Manchester United prepare £45m bid for Jordan Pickford as David de Gea contract stalls – Paper Round

United ready to make Pickford bid

The Mirror believes that Manchester United are eyeing up a bid for Jordan Pickford as a replacement for David de Gea.

The England international could be subject of a bid worth £45 million.

“Pickford has been at Everton since 2017, when he joined from boyhood club Sunderland. He signed a new contract with the Merseyside club in February, but that hasn’t been enough to cool United’s interest.

“United’s interest in Pickford comes amid worries De Gea will not agree to new reduced terms. The Spaniard has yet to put pen to paper on a new two-year deal which would see his wages drop from £375,000 per week to £200,000.”

Newcastle keen on Cucurella

Chelsea full-back Marc Cucurella has struggled at Stamford Bridge this season and the Mail thinks that Newcastle could be the club to bid for him this summer.

“Howe miraculously steered his side into the Champions League after a fourth-placed finish in just his first full campaign in charge, and is eager to bolster his team with several signings to ensure they can compete across multiple fronts.

“The club are understood to be prioritising signing a new midfielder but are also open to spending to reinforce their backline.

“A fee of around £30m could even be enough to seal a deal for the defender.”

Chelsea close in on Jackson

Chelsea continue their summer rebuild as they look to balance the books, while adding firepower to their front line.

The man in the frame according to the Telegraph is Villarreal’s 21-year-old Senegalese international, Nicolas Jackson.

“Villarreal do not want to sell Jackson, who scored 12 goals in La Liga in 2022-23, but Chelsea are ready to activate the 21-year-old’s release clause.

“Talks are ongoing between the two clubs over payment structures and the finer details of the transfer, but there is now an expectation that the striker will be moving to Stamford Bridge.”

Real Madrid look to replace Benzema

Spanish newspaper Marca believes there are a number of players in the frame to replace Karim Benzema.

Their strategy is not to find an out-and-out replacement, but a senior figure who can slot into the team.

“There is a race among strikers to be Real Madrid’s next frontman, and that race has been paralysed after the news from Paris about Kylian Mbappe’s future.

“Harry Kane, Victor Osimhen, Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz, Joselu and Rodrigo Moreno are the six strikers who have been on Real Madrid’s radar.”