Lionel Messi 'likely' to leave Barcelona in summer, Manchester City on red alert – Paper Round

Lionel Messi has edged closer to a summer exit from Barcelona after presidential candidate Agusti Benedito admitted that the superstar is "most likely" to leave the Catalan club when his contract comes to an end. The 33-year-old's deal is set to expire at the end of the season and he is already free to talk with foreign clubs. The Telegraph reveal that Manchester City are growing in confidence in their pursuit of Messi and believe they would be "at the front of the queue" to secure the Argentine's signature, should he decide to leave Barcelona. Newly-appointed Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino has also refused to rule out the possibility of signing his compatriot.

Paper Round's view: The Lionel Messi transfer saga will continue to dominant the news cycle until he either signs a new contract with Barcelona... or announces his next club. One presidential candidate may believe the six-time Ballon d'Or winner is likely to leave, but another candidate could say the opposite. Obviously Barcelona are struggling with their finances following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but if Messi really wants to stay, he will probably have to take a pay cut. What will he decide to do? It's down to him.

Mesut Ozil's future at Arsenal looks to be coming to an end... but the north London departures are unlikely to end with the World Cup winner. Sead Kolasinac and William Saliba have already left the Emirates on loan this month and Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is set to continue to clear out the deadwood in his squad, with the Independent reporting up to eight players could depart in the winter transfer window. Shkodran Mustafi, Mohamed Elneny, Calum Chambers, Folarin Balogun and Sokratis Papastathopoulos could all leave in January as Arteta looks to cut the wage bill in order to bring in some new faces. Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson could also depart on loan, or be used as a "makeweight" in part of a potential transfer for Norwich's Emi Buendia.

Paper Round's view: It's no secret that Arteta is desperate to completely change the personnel in his squad. The Spaniard has a difficult job of rebuilding the roster at Arsenal and the lack of finances means that the club needs to be proactive when selling in the transfer market. There's a lot of deadwood in the Gunners' squad and the fact that they really wouldn't miss any of the players name-checked by the Independent report says a lot. Balogun looks like a bright prospect but there are doubts on whether he will sign a new contract, while Willock and Nelson could do with time away on loan. Once a few of these players leave, Arteta can properly begin his much-needed rebuild.

Son Heung-min is set to be rewarded with a new contract at Tottenham Hotspur following his fine form in the 2020-21 season. The Telegraph reveal that the South Korean international will sign a deal worth £200,000 per week, which would extend his stay in north London beyond his current contract, which expires in 2023. Negotiations between the club and player were initially slowed down due to Son's change in representation, but Spurs are now confident that the forward will sign the contract extension.

Paper Round's view: It's a no-brainer. Son deserves to be one of the highest-paid players at the club - so Tottenham are doing the right thing. They're keeping one of their star players happy and, by signing Son to a new contract, Spurs are basically telling clubs that he's not for sale. The 28-year-old has proven himself as one of the best players in the Premier League this campaign and it's a surprise that there aren't clubs queuing in north London for him. His pace, work rate and finishing has proved vital to Jose Mourinho's style of play and by keeping Son and Kane happy, Tottenham have a real chance of winning their first piece of silverware since 2008.

England Women coach Phil Neville has reportedly been approached over the management position at Inter Miami. The MLS side are co-owned by the 43-year-old's former Manchester United and Three Lions teammate David Beckham and the Guardian reveal that preliminary discussions have already taken place between Neville and the American club. Neville is set to leave his role with the Lionesses in July upon the expiration of his contract and current Inter Miami coach, Diego Alonso, could be replaced. The report states that an agreement with Inter Miami would leave Neville's dream to manage Great Britain at the Olympic Games in doubt.

Paper Round's view: It's pretty clear what Neville needs to do. He needs to decide whether he wants to manage Great Britain at the Olympic Games this year in Japan, or become the new boss at Inter Miami. Obviously it's just initial discussions with the MLS club, but the former Manchester United and Everton star has to make up his mind . It's tough because both opportunities could come around again. His connections at the FA and with former teammate Beckham should be enough to allow him to revisit either role in the future.