Manchester United ready to return with Jadon Sancho bid - Paper Round

Manchester United are ready to revive their pursuit of Jadon Sancho by tabling an official bid for the 20-year-old winger. According to the Mail, the Red Devils are planning to "finalise agent salary and fees" before submitting their bid to Borussia Dortmund as they look to complete a deal for their number one transfer target. United remain confident that they can still bring Sancho to Old Trafford this summer, despite Dortmund chief Michael Zorc stating that the Premier League side had missed last month's deadline to agree a deal. The Bundesliga club are still demanding a record-breaking transfer fee for their prized asset, which is believed to be £108 million.

Paper Round's view: Dortmund have been pretty clear in their demands for the England international. Either pay the asking price or he will stay at the Westfalenstadion for at least another season. United played the same game last summer with Leicester before eventually paying the Foxes' asking price of a whopping £85 million for Harry Maguire. Dortmund are being just as stubborn now as Leicester were back then. Obviously the coronavirus crisis has affected the transfer market but if Sancho is happy to stay and Dortmund don't need to sell, United will need to pay £108 million if they want to complete the transfer. There's no point in wasting time finalising agent fees if they aren't accepting Dortmund's demands.

Bournemouth forward Joshua King has called for Manchester United to save him from the Championship and bring him to Old Trafford. The Sun report that the 28-year-old is "determined" to leave the Cherries this summer following their relegation from the Premier League and he has issued a 'come-and-get-me plea' to his former club, Manchester United. The Red Devils' interest in the Norwegian became public back in January when they saw a £20 million bid for King rejected in the winter window. The Bournemouth striker admits he wanted to join United back then and still holds ambitions to play in the Champions League. King has also attracted interest from AC Milan, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle.

Paper Round's view: It's difficult to see United come in for King - especially if their pursuit of Jadon Sancho is revived. The only way the Cherries forward can realistically complete his "dream" move to Manchester would be if the club fail to sign Sancho and any of their other attacking targets. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have been linked to the likes of Douglas Costa, Kingsley Coman and even King's Bournemouth teammate David Brooks as alternative options to Sancho during the summer transfer window. It all depends on how much Bournemouth are prepared to demand for their forward, but King could become a late option for an alternative Premier League club before the transfer window closes if the Norwegian pushes for an exit.

Arsenal are stepping up their summer sale, with midfielder Lucas Torreira edging towards an exit from the Emirates Stadium. According to the Times, the Uruguay international is "close to joining Fiorentina on loan" in a deal that has the option to become permanent at the end of the season. The Serie A side will pay an initial £7.1 million fee to Arsenal for the loan and the Gunners could receive an additional £14.2 million next summer if a permanent move is agreed. Mikel Arteta is also looking to offload Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Sead Kolasinac, Matteo Guendouzi, Mesut Özil and Mohamed Elneny; while Hector Bellerin is open to leaving in search of a new challenge, with Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus interested in signing the full-back.

Paper Round's view: Arteta really does have a job on his hands. It's no secret that the Gunners had to have a pretty active summer in the transfer market. There were numerous areas in the squad that desperately needed to be improved and plenty of players that needed to be offloaded. The club are doing a decent job at the moment but the new Premier League season starts again in just over a week, so they need to accelerate their sales. Arsenal have been linked with transfers for midfield duo Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar, but neither will come cheap. If either - or both - move to north London, Arteta will need most of the transfer-listed players that were named in the Times report to be sold in order to raise the funds.

The Sun report that England international Harry Maguire requested a recall to the Three Lions squad after appealing his criminal conviction, but was rejected by Gareth Southgate. The Manchester United captain was axed from the England squad after being found guilty of bribery, aggravated assault and resisting arrest after an alleged incident on the Greek island of Mykonos last month. However, Maguire appealed the conviction and rang up his international boss asking to be reinstated in the squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Iceland and Denmark. Southgate decided to side with the original FA decision and will keep the 27-year-old out of his current squad, with Wolves defender Conor Coady receiving his debut senior England call-up.

Paper Round's view: It must've been a tough decision for Southgate to make. The England manager initially sided with Maguire following his arrest by including him in the original squad after chatting to the United defender about the incident. It was probably embarrassing when Maguire was deemed guilty and had to be axed just a few hours after the squad announcement was made. Although his quality and experience would be useful in the current squad, it is probably better for Maguire and Southgate if the centre-back had a break from the limelight and attention until the Premier League restarts next week. It would look silly if Maguire was reinstated once more after being withdrawn by the FA.