Paper Round: Saudi Arabia could abandon Man Utd bid

Figures in Saudi Arabia may turn their attention elsewhere if they receive no encouragement from Manchester United's current owners. The Sun claims that the Glazers want to become more hands on after Ed Woodward's disastrous spell in charge of the club, and that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman will soon give up on his hopes to buy the club if the Glazers continue to insist that they do not want to sell the club.

Paper Round's view: The idea that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman does not want to buy United is fairly believable. If the Glazers don't want to sell then there are plenty of other clubs available for them. But the notion that the Glazers will become more hands on, when they know even less than Woodward and have shown no expertise over football or interest in their NFL team, seems tough to believe.

The Sun also carries a story about Manchester City's designs on Leicester City defender Harry Maguire. The England international has no buy-out clause, meaning that a £90 million bid may be required to convince Leicester to let him go. Pep Guardiola believes that the 26 year old has the skills on the ball to make a success of a move to City, with a bonus that he qualifies as a homegrown player. Leicester would aim to replace Maguire with Burnley's James Tarkowski.

Paper Round's view: Maguire is a perfectly adequate central defender, and he is everything that Phil Jones looked like he might be when he came through at Blackburn Rovers. He is a strong defender able to be in the right place at the right time, which should not be discounted. But he is certainly not adept enough on the ball to succeed at City, and £90 million could be better spent elsewhere.

The Mirror thinks that Manchester United are preparing to sell both Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku. The paper reports that Mino Raiola believes that Pogba will join Real Madrid in the summer. Meanwhile United will not prevent Lukaku from leaving for Juventus or Inter Milan, and letting both of them go should raise around £200 million in total.

Paper Round's view: If Manchester United can get rid of their two biggest disappointments this season, and raise £200 million for replacements, then they should do so without hesitation this summer. Pogba can evidently not be bothered to turn his exceptional talent into being an exceptional player, and Lukaku returned from the World Cup out of shape and unfocused. Far better to bring in players who are capable of making the most of themselves.

The Daily Mail believes that Arsene Wenger could finally be set for a return to football, this time to France. He had turned down an approach to take over at Fulham, but an offer from France could see him become general manager of Olympique Lyon. Wenger would be involved in the recruitment of players and of the first team coach at the club.

Paper Round's view: Wenger's most important and enduring skill was identifying young talent that was able to transition from the reserves to the first team. Keeping him away from team selection would be ideal, because he was no longer able to challenge his players to improve and sustain their quality over and entire season. Lyon would benefit from his talents and avoid the worst of his weaknesses.