Manchester United make £12m bid for Alex Telles - Paper Round

The Guardian reports that Manchester United have made a bid for Porto defender Alex Telles. The 27-year-old Brazilian left-back is in the last year of his contract in Portugal and United note they can sign him on a pre-contract for nothing in January. They have offered £12 million, below Porto’s asking price of £18 million. They are yet to make an offer for Jadon Sancho.

Paper Round’s view: United are dawdling over transfers yet again and the cynic would suggest that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will need to lose his next game in order to put the pressure on Ed Woodward to spend. Luke Shaw is out of his depth at the club and signing a defender who can actually attack while being reliable at the back would be a huge improvement.

Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce could make a surprising signing this transfer window, reports the Sun. The club have taken Florent Indalecio on trial after the 23-year-old midfielder left St Etienne on a free contract. The player has attracted interest from League One but may have his time in the North East extended after impressing in the early stages of his trial.

Paper Round’s view: Newcastle have made some adroit signings this transfer window already. Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser have arrived from Bournemouth for a small total fee, and Jeff Hendrick from Burnley is, like Fraser, another free transfer. They probably have enough to stay up for another year and owner Mike Ashley is clearly unwilling to invest for the long term, so a bargain like Indalecio will obviously appeal.

The Mirror notes that Mesut Ozil trained while wearing the number 9 shirt, as opposed to his traditional 10. The player has been linked with a move away though he is reluctant to leave North London, but the squad number change has been met with speculation that the club are making room for the arrival of a new playmaker, Lyon’s Houssem Aouar, who is wanted by Mikel Arteta.

Paper Round’s view: Transfer theories have been built on less, but there is unlikely to be too much in something like that until the transfer is confirmed by Arsenal - if it ever is. However Aouar does seem to be moving towards a move to Arsenal if they can come up with enough cash to convince Lyon to sell.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is ready to send midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek out on loan, reports the Telegraph. The manager said: “There’s a possibility that Ruben may go out to play games, because I think that would be great for him. We hold him in very high regard here, I certainly do, and that could be a good option for him.” Marcos Alonso and Jorginho could also leave.

Paper Round’s view: Marcos Alonso’s time at Chelsea is almost certainly up given the arrival of Ben Chilwell from Leicester City as a new left-back, and Jorginho is now attracting interest from Arsenal. Loftus-Cheek is just 24 though and shows plenty of promise, so a year away getting regular football might be enough to transform him into a player who can be relied upon.