Football news - Pep Guardiola plans new role for £100m Jack Grealish ahead of Bernardo Silva exit - Paper Round

The Sun reports on how Pep Guardiola wants to move Jack Grealish into a slightly new position should he arrive from Aston Villa this summer. The 25-year-old England international has been used mainly on the wings over the course of his career, but the Catalan wants to revolutionise football once again to move him into the No. 8 position as Bernardo Silva looks to depart.

Paper Round’s view: Silva has been an excellent player for Manchester City, but he does seem to want a new challenge that is not in England, which is fair enough. Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan been brilliant in the middle for City, but both are vulnerable to injury, so it would make sense to bring in another attacking player who can operate in that position, and few managers can adapt and improve their players better than Guardiola.

The Mirror reports that Arsenal look set to miss out on Manuel Locatelli. The 23-year-old Italy international has been the subject of a bid from Juventus and talks will go ahead, with Sassuolo CEO Giovanni Carnevali saying: “Tomorrow we’ll have a direct contact with Juventus for Locatelli. He wants to join Juve. We’d be happy to sell Manuel (Locatelli) to Juve... but they need to pay the right fee. Arsenal made a bid to sign him and also a new English club is now in the race”.

Paper Round’s view: It appears that Arsenal have little chance here. Locatelli showed his talents this summer and has long been a target for big clubs, so Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal would have had to move swiftly and decisively to get in ahead of them, but that appears to have fallen through.

Chelsea’s 26-year-old defender Kurt Zouma is wanted by West Ham. David Moyes has just secured Alphonse Areola on a loan-to-buy deal from Paris Saint-Germain and now wants another Frenchman to strengthen his defence. A £25 million offer could be enough to get Chelsea to sell, as they prepare an offer of their own for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.

Paper Round’s view: Zouma’s serious injury appears to have derailed his career a little and also hampered his potential, so Chelsea seem happy to keep him around as back-up to their first choice pairing or to sell him to raise funds. He is, though, a consistent performer, and for West Ham that could help them to continue to push on at the top end of the table and challenge the top four.

Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez was the subject of an enquiry by Premier League side Arsenal, according to a report in the Daily Mail. The paper claims that Arsenal are looking for a striker and the 23-year-old Argentine was one of their targets. However, the £77m-rated player is not keen, and would only leave this summer if it were to join Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid.

Paper Round’s view: With the impact of the coronavirus on the finances on football clubs, and Spanish clubs in particular, there seems little chance that Martinez will be on the move. If he had to move now then he could probably secure a wage increase by a transfer to almost any Premier League side, but staying put at Inter Milan would keep him playing with superior players.