Antony, Lisandro Martinez, Jurrien Timber and Frenkie De Jong form Erik ten Hag shortlist at Man Utd - Paper Round

Erik ten Hag is making plans for next season as Manchester United boss, and The Sun reports on the various players he is keen to bring to the Premier League. Former Ajax player Matthijs De Ligt at Juventus is one option, as is Lisandro Martinez who would cost £25 million. There are also potential bids incoming for Ajax defender Jurrien Timber and his colleague, Brazilian winger Antony.

Paper Round’s view: The scope of Ten Hag’s job threatens to overwhelm him already, particularly as he is obliged to operate under a reduced budget and also improve the morale and performances of a seriously disjointed squad. There could be as many as 10 players who are on their way out of Old Trafford and the chances of signing even half that number seems slim.

Kasper Schmeichel could soon leave Leicester City. The 31-year-old Denmark international has a year left on the rest of his contract, and is considering a departure from the King Power Stadium to play abroad. The Telegraph reports that the club hope he will stay on, but if he leaves then one option could be Brighton’s Spanish ‘keeper Robert Sanchez, who might cost £50m.

Paper Round’s view: Schmeichel has had an excellent career at Leicester but like his father before him, wants to experience life outside of England after winning the Premier League. Given his consistency and reliability there would almost certainly be plenty of offers from Europe to give him the chance of a new experience, and a hefty raise on his existing contract.

The Mirror claims that Manchester United face competition for Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips. The England international midfielder is already seen as a challenging transfer to pull off due to the antipathy between Man Utd and Leeds. A further complication has now appeared as Manchester City want the player to replace their outgoing veteran Fernandinho.

Paper Round’s view: If any player is given the choice between City and United then they will likely have the chance to win trophies, earn more money and work with the best manager around in the form of Pep Guardiola. United will have to look further afield in order to find the kind of player who is able to improve them sufficiently, but won’t be wanted by the top European sides.

The Daily Mail reports that Manchester United have told Barcelona they won’t match their asking price for midfielder Frenkie de Jong. The Spanish club want £70m for the 25-year-old Dutch international, who cost them £65m from Ajax. While United are keen to sign the player, they are operating on a limited transfer budget and won’t commit that much to a single player.

Paper Round’s view: De Jong is a potentially excellent player but he has hardly set the world alight at Barca, so any transfer should reflect the fact that he is potentially already in decline. As for United’s new found discipline, it’s probably for the best that they have finally discovered throwing huge sums all over the place is counter-productive, but it’s a shame they have only done so when they need an extensive rebuild for a slim and mediocre squad.