Man Utd want both Frenkie De Jong and Christian Eriksen, Man City out to raise funds – Paper Round

Manchester United could sign both Frenkie De Jong and Christian Eriksen this summer, the Daily Mail reports. With new boss Erik ten Hag looking to improve his squad, and Paul Pogba among the departing players, midfield is an area where the club needs to strengthen. Eriksen would be a free agent, but United's pursuit of the Dane does not mean they will end their hopes of bringing in Barcelona’s De Jong.

Paper Round’s view: A penny for Donny van de Beek’s thoughts, but in truth the De Jong transfer could be a non-starter. "You’re always flattered when teams show interest in you, but I am at the biggest club in the world at the moment and I feel fine there, so no news,” the Barcelona man said on Tuesday night.

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Manchester City could raise as much as £200m in player sales this summer as the club seek further additions following the arrivals of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez for a combined £65m – the Telegraph reports. With City interested in £60m-rated Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips, as well as £50m-rated Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella, the Premier League champions will look to balance the books by selling a few first-team players. Gabriel Jesus could fetch £50m, while Raheem Sterling could also leave this window, so too Oleksandr Zinchenko, Nathan Ake or Ilkay Gundogan if the offers are right.

Paper Round’s view: There will have to be a revolving door at City this summer, and that is no bad thing with a refresh always needed even where you are out in front. Haaland alone boosts their Champions League prospects, but a few more shrewd deals would certainly not go amiss.

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Despite interest from Newcastle and Chelsea in England, Mundo Deportivo reports Jules Kounde would prefer a move to Barcelona. The Sevilla defender has long been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Chelsea targeting the centre-back last summer, but it appears the Frenchman would rather remain in Spain and join Xavi at Barca.

Paper Round’s view: Kounde was sounded out as a possible replacement for Gerard Pique, who is reportedly no longer wanted by Xavi, and it would be quite the coup if Barca can sign the defender – mainly because the money they could offer is unlikely to match both Chelsea and Newcastle, in terms of fee and contract. So let’s see how this one plays out.

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Staying with Barcelona, their pursuit of Raphinha is dependent on the future of Ousmane Dembele, Sport report. Barca are looking to change up their forward line and have been linked with Leeds’ Raphinha for some time. However, they may struggle to finance a move for the Brazilian, that is unless Dembele decides to leave. Dembele’s contract expires at the end of this month, and though he would move on as a free agent, his departure would at least lighten the wage bill.

Paper Round’s view: It’s very difficult to follow. Barcelona are after Robert Lewandowski, would love Raphinha too, and – as we’ve seen above – Kounde, and yet a year ago they were more than £1bn in debt and were hamstrung into watching Lionel Messi leave. Make this make sense, someone?