Manchester United linked with swap deal for Victor Osimhen and Cristiano Ronaldo – Paper Round

United linked with Osimhen-Ronaldo swap

The Sun reports that Manchester United had been interested in offering Napoli their striker Cristiano Ronaldo in part-exchange for £102 million-rated forward Victor Osimhen. The 23-year-old Nigerian has been tracked by Arsenal and Tottenham as well, but the Serie A sie have decided that they do not want to lose any players in the winter transfer window.

Paper Round’s view: Napoli will doubtless eventually be tempted to sell the player in the coming seasons but going by their ability to hold onto Kalidou Koulibaly for years even as he was being coveted by Europe’s biggest teams, they might be able to keep him at their club for some time yet. There are also concerns at Napoli whether they could even afford Ronaldo’s wages.

Melo to stay at Liverpool

After speculation that Liverpool would call time on Arthur Melo’s loan spell this winter, The Sun reports that the 26-year-old Brazilian will instead see out the full season at Anfield. The midfielder has suffered a long-term injury, but manager Jurgen Klopp revealed that there is no termination clause for the deal and so he will still be at the club after the January transfer window.

Paper Round’s view: Arthur was an impressive player when he joined Barcelona but his move to Juventus, which he never seemed desperate for, seems to have knocked him off his stride. More trouble, now in the Premier League, will not have helped his confidence but if he can get fit and get a run of games in the second half of the season maybe he will find a more suitable side next season.

Shakhtar name price for Mudryk

Shakhtar Donetsk have revealed that they want at least £86m for their 21-year-old winger Mykhaylo Mudryk. The Ukrainian international is wanted by both Manchester City and Arsenal, but the club’s deputy sporting director Carlo Nicolini believes that he should command a higher price than Antony fetched from Ajax, and noted there are other clubs who could make an offer.

Paper Round’s view: Mudryk is a promising forward who can operate on both flanks, and if he is indeed wanted by City and Arsenal then he is likely going to move on from Shakhtar soon. They may want £86m or more but with the economic situation in Ukraine pretty dire, they will have to hope for a bidding war in order to ensure that they get full value for their player.

Xavi plays down exit rumours

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has been the subject of speculation over his future at the Catalan club after they were knocked out of the Champions League group stages, reports Spanish newspaper Marca. However, Xavi has said that he and president Joan Laporta have a positive relationship, stating: “We have a friendship and there’s confidence despite what happened in the Champions League. I’m very happy with him.”

Paper Round’s view: Given the club have done well in La Liga so far this season, it would be a risk to get rid of Xavi when there are years of work to be done on rebuilding the squad. If the team were consistently struggling then it would be worth wondering who else could come in, but for now this seems like a time to give the manager time to work through the biggest difficulties.