Manchester United ‘confident’ Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers will replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – Paper Round

The next Man Utd manager will be…

…Brendan Rodgers, according to the Star. The Leicester City boss is the bookies’ current favourite to replace the under-pressure Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the Star believe that the Red Devils are “confident” that the deal will be completed. The report reveals a contract clause in Rodgers’ deal with the Foxes, which would allow him to join a club competing in the Champions League. The former Liverpool and Celtic coach would be “reluctant” to leave his role at Leicester, but he would find it “almost impossible” to pass up the opportunity to take the reins at a club like Manchester United.

Paper Round’s view: Manchester United are all over the place at the moment and it’s become very clear that Solskjaer is not the right manager to take them forward. He has done a great job to bring some much-needed stability to the club, but he is not an elite coach. He will not bring the glory days back to Old Trafford. Is Rodgers the right person for that task? He has won trophies at Celtic and led Leicester to their first-ever FA Cup this year. Rodgers has proven he can compete against some of the best coaches in the Premier League. Let’s se how he deals with the extreme pressure and egos at Manchester United.

Barca target Premier League trio

Barcelona are planning to re-install some star quality to their squad following the arrival of club legend Xavi in a managerial role. Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann both left in the summer and new signing Sergio Aguero has been ruled out for at least three months with a heart problem. Marca (via the Mirror) reveal that Barca are targeting “experienced forwards who are currently out of favour” and “would be open to a loan move”. The Catalan club have identified Premier League trio Raheem Sterling, Edinson Cavani and Timo Werner as potential targets for the January transfer window.

Paper Round’s view: It may have been mentioned that things aren’t going well for Barcelona right now. The Blaugrana sit in ninth place in La Liga and Xavi has just replaced Ronald Koeman in the Camp Nou dugout. It’s time for the post-Messi rebuild to start. Signing loan players on huge wages won’t really help with that. The club just need to buy into the fact that they’re going to have ups and (a fair few) downs over the next year or so while they attempt to return to Europe’s top table. Obviously it would help if the likes of Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele would stay fit for more than a few weeks at a time…

Henderson heading out of Old Trafford

Dean Henderson has threatened to leave Manchester United at the end of the season if he fails to reclaim the number one spot from goalkeeping rival David de Gea. The 24-year-old signed a long-term contract at Old Trafford last August and battled with the Spaniard for the starting spot throughout the 2020-21 campaign. However, Henderson has featured just once in all competitions this season and has lost his place in the England squad. Newcastle United are interested in signing Henderson in January, but Manchester United are unlikely to let him leave until the end of the current season.

Paper Round’s view: It’s a tough, tough situation for Henderson. He signed a five-year contract, with an option to extend for a further year, just last summer. He clearly had faith in his own ability and backed himself to displace De Gea. But after contracting Covid-19, Henderson missed pre-season and has fallen out of favour ever since. It’s a shame that United won’t let him leave mid-season. The club’s third-choice keeper Tom Heaton is more than capable of deputising for De Gea and a move to a highly-ambitious club like Newcastle could be perfect for Henderson.

‘Anyone But Newcastle’

‘Anyone But Newcastle’. That is the message which is reportedly going around Premier League clubs ahead of the winter transfer window following the Tyneside outfit’s Saudi Arabian takeover. The rest of the English top flight are ready to refuse any January bids from Newcastle United, who will be looking to strengthen their squad and avoid relegation to the Championship. The Telegraph reveal that the Magpies will struggle in the transfer market as rival Premier League clubs would “rather see them relegated than take their cash”.

Paper Round’s view: It’s clear that English clubs feel massively threatened by Newcastle… and why wouldn’t they? The Magpies instantly became the richest club in world football after their takeover was completed last month. They’re in a bit of a pickle now though. It’s been 11 matches and they’re the only Premier League club without a win this season. Now there are reports that no English club will sell to them. However, we all know that money talks. If Eddie Howe and co. are willing to pay over the odds to secure top-flight survival, some clubs are bound to give in to their demands.