Football news - Paper Round: Bayern plan £25 million Hudson-Odoi summer transfer

Chelsea face a battle to keep hold of youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi. They rejected a £35 million bid from Bayern Munich as they did not want to lose the 18-year-old winger going into the second half of the season, but the German champions will come back for the player in the summer, the Sun reports. Bayern could bid £25 million for the player who handed in a transfer request in order to get his move.

Paper Round’s view: Hudson-Odoi appears determined to be on his way, given his transfer request in January. That means that Chelsea will soon be forced to accept a cut-price deal from another club, in order to generate some revenues. They still are not giving Hudson-Odoi regular minutes on the pitch, which suggest the situation is unlikely to change.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has expressed his disappointment with the club over the failure to add players to the squad. The club have not signed anyone since Lucas Moura two transfer windows ago, and the Mirror report that Vincent Janssen has been brought back to the first team squad. The manager said: “Of course I wanted to strengthen the squad but if we cannot sign, I need to stick with the project of the club. Of course I am disappointed because we are in a very good position and maybe with a help from some players we can remove the excuse that we are not a real contender.”

Paper Round’s view: Bringing Janssen back is common sense for Pochettino, given Heung-Min Son, Dele Alli and Harry Kane are currently unavailable, but the frustration that he must be feeling is obvious. Spurs need new players in order to keep improving, and the competition for the top four has only intensified since the arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United and Unai Emery at Arsenal.

Barcelona have gone some way to balancing the books by confirming the sale of Paco Alacer to Borussia Dortmund. A permanent deal was arranged for the forward who has joined for 23 million euros, and potentially more with add-ons, say the Daily Mail. That will help Barcelona, who have added Kevin-Prince Boateng, Jeison Murillo and Brazilian right-back Emerson, who has joined Real Betis on loan.

Paper Round’s view: Barcelona have been active in the transfer window as Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho have been linked with moves away. Boateng adds experience, and at his age will be content to play a bit part at a club when there are other players ahead of him in the pecking order. Murillo gives them the defensive cover they have needed with Samuel Umtiti and Thomas Vermaelen’s injury problems.

Inter Milan’s coach Luciano Spalletti appeared to criticise Arsenal over their bid for winger Ivan Perisic. The London club were linked a late move for the Croatian forward, but the move fell through with only Denis Suarez making the move. According to the Independent, Spalletti told a press conference: “These things happen in the transfer window, the player received an impressive proposal and was tempted. However, he then realised it was not a true offer, that he’d been conned, and took a step back.”

Paper Round’s view: Perisic had been linked with a move to Manchester United when Jose Mourinho was at the club, and has fallen out of favour at Inter Milan, so it is no surprise he would have been keen on a move to England. These are strong words from Spalletti, and it really would be a surprise if Arsenal had tricked a player given their reputation as an honest club.