Paper Round: Barcelona to offer Neymar new deal

Neymar looking to double wages in new deal - Neymar's dalliance with Manchester United this summer have pushed Barcelona to ink their young star to a new contract. The Mirror understand that the two sides have begun talks on that new deal and that Neymar is hoping it will pay him more than £200,000-per-week after taxes. That would make him the club's second-highest paid player, something he believes he is worth not just because of his play, but also his endorsements that include Barcelona kit sponsor Nike.

Paper Round's view - Neymar might be Barcelona's second-best player. If he's not, it's because Luis Suarez or Sergio Busquets is, but he's more marketable than Suarez and Busquets is a decidingly un-sexy defensive midfielder. Neymar has a very good case to be second to Lionel Messi in pay. Even if he was using Man United as a negotiating ploy, they're still waiting, as are several other clubs and they'll all give Neymar big money so Barcelona will have to pay up.

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Koeman rejects Netherlands - Ronaldo Koeman won't be leaving Southampton to be the Netherlands manager. At least not now. The Saints boss, who became a target for the Dutch after their Euro qualifying campaign tanked, is committed to the club until his contract runs out in 2017. "Not now and not for next year," Koeman said about the Netherlands job. "I will continue to my last year of contract here.”

Paper Round's view - Koeman has done a terrific job at Southampton and the Saints would hurt if he left. The good news is that Southampton is a better job than the Netherlands right now. The Dutch are a mess and Koeman could try to rescue them or he could wait and start at the beginning of a qualifying cycle. The pull of your country asking for your help is tough to deny, and probably had Southampton scared, but they're keeping their man and that's huge.

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Man United discussing new contract with De Gea - Manchester United and David De Gea have begun negotiations on a new contract, according to The Mail. De Gea wanted a move to Real Madrid, but that fell apart and while the Red Devils thought there was no chance that the goalkeeper would sign a new contract with them, he appears willing to do so. His agent, Jorge Mendes, was at the club's training ground on Thursday and the two sides are going to try to sign a new deal.

Paper Round's view - Man United desperately need to sign De Gea to a new contract. His current one expires in the summer and it'd be disastrous if they let a player as good as him leave on a free transfer. The Red Devils will undoubtedly have to pay De Gea huge wages, but that'd probably be cheaper than signing another keeper good enough for them and they sure don't want Sergio Romero to be their man long-term. Most assumed that De Gea would just wait and join Real Madrid next summer, but if he's willing to stay then Man United need to move quickly.

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Courtois will be out a while - Thibaut Courtois injured his knee in training and The Standard understand that he is now facing an extended period out. He returned from international duty perfectly fit, but injured his knee in his first training session back. The goalkeeper has yet to undergo scans so it's not clear how long he will be out and they don't fear that he damaged his cruciate ligaments, but a spell on the sidelines is likely.

Paper Round's view - It feels like Chelsea can't catch a break in the early part of the season. They've dropped points, seen players age quicker than expected, struck out John Stones and Paul Pogba, and now Courtois is hurt. The good news is that they bought an excellent backup in Asmir Begovic, but they'd much prefer Courtois.

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Wilson going out on loan - James Wilson will leave Manchester United on loan next week, per The Telegraph. Wilson is in search of first team minutes, which will be hard to come by with Anthony Martial in the Red Devils team now. So far, 14 Championship clubs have entered the race to sign Wilson, with Derby, QPR, Hull, Wolves and Bolton leading the way. Man United will demand that an instant recall clause be included in the loan.

Paper Round's view - Wilson needs to play regularly. He's still young and the most important thing for him is playing time. He could get a bit of it at Old Trafford, but not nearly enough, while he can make a huge impact for a Championship team. It will be good for him to get out on loan, but Man United are wise to have the recall clause in the deal because they aren't flush with strikers and if one or two go down, they'll need Wilson.