Manchester United make £ 12m offer for Alex Telles – Paper Round

The Guardian reports that Manchester United have made an offer for Porto defender Alex Telles. The 27-year-old Brazilian left-back is in the final year of his contract in Portugal and United say they can sign him on a pre-contract for nothing in January. They have offered £ 12 million, down from Porto’s asking price of £ 18 million. They have yet to make an offer for Jadon Sancho.

Paper Round’s opinion: United are wasting time with transfers once again and the cynic would suggest Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have to lose his next game to pressure Ed Woodward to spend. Luke Shaw is out of his league at the club and hiring a defender who can really attack while being reliable at the rear would be a huge improvement.

Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce could make a surprising signing in this transfer window, the Sun reports. The club have taken Florent Indalecio to trial after the 23-year-old midfielder left St Etienne on a free contract. The player has drawn the interest of League One, but his time in the Northeast may be extended after impressing in the early stages of his test.

Paper Round’s opinion: Newcastle have already made some nifty transfers in this transfer period. Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser came from Bournemouth for a small total fee, and Burnley’s Jeff Hendrick is, like Fraser, another free transfer. They probably have enough to stay up another year and owner Mike Ashley is clearly not willing to invest long term, so a bargain like Indalecio will obviously be attractive.

The Mirror notes that Mesut Ozil trained in jersey number 9, as opposed to his traditional 10. The player has been linked to a distance move, although he is reluctant to leave North London, but the team number change is has faced speculation that the club is making room for the arrival of a new playmaker, Lyon’s Houssem Aouar, who is wanted by Mikel Arteta.

Paper Round’s opinion: Transfer theories have been based on less, but it is unlikely that there will be too much in something like this until Arsenal confirm the transfer, if it ever is. However, Aouar appears to be moving towards a trade at Arsenal if they can come up with enough cash to convince Lyon to sell.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is set to send midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek on loan, the Telegraph reports. The coach said: “There is a possibility that Rubén will come out to play, because I think that would be great for him. We hold him in very high regard here, I certainly do, and that could be a good fit for him. ”Marcos Alonso and Jorginho could also go out.

Paper Round’s opinion: Marcos Alonso’s time at Chelsea is almost certainly over given the arrival of Ben Chilwell from Leicester City as a new left-back, and Jorginho is now attracting Arsenal’s interest. However, Loftus-Cheek is only 24 years old and very promising, so a year of playing regular football could be enough to transform him into a player who can be trusted.