Football news - Harry Kane and Jack Grealish fighting for Manchester City moves - Paper Round

The Telegraph reports that England striker Harry Kane is due to meet his Tottenham bosses this week to discuss his future. The 28-year-old forward is wanted by Pep Guardiola to join Aston Villa playmaker Jack Grealish as he attempts to finally win the Champions League without Lionel Messi. City may have to pay Spurs £160 million to land him and Kane will tell Spurs this week of his desire to leave.

Paper Round’s view: At 28 and with a few years left on his current contract, this is probably the last year that he will be able to get a top side to pay enough to Spurs to convince them to let him leave. If City can get Grealish as well then even if they lose Bernardo Silva at the same time, they will have the strongest squad in the Premier League by some distance.

While Kane fights for his move to Manchester City, Grealish is a touch more relaxed, according to the Sun. The 25-year-old playmaker is subject of a £100 million bid from City as they have already raised enough through sales to cover his purchase. He is now waiting for permission from Aston Villa to complete a transfer rather than take part in their pre-season preparations.

Paper Round’s view: Grealish and Kane might start to get a little anxious as August rolls on and the start of the new season approaches. With the coronavirus pandemic having altered the schedule of the summer and then another season, there is little time to complete all the necessary deals, and that will leave both Spurs and Villa potentially struggling to find replacements.

Atletico Madrid midfield Saul Niguez’s representatives are on their way to England for negotiations with Manchester United ahead of a potential move, according to the Mirror. The 26-year-old is valued by Atletico at £40 million, and United would first need to see Paul Pogba sold for around £50 million, probably to PSG, to fund any deal. They also have to fend off Liverpool to complete any deal.

Paper Round’s view: Pogba clearly wants to leave and he has never played consistently well enough to be worth keeping, certainly not at offered wages of £350,000 a week. Niguez has shown he has the talent under Diego Simeone and if he actually wants to be at United then it is difficult to see how he won’t be a massive upgrade on the 28-year-old France international.

Fulham are continuing their summer rebuild as Marco Silva looks to put together a squad that can challenge for promotion the season after they were relegated. They are close to pulling off a deal for Rodrigo Muniz, a £6.8 million signing from Flamengo. The 20-year-old forward may be joined by Matt Grimes, Swansea City’s 26-year-old captain, but the Mail reports his Covid infection has delayed the deal.

Paper Round’s view: Muniz has nine goals in 25 appearances this year which suggests that he may have found his goalscoring form early in his career. If he’s able to translate that to the Championship - and it may not be easy for a young Brazilian to do that right away - then he will be worth far more than the £6.8m fee, even with the 20% sell-on fee they are due to agree to.