Manchester City 'to spend in January transfer window after Aymeric Laporte injury'

Manchester City are already making plans for the January transfer market, according to the Sun. Following the exit of Vincent Kompany on a free transfer, they have seen Aymeric Laporte ruled out for around four months with a knee injury. Pep Guardiola does not want to rely on just John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, so could bring in an extra body.

Paper Round’s view: Kompany would provide an old head for City to rely upon when other players were out, and if he continues to struggle at Anderlecht then perhaps he will be free surprisingly early, before the end of the transfer window. In a lot of ways, the fact that City can buy whenever they encounter an obstacle demonstrates just how easy Guardiola has it.

Chelsea made £100 million in profit on player trading this summer transfer window, reports the Daily Mail, but they are ready to end their extensive loan system. They had 41 players on loan the season before last, and 27 for the current season. However FIFA are planning to allow clubs to loan out between six and eight players as a maximum, which will hamper the club’s current practice.

Paper Round’s view: Chelsea’s transfer ban has come at the right time, in this regard. Instead of being forced into a firesale of players who would never make the first team, they are instead able to bring players like Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount into the first team, and could elect to do something similar in the next transfer window, depending on the state of their ban.

The Mirror carries a report claiming that stories in Italy suggest that Manchester United could be picked off by Juventus. The Italian champions are lining up players available for nothing next season, and that includes David de Gea, Nemanja Matic and Eric Bailly. Christian Eriksen and David Silva are also mentioned.

Paper Round’s view: Matic and Bailly are out of the first team picture at United, and perhaps only Matic has a chance to find his way back, if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer changes his tactics. De Gea would be a huge blow to United if he left, but again, only if he rediscovers his best form. Silva and Eriksen are both far better players than the United trio at the moment.

Bury fans are launching a supporters’ trust in order to help the club fight their way back into league football. The club were expelled from League One last week after they failed to find a buyer, and could ultimately be let back into League two next season. The Telegraph reports that a GoFundMe page has been launched with a £1 million target, in part for any legal action.

Paper Round’s view: A million pounds does not stretch very far anymore, even in League One and Two. It seems that unless Bury are able to fundamentally overhaul their club’s costs, they could be stuck in a cycle of financial struggle. It may be easier to relaunch as a phoenix club further down the pyramid and cut their cloth more conservatively.