Pep Guardiola asks Manchester City board to sign Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane – Paper Round

Pep Guardiola has asked the Manchester City board to “investigate the possibility” of signing Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, as reported by The Independent. The Catalan manager recently signed a two-year contract extension with the Premier League club and during their negotiations, he “named” Kane as a possible signing. The 27-year-old is said to be willing to consider his future in North London if the Spurs fail to win a trophy this season. Kane played a key role in defeating Guardiola’s City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night.

Paper Round’s opinion: Who wouldn’t want Harry Kane on their team right now? The English international appears to have taken his game to another level this season: both assists and goals. Guardiola would have had the best seat at home for Manchester City’s 2-0 loss to Tottenham on Saturday night. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he put Kane back on the city board after that match. However, Pep has a problem. Sergio Agüero’s contract ends at the end of the season. Gabriel Jesús has not shown that he is number nine to move City forward, so the club will evaluate possible options to replace the Argentine. Erling Haaland has been linked in recent weeks and Kane has now been mentioned. One of those two would be ideal.

Inter Milan are set to ditch Christian Eriksen, less than a year after his arrival from Tottenham Hotspur. The Danish playmaker has failed to live up to expectations at the San Siro and the Mail has reported that the Serie A team is set to offer it to Premier League clubs Manchester United and Arsenal as part of an ambitious swap deal. Inter would demand Fred or Granit Xhaka from the Premier League pair in exchange for Eriksen, but neither club seems very enthusiastic about the Italians’ proposal. The Mail claims that Paris Saint-Germain seems the “most likely destination” for the 28-year-old, with a trade for Leandro Paredes a viable option.

Paper Round’s opinion: Eriksen’s move to Inter has been a disaster for both parties. The club hounded the former Spurs midfielder for months, before finally securing his signing for a reduced fee just six months before his contract in North London expired. However, it has not left its mark on the Italians. Fred and Xhaka are both key components of the Manchester United and Arsenal midfields right now, so it’s hard to see either club abandon them. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has too many offensive midfielder options on his squad, while Mikel Arteta’s team may need creativity, but he can’t afford to give up one of his more experienced midfielders. Inter expect PSG to take the bait.

Dayot Upamecano will “leave” RB Leipzig next summer, according to former Norwegian footballer and Bild columnist Jan Aage Fjortoft. The French defender signed a new three-year contract with the Bundesliga club in July, but the contract extension was reportedly only to postpone his “inevitable departure”. Fjortoft revealed that the Premier League trio Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City will join German champion Bayern Munich in the battle for Upamecano. Bayern’s search hinges on the possible departure of David Alaba, whose current contract expires in the summer.

Paper Round’s opinion: There is no doubt that Upamecano will be a sought-after man next summer. The 22-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best center-backs in Europe and there have been rumors of a cut-price release clause. Bayern looks like an attractive destination. It appears that the European champions will lose Alaba, while Jerome Boateng will leave once his contract expires. Upamecano knows the Bundesliga well and would fit in perfectly with Bayern. However, Premier League clubs will be interested and the prospect of teaming up with Virgil van Dijk in Liverpool is definitely attractive. Whichever club lands, the Leipzig defender will be delighted.

Chelsea are prepared to allow center-back Fiyako Tomori to leave Stamford Bridge on loan in January, according to the Telegraph. The 22-year-old retired from a deadline-day loan to West Ham in October, leaving Blues boss Frank Lampard with five centers on his team. German international Antonio Rudiger was previously frozen, but returned to the starting eleven for Chelsea’s 2-0 win against Newcastle on Saturday. Tomori now finds himself falling to the bottom of the pecking order in Chelsea and will explore the possibility of a loan move once the winter window opens.

Paper Round’s opinion: The center-backs were always going to be an argument for Chelsea this season. Obviously, everyone backed down to keep a place in the first team, but now it’s pretty clear who Lampard favors. Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma are its starters, while Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger are now the first-choice reserve options. This has likely left Tomori regretting his decision to turn down a loan to West Ham in the summer transfer window. The youngster needs to be playing more minutes and if he rediscovers his form at a new club in the second half of the season, it could give him a belated shout for a place on the England team for the European Championship next summer.