Barcelona, Juventus and Roma in battle for Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot – Paper Round

Barcelona face battle for Dalot

Xavi Hernandez hopes to sign Diogo Dalot from Manchester United on a free transfer, reports The Sun. The 23-year-old Portuguese international is now the first choice right-back at Old Trafford with the player ahead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the pecking order. However while Barcelona want the player at the end of the season, they face competition from Roma and Juventus.

Paper Round’s view: Both the Italian clubs may have got a closer look at Dalot when he was on loan at their Serie A rivals AC Milan, and he has started to grow into the team as he has been given more regular minutes. The report that suggests he could leave on a free look slightly suspicious though, because it is more widely reported that United can exercise a year extra on his deal.

Lokonga considers Arsenal future

Albert Sambi Lokonga is dissatisfied at Arsenal according to a report in The Mirror. The 22-year-old midfielder has struggled to displace Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey ahead of him, and could lose his place in the Belgian national team. He may choose to leave on loan and Max Allegri at Juventus is keen, with Winston McKennie perhaps going the other way.

Paper Round’s view: With the World Cup ahead, Lokonga will almost certainly be regretting his failure to leave for the season on loan in order to get regular minutes to convince Roberto Martinez to take him to the Qatar World Cup later this year. Whether Mikel Arteta would let him go is unclear given McKennie has not been an overwhelming success in Italy either.

Atletico want Trossard on free transfer

Both Chelsea and Arsenal have already been mentioned as potential suitors for Leandro Trossard, Brighton’s 27-year-old forward. The Belgian international is also wanted by Atletico Madrid, with the Daily Mail relaying reports that they would like to sign him on a free transfer. One wrinkle is that Brighton have the option to extend his contract by a further season.

Paper Round’s view: Extending his contract would, of course, prevent him from moving on a free transfer, which makes some reports slightly less credible. However that single season might simply mean that Brighton can raise some cash from his sale, even if it is less than they would hope to receive in perfect circumstances, to avoid losing him for nothing eventually.

Barca save €125m on Griezmann deal

Spanish newspaper Marca reports that Barcelona have managed to save €125 million in wages that they were due to pay Antoine Griezmann. The French forward had been on loan at Atletico Madrid until recently a permanent transfer was completed. In the years to come and the time he spent away from Barcelona, they have saved on a huge salary outlay.

Paper Round’s view: Griezmann’s move to Barcelona was a huge disappointment and now at 31 he probably has a few years left at the top with Atletico. He spent his best years with Diego Simeone and managed to win the World Cup, so he has had an excellent career by most standards, but he may feel like he made his move to a huge club too late.