Arsenal beat off Chelsea and Spurs to agree £45m for Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus – Paper Round

Arsenal agree Jesus deal

The Mirror reports that Arsenal have agreed a deal with Manchester City to sign their striker Gabriel Jesus. The club will pay £45 million for the 25-year-old Brazilian international, who has regularly scored for his current club but failed to establish himself as a first pick for the starting eleven, even after the departure of Sergio Aguero at the end of the 2020/21 season.

Paper Round’s view: Arsenal have managed to hold off interest from both Tottenham and Chelsea if this story is true, and at £45m they have probably not overpaid for a player who could keep improving for a few more years. With the exits of both Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang before him, the club needed to make sure they signed a striker of real quality to add to Eddie Nketiah.

Chelsea ready for Sosa transfer

Chelsea are reportedly keen on signing full-back Borna Sosa from German side Stuttgart. The Sun reports that the Bundesliga club are ready to let the 24-year-old Croatian go for around £21m, and Thomas Tuchel’s outfit are ready to spend £24m as they pursue the player. Matthijs de Ligt, Jules Kounde and Jonathan Clauss are all other targets for the backline.

Paper Round’s view: Chelsea have already lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen for nothing this summer, so they definitely need to reinforce at centre-back. However with Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta far from certain to start next season at Stamford Bridge, new owner Todd Boehly will have to make sure there is cover on the flanks as well.

Botman set for Newcastle switch

It appears that Sven Botman is finally nearing a move to Newcastle United. The 22-year-old Dutch central defender has been the subject of interest from the Premier League side since the winter transfer window, and now the Mail claims that they have agreed a deal with his current side Lille for £31m plus add-ons, beating Italian side AC Milan to the player ahead of next season.

Paper Round’s view: Botman has been in demand for most of the last few months which suggests that a few sides around Europe believe that he has serious potential for the coming years. While Newcastle have been active in the market already this summer, the signing of Nick Pope and Matt Targett has done little to suggest that they are markedly improving the squad.

Phillips on cusp of move to City

Manchester City are continuing their summer spending spree after winning the Premier League last season, but falling just short in the Champions League yet again. The Telegraph reports that they have agreed a £42m deal for Leeds United’s midfielder Kalvin Phillips, and the deal could see Darko Gyabi move in the other direction. Phillips joins Erling Haalad and Julian Alvarez as a new arrival.

Paper Round’s view: Phillips had seemed bound to leave this summer as at 26 he was approaching the stage in his career when he needed to play on the biggest stage. For Pep Guardiola he needed to replace Brazilian veteran Fernandinho who had left at the end of his contract, and the England international offers plenty of potential to improve as well as Premier League experience.