s budget and how he has to consider any reasonable offer in order to rebuild his squad.