Manchester United to bid for Robert Lewandowski - The Daily Telegraph reports that Louis van Gaal, fresh from landing Bastian Schweinsteiger, wants another Bayern Munich player: Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker is apparently "top of United's wanted list" and Van Gaal is reportedly "ready to break the £300m barrier" with his new signings.
Paper Round's view - Funnily enough, one of the Manchester United fans in the Eurosport office was talking just yesterday about how Lewandowski would be just the ticket. An out-and-out striker who seems a perfect fit for the Premier League, he only signed for Bayern last summer, but didn't have a particularly good season so maybe he'd fancy following Schweini to Old Trafford. Still, he's only 26 and has a long future. Does he really want to leave one of the best teams on the planet to play for a side who had to scrap their way into the top four in England last season?
Manchester United target Edinson Cavani - The Sun has a different story, claiming that Manchester United are making a move to sign Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani from Paris St Germain - but they'll have to sacrifice a big name to land their target. "United are in talks with Paris Saint-Germain over the £50million-rated striker but the French giants will not sell unless Angel Di Maria is part of the deal," the paper claims, not that anyone at Old Trafford sounds bothered. "United boss Louis van Gaal has told chief executive Ed Woodward he is happy for him to negotiate on that basis."
Paper Round's view - Considering the glut of midfielders now on the books at United, sacrificing Di Maria for a decent striker seems a solid option. Cavani was absolutely superb in his Napoli heyday, scoring over 30 goals a season between 2010 and 2013, and while he's not been so prolific at PSG he's been hamstrung slightly by playing second fiddle to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He's probably got a good few years left in him, and while he's certainly not worth £50m, a player swap deal would allow both PSG and United to save face by pretending they haven't had to take huge losses on Cavani and Di Maria respectively.
Tottenham eye Marseille striker after being elbowed out of Benteke deal - The Daily Mirror reports that Spurs had been keen on signing Aston Villa's Christian Benteke, but will instead look at Marseille's Michy Batshuayi to partner Harry Kane next season. "Highly-rated 21-year-old Batshuayi would become the second Belgian player to join the north Londoners this summer - after £11m Atletico Madrid defender Toby Alderweireld - and the fifth from his country in the club's first-team squad," the paper reports, suggesting that a deal is pretty close given that Manchester United and Liverpool are both apparently ready to fund pricey moves for Benteke. "Spurs have been priced out of a move for yet another Belgian, Christian Benteke, with Aston Villa insisting on every penny of the frontman's £32.5m release clause."
Paper Round's view - Depressingly for Spurs fans, the Mirror adds this titbit: "Batshuayi scored 11 goals in all competitions last season, including one for Belgium against Cyprus in March." Crikey, they're even counting goals against Cyprus now to make things sound better? Good luck to Pochettino making this one work.
City to nab De Bruyne in crazy £100m week - The Telegraph claims that Manchester City are to follow up their £49m purchase of Raheem Sterling with a similarly-priced move for Wolfsburg's Kevin de Bruyne. "After agreeing a £49m fee for the England winger with Liverpool, City have stepped up their pursuit of the Wolfsburg and Belgium attacking midfielder," the paper reports. With Sterling "to be a City player by Wednesday", "City are now determined to press ahead with efforts to sign £50m-rated Belgian international De Bruyne... [who] has emerged as one of the most prized players in Germany after helping Wolfsburg qualify for the Champions League last season."
Paper Round's view - Going for De Bruyne suggests that City have been knocked back by the Paul Pogba camp. Either way, their determination to sign another superstar midfielder makes Fabian Delph's decision not to go to Eastlands seem sounder and sounder by the minute. As to paying £50m for De Bruyne? Well, he was superb last season, even if it didn't really happen for him at Chelsea, and City do need to lay out big money if they want a long-term solution to the hole that Yaya Toure will leave behind him one day soon.
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