Manchester United expect to complete £20 million Adrien Rabiot transfer next week – Paper Round

United close to Rabiot deal

John Murtough travelled to Turin on behalf of Manchester United to discuss personal terms for Adrien Rabiot over his proposed move to Old Trafford. The Mirror reports that an agreement has not yet been finalised, but both Murtough and Rabiot’s agent/mother expect a deal to be done next week, for a transfer which would cost the club around £20 million.

Paper Round’s view: There is a legitimate reason to worry that Rabiot is the wrong player for United, but he cannot be worse than Fred or Scott McTominay. It would even be surprising if he offered less than Paul Pogba did. But more generally, meeting a club’s valuation for a player and then agreeing personal terms – why do United struggle to do that for most other targets?

Traore could make London move

Adama Traore is being monitored both by Chelsea and Tottenham with an eye on a move before the end of the transfer window. The 26-year-old winger could cost around £15m, reports The Sun. Chelsea are keen for back-up for their defender Reece James, while Tottenham manager is looking for another player who can play at right wing-back.

Paper Round’s view: At 26, this is probably as good as Traore will get but he has shown that he can cope in the Premier League, and now has experience of the pressure at one of the biggest clubs in the world from his time on loan at Barcelona. Given he has just a year left on his contract, he is a potential bargain for either club looking to add depth to their playing squad.

Forest could spend more than £100m

Nottingham Forest could take their spending past £100m according to the Daily Mail. They have lined up free against Cheikhou Kouyate, 32, who departed West Ham, and also have a £7.6m deal agreed for Atalanta’s 30-year-old Swiss midfielder Remo Freuler. They are closing in on a third signing, with Watford’s 24-year-old Nigerian striker Emmanuel Dennis to cost £20m.

Paper Round’s view: Forest have spent more than a decade out of the top flight and their playing staff simply were not up to the task of staying in the Premier League without serious reinforcements. These will be signings number 13, 14 and 15 should they go through, which would be an absolutely brutal squad overhaul in the pursuit of gaining another year at the top.

PSG make clearout threat

Things are getting serious for players still at Paris Saint-Germain. The club have brought in several new faces but now want rid of the old guard. Ander Herrera, Layvin Kurzawa, Julian Draxler, Rafinha, Thilo Kehrer, Idrissa Gueye and Mauro Icardi have been told that they will play for the club’s fifth division reserve side if they do not find new clubs, claims Spanish paper Marca.

Paper Round’s view: Luis Campos and Christophe Galtier do seem to be working together well to build a squad at Parc des Princes that could be more tightly knit than in seasons before. But they are paying for the largesse of signing players in their late twenties who do not have a great deal more to give in terms of fulfilling their potential. They will have to start paying some of the players to leave.