Football news - Man Utd 'want Christian Eriksen', Paulo Dybala talks 'stalled over agent’s demands'

Manchester United are hoping to bring Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen to Old Trafford before deadline day on Thursday, the Daily Mail reports. The Dane is said to be top of United’s wishlist, and the club are hoping to strike a deal in time after Spurs emerged as favourites to sign Bruno Fernandes from Sporting. United must finalise their incomings by Thursday, although they have until September 2 for any potential outgoings to foreign clubs – namely Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba.

Paper Round’s view: With only a few days left in the transfer window, there is precious little time to negotiate, but Spurs would only begin such talks if they know they have Fernandes wrapped up. Expect to see this one rumble on all day Thursday.

Paulo Dybala’s move to Manchester United broke down due to an issue with the player’s image rights, the Daily Mail reports. Dybala’s agent was demanding a £15m fee in commission to negotiate the rights, which are owned by a third party, but United were not willing to pay that amount. As a result, Romelu Lukaku’s hopes of returning the other way were left in tatters, with the Belgian pictured training with Anderlecht as he looks for a move away from Old Trafford.

Paper Round’s view: Yesterday it was wage demands and Dybala’s lack of enthusiasm for playing at United, this time around it’s the fees for the agent. This move always seemed far-fetched, and now the reasons are stacking up.

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Everton believe £65m plus Cenk Tosun and James McCarthy equates to an offer of £100m for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, The Sun reports. Arsenal had been linked with the Ivory Coast international, but now it is Everton who are pushing hard to sign the 26-year-old before deadline day. Zaha is said to be valued at £120m by Palace, but reports suggest the player expects to be an Everton player once the Premier League gets under way this weekend.

Paper Round’s view: Unloading deadwood onto another team can sometimes be more disrespectful than it seems. Adding Tosun and McCarthy clearly does not equal another £35m, and it remains to be seen what Palace will think of this latest offer. If Everton are desperate, the Eagles may hold out for more.

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Laurent Koscielny remains adamant he wants to leave Arsenal after snubbing peace talks with the club, The Sun reports. The Arsenal captain refused to go on the club’s pre-season tour of USA, and rejected talks ahead of their Premier League opener against Newcastle on Saturday. Bordeaux and Rennes have been linked with the French 33-year-old.

Paper Round’s view: He has all-but burnt his bridges at Arsenal. Let him go, for the right price, and lead the club forward with a captain who actually wants to play for you.