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Premier League - Paper Round: Man Utd make £55m bid for Di Maria

Manchester United have swooped for Angel Di Maria - all that and more from the morning's newspapers.

Man Utd make new Di Maria bid: Just days after Paris Saint-Germain confirmed they had pulled out of negotiations to sign Angel Di Maria due to Real Madrid’s excessive demands, Manchester United have now swooped with a £55m offer for the Argentina star, reports the Daily Express: “Despite Laurent Blanc's interest, Louis Van Gaal has returned for Di Maria as he also looks to secure the signatures of Fiorentina's Juan Cuadrado and Juventus' Arturo Vidal, and Metro Sport reports that the Dutchman has offered £55million for the playmaker's services.”

Paper Round’s view:
Hmm. The report from the Express seems to be largely based on reports from other newspapers, as well as random journalists on Twitter, so it is hardly impeccably sourced. Still, the story has logic with Man Utd seeking top recruits in midfield and Real Madrid ready to sell Di Maria. We’d wait for something more substantial before getting too excited though…

Real Madrid want Petr Cech: Another big story from the Express, who report that “Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, Cech's manager at Chelsea for two years until 2011, wants to capitalise on his old club's goalkeeping dilemma to take Cech to Spain on the cheap. Real have made preliminary enquiries about Cech but will face competition from both Paris Saint Germain and Monaco.” Intriguingly, the paper adds: “Chelsea could use Cech as bait to persuade Real to sell them French central defender Raphael Varane, a player Mourinho has been targeting all season.”

Paper Round’s view:
One key omission from the Daily Express report is that Real Madrid have already signed a goalkeeper this summer – Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas – and now have three potential No. 1’s on their books with Diego Lopez and Iker Casillas. The chances of them also signing Petr Cech? Surely zero.


Liverpool close to defender deal: The Mirror reports this morning that Liverpool are on the brink of signing Sevilla left-back Alberto Moreno, but he will play one final match for the Spanish club when they take on Real Madrid in the European Super Cup in Cardiff on Tuesday. Says the paper: “Liverpool will pay around £14million for the exciting left-back, and Reds midfielder Suso could be going the other way as part of the deal. Europa League holders Sevilla want Moreno to say his goodbyes to their fans in the showpiece game. Only then will be the deal be sanctioned, after tense and often acrimonious negotiations, which saw the deal twice collapse.”

Paper Round’s view:
It’s been a long old slog but finally Liverpool have the left-back they have been searching all summer for. It’s been a problem position for Brendan Rodgers but a Spain international should have the class to finally solve it. Liverpool better have their fingers crossed he doesn’t pick up an injury in his farewell game though.

Spurs stalling over Soldado exit: Spanish champions Atletico Madrid are attempting to sign Roberto Soldado on loan from Spurs, reports the Daily Express, but the Premier League club will not countenance any deal until they have signed a replacement. “New head coach Mauricio Pochettino is determined to try to get the best out of Soldado this season, but Tottenham would listen to attractive offers for the 29-year-old,” reports the paper. “Although the total cost of the deal to sign Soldado from Valencia could rise to £26 million, Tottenham would only need to recoup around £13 million to cover what they have paid out so far.”

Paper Round’s view:
We’d have thought Spurs would be desperate to get Soldado off the books after a miserable first season in English football but Pochettino is right to wait until a replacement is found. There’s no value in Spurs leaving themselves understaffed for the start of the season.


Tottenham to sign USA ace: DeAndre Yedlin caught the eye with his performances at the World Cup for USA and was generally believed to be joining Roma, but The Sun reports this morning that Spurs are ready to steal in for the right-back. “Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino fancies the pacy Seattle Sounders right-back in a £2.6million deal as cover for injury-hit England defender Kyle Walker, who missed the World Cup with pelvic trouble,” it is said.

Paper Round’s view:
An exciting player no doubt, but Yedlin would have a lot to prove in England as a good World Cup does not a great player make. Still, he did look rather exciting and would be a good addition to the Premier League.