The Manchester clubs are set to battle it out over Schalke stalwart, while Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho could form a dream team together at United. It's Friday's Paper Round.
The Manchester clubs are set to battle it out over Schalke starlet Leroy Sane, while Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho could form a dream team together at United. It's Friday's Paper Round.
Man City and Man United battle it out for £40m-rated Leroy Sane
![Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal]()
![Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain celebrates after scoring against Fiorentina]()
![Juventus' Paul Lamine Pogba (L) fights for the ball with Borussia Monchengladbach's Granit Xhaka during their Champions League Group D soccer match]()
Manchester City and Manchester United will lock horns over the summer in order to capture the prized signature of Schalke star Leroy Sane. The feature report in the Daily Mail has the two Manchester clubs vying for Sane, a pacy attacker who can play in any position across the front three. Sane was named in the provisional German squad for Euro 2016, showing the 20-year-old is already turning heads at international level. Sane appeared 42 times for Schalke in all competitions this season, finding the back of the net nine times.
Paper Round's view: Sane being rated by a range of elite clubs means his asking price could spiral even further. With both United and City set to rebuild in the summer, Sane may have to wait as there are more pressing priorities for both clubs. United may be in a better position to snare him, as Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne will take up a large amount of game time at City and make it difficult for Sane to get into the team.
Van Gaal to be offered director of football role by United, with Mourinho as manager
The Sun are reporting Manchester United have offered embattled manager Louis van Gaal the director of football role, in order to let Jose Mourinho take over as manager in the summer. The report claims that Van Gaal will move upstairs to complete the third and final year of his contract. Van Gaal is still popular among some members of the board like Ed Woodward, who wants the Dutchman's football expertise to still be utilised by the club. Mourinho in the meantime has rejected overtures from other clubs, as he waits for the manager's seat at Old Trafford to become vacant.
Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal - Reuters
Paper Round's view: This move sounds like an absolute disaster, and United probably should avoid making it at all costs. The sort of schism a set-up like this would cause - especially with the large egos of Van Gaal and Mourinho competing to have influence over affairs - would be entirely detrimental to United's rebuild. It has the potential to split the dressing room and the board. Hopefully someone has the sense to stop this from happening, and that includes Van Gaal.
Chelsea's striker shortlist includes Higuain, Morata and Lukaku
Chelsea will completely revamp their strikeforce according to the Daily Mail, with Gonzalo Higuain, Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku all targets in the summer. Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao are all set for Stamford Bridge exits after extraordinarily poor seasons at the club. Higuain has a £72m buyout clause, Morata's situation is complicated by a £23.6m buyback clause that Real Madrid may activate before selling on for a further profit and currently Lukaku has a £65m price tag slapped on him by Everton.
Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain celebrates after scoring against Fiorentina - Reuters
Paper Round's view: It feels like yesterday Chelsea were trying to offload Fernando Torres and co. because it wasn't working. For some reason they can't get this area of the team right, and perhaps the club may also want to improve coaching in this area. None of these players listed are bad options. However, like Torres and even Costa, Chelsea should not be chasing Europe's en vogue forward and should focus on buying someone who fits Antonio Conte's system the best.
Arsenal play hardball with Borussia Monchengladbach over Granit Xhaka offer
The Mirror are reporting that Arsenal have only offered half of Borussia Monchengladbach's asking price for Granit Xhaka. The report says Arsenal have offered £19m - a fact confirmed by Monchengladbach, whom rate Xhaka at £35m. Xhaka and Arsenal have already agreed to personal terms. The club's sporting director Max Ebert was very strident that Xhaka will only be sold if Monchengladbach receive the fee they are after.
Juventus' Paul Lamine Pogba (L) fights for the ball with Borussia Monchengladbach's Granit Xhaka during their Champions League Group D soccer match - Reuters
Paper Round's view: This one should play out into the summer, but Xhaka will get to where he wants to go. Gladbach and Arsenal will keep haggling over price until they reach something closer to what the Bundesliga side want, and Wenger will relent since there is pressure to spend. Xhaka seems like a long-term investment and had the sort of bold qualities that will make Arsenal a more combative and drilled side going forward.
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