Euro Paper Talk: Man Utd edging Liverpool in transfer ‘duel’ with classy star ‘already at Old Trafford’ mentally; Tottenham in ‘advanced talks’ over Serie A move

Manchester United are beating Liverpool in the race to sign a top Champions League star as he is ‘already at Old Trafford’ in his mind, Tottenham are deep in discussions with a Serie A giant as they look to offload one player, while Monday’s Euro Paper Talk includes Barcelona becoming ‘optimistic’ about landing a Manchester City ace.

MAN UTD LEADING LIVERPOOL IN BAYERN PURSUIT

Man Utd stand a better chance of signing Benjamin Pavard than Liverpool as the Bayern defender is already dreaming about playing at Old Trafford, according to a report.

Bayern are at serious risk of losing Pavard this summer as he has entered into the final year of his contract and is refusing to negotiate fresh terms. The France international has spoken publicly about his desire to star in the Premier League and this has resulted in interest from both Liverpool and Man Utd.

Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of Pavard and believes he can replace Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, in a move which would allow the Englishman to operate in a new midfield role. Pavard can also play as a central defender, which means he would provide competition and backup for Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate too.

But Klopp has since learned of Man Utd’s intentions to capture Pavard for themselves. On Saturday, the Red Devils begun preliminary talks with Bayern to discover how much the 27-year-old might cost.

And on Sunday, Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg revealed Man Utd have reached ‘an agreement in principle’ with Pavard over personal terms. Erik ten Hag’s side, who want Pavard to replace Harry Maguire, have also sent an opening offer to Bayern. Although, this has been rejected by the German giants.

There has now been a double update on Pavard’s situation from German sources Sport Bild and Abendzeitung Munchen (AM). Bild label it a transfer ‘duel’ between Man Utd and Liverpool.

Pavard has supposedly been on Liverpool’s radar since the start of the transfer window, though it will be a tricky deal to complete due to Man Utd pushing for his services as well.

Benjamin Pavard gunning for Man Utd switch

AM go a step further and claim that the main reason Pavard played poorly against RB Leipzig on Saturday is that he is ‘already at Man Utd’ mentally. The 2018 World Cup winner started the German super cup clash at right-back but struggled and was replaced by Noussair Mazraoui at half time. Leipzig went on to win the game 3-0 thanks to a Dani Olmo hat-trick, which saw Harry Kane lose out on yet another piece of silverware.

Ten Hag will be delighted to hear that Pavard is leaning towards a Man Utd switch over Liverpool. One big factor that is impacting the player’s decision is where he will be played.

As mentioned previously, Liverpool would likely use him on the right side of defence. But Pavard prefers to operate as a centre-half, which is where Ten Hag is planning on using him. This gives Man Utd another big advantage in the transfer pursuit.

TOTTENHAM HOPE TO DITCH MIDFIELDER

Tottenham and Napoli are in ‘advanced talks’ over Giovani Lo Celso’s move to Italy. Lo Celso, 27, spent last season on loan at Villarreal in Spain. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Liverpool and Nottingham Forest have been given a boost as Bayern are not involved in the chase for PSV midfielder Ibrahim Sangare. (Sky Germany)

Kylian Mbappe has performed a spectacular U-turn and is now happy to sign a new contract at Paris Saint-Germain. He wants the French club to snare Bernardo Silva from Man City. (Foot Mercato)

Neymar will undergo a medical with Saudi side Al Hilal after they reached an agreement with PSG for him. The transfer will be worth €90m (£77.5m). (Foot Mercato)

Sampdoria, who are managed by Italian legend Andrea Pirlo, are facing ‘a lot of competition’ from Leeds United for Everton centre-forward Tom Cannon. (La Repubblica)

BARCELONA GETTING CLOSER TO MAN CITY RAID

There is ‘optimism’ brewing at Barcelona that they will be able to sign Portuguese full-back Joao Cancelo on loan from Man City with an option to buy. (Mundo Deportivo)

Aston Villa have ‘accelerated’ their swoop for Nicolo Zaniolo of Galatasaray and are now one step away from bringing the attacking midfielder to England. (Sabah)

Rennes manager Bruno Genesio has admitted winger Jeremy Doku will sign for Man City if Pep Guardiola’s team submit a big enough offer. (RMC Sport)

Former Man Utd striker target Victor Osimhen is on the verge of penning a new contract with Napoli. It will run until June 2026 and will include a whopping €150m (£129.2m) release clause. (Gianluca Di Marzio)

Lens have dramatically pulled out of the hunt for Middlesbrough striker Chuba Akpom at the last moment. Sheffield United are interested, but Akpom is instead ready to join Ajax after they had a proposal accepted by Boro. (Foot Mercato and David Ornstein)