Ajax striker Brian Brobbey reveals desire to join Manchester United despite rejection – Paper Round

Ten Hag wants Brobbey

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag wants to sign Brian Brobbey. The 20-year-old joined Ajax after originally leaving the Dutch side for Red Bull Leipzig, but turned down United in the process.The forward said he still hopes to sign for United in the future, but still has work to do in the Netherlands, meaning he was not yet ready to make the switch to Old Trafford this summer.

Paper Round’s view: At just £13m, Brobbey might prove himself to be a bargain but he is relatively inexperienced. With Anthony Martial and Cristiano Ronaldo, United do at least have two players with plenty of knowledge of regular Champions League and top flight football. Perhaps if one or both of them leave in the coming year, Brobbey can be tempted by Ten Hag.

Normann banned by Norway

Mathias Normann has been banned from playing for the Norwegian national team. The 26-year-old plays for FC Rostov, though is on loan to Dynamo Moscow. He previously played for Norwich City but the national team have decided that because of the war in Russia, Normann should not be allowed in to represent the country after the invasion of Ukraine,

Paper Round’s view: Given there appears to be fairly convincing evidence that Russia has committed war crimes, not least an unprovoked war of aggression, and is attempting to blackmail the ‘collective West’ by cutting off people from gas to heat their homes, there appears to be little room for sympathy for players who choose to make their living there. They can’t complain.

Bayern not desperate for Kane

German champions Bayern Munich are not yet desperate for Harry Kane, reports The Mirror. The 28-year-old striker was linked to Bayern this summer as they looked for a replacement for Robert Lewandowski, and it has been suggested that he could join Real Madrid next year. Bayern director Hasan Salihamidzic said: “I don’t think Oliver Kahn is forcing a move for Kane. You can all go down a gear. There’s nothing to it.”

Paper Round’s view: Bayern signed Sadio Mane in the summer so they have their replacement for Lewandowski already, but Mane has been able to play alongside players such as Mohamed Salah before, so while it does not appear an urgent requirement for Bayern, they should be able to dovetail the two players if it becomes necessary.

Mbappe earnings revealed

Paris Saint-Germain’ 23-year-old French striker Kylian Mbappe was given £108 million as a signing-on fee, reports Spanish newspaper Marca. He will then earn the same again over the course of the remaining three years of his contract, and revealed that France’s president Emmanuel Macron convinced him to stay, telling him: “You have time to leave, you can stay a little bit more.”

Paper Round’s view: Macron seems to have had some success in convincing the Frenchman to stay but it still feels inevitable that he will one day depart for Real Madrid. The only way that PSG could keep him at the club forever would to be to show that they can regularly start winning the Champions League, which has so far proved beyond them.