N'Golo Kante: Real Madrid and Inter Milan chase Chelsea midfielder - Paper Round

Real Madrid and Inter Milan are both interested in signing N'Golo Kante from Chelsea next summer, according to the Sun. The World Cup winner has been a long-term target for both clubs, with the Inter trying - and failing - to bring Kante to San Siro last summer. Inter boss Antonio Conte is desperate for a reunion with the 29-year-old, with whom he won the Premier League at Chelsea back in 2017. The Sun state that the Italian manager sees Kante as the one player who will "transform his side into Serie A winners". Real Madrid have held interest in the midfielder due to manager Zinedine Zidane's admiration for his fellow Frenchman.

Paper Round's view: Kante has been constantly linked with a move to either Real Madrid or Inter Milan over the past two years. There were rumours that the French midfielder fell out of favour under Frank Lampard following his arrival at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2019 - but now Kante looks back to his best for the Blues. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the 29-year-old move on next summer - especially if Real Madrid come knocking - but it would also make sense for him to stay at Chelsea as the club begins to mount a Premier League title bid again. A move to Inter would be quite short-sighted as it doesn't seem like Conte plans to stay at San Siro for too long. Either stay in west London or go to the Spanish capital for one last challenge.

Manchester City are preparing a new contract for midfielder Phil Foden, which would see his wages rise from £25,000 per week to £75,000 per week, according to the Mail. The 20-year-old has been handed more first-team minutes this season since the summer departure of David Silva and City seem happy to reward the youngster with a bumper new contract in the new year. Foden's current deal runs until 2024 but the pay rise is set to reflect his new role in the City squad. The new contract would also reportedly include a whopping £9,000 win bonus for each match played.

Paper Round's view: It makes complete sense for Manchester City to offer Foden a new contract due to his step up this season. Following David Silva's departure, it was expected that the England international would be playing more minutes during this campaign - and he has proved his importance and quality by scoring three goals and providing two assists in 10 appearances so far this season. Tripling his wages might seem like a big step up - but the Manchester City chiefs are simply trying to tie down one of their top talents and keep them happy.

The Football Association will hold crunch talks with the British Government on Monday after new Covid-19 laws have thrown England's UEFA Nations League clash against Iceland into doubt. The Three Lions are set to host Iceland at Wembley on November 18, but the Nordic nation travel to Denmark just three days before and the United Kingdom have just implemented strict travel restrictions for non-UK citizens arriving from Scandinavia. The new rules mean that the Iceland squad would be denied entry into England. The FA will attempt to re-arrange the match at a neutral venue if they do not get the green light from the British Government.

Paper Round's view: This is an absolute nightmare. The FA are now faced with the task of either convincing the British Government to relax the Covid-19 laws for elite sport or finding a new host venue. UEFA rules mean that if the host nation are unable to welcome the travelling team due to their own restrictions, the hosts must source an alternative venue for the fixture. The problem for England is that the match is in less than 10 days. It's very unclear how this situation will be resolved - but it just proves how stupid it is to have international football during a global pandemic.

The Telegraph explore how else the Denmark travel ban could affect the upcoming football calendar. The Premier League has blocked its players from attending international in the Scandinavian nation in the upcoming international break - despite Denmark's vital Nations League matches against Iceland and Belgium. The Telegraph reveals that Greece, Cyprus, Hungary and Poland have "offered to act as neutral venues" for the November matches if travel restrictions due to Covid-19 prevent them from being played in the host country. The UK's travel ban on Denmark could also affect Liverpool's Champions League trip to FC Midtjylland on December 9.

Paper Round's view: Yep... this is going to cause problems. Some Serie A clubs have banned their players from joining up with their national teams and now the Premier League seems to have done the same for any players travelling to Scandinavian destinations. It will be interesting to see what happens. UK citizens are allowed to return from these nations, but the majority of the footballers won't be UK nationals. The only resolution would be to ban the players from going or lift the ban for elite athletes (if they are going to be frequently tested). It suddenly seems like having an international break during a global pandemic might not be the best idea...