Paper Round: Chelsea and Liverpool battle for £65m Christian Pulisic

Chelsea face competition for Christian Pulisic, Manchester United will have to spend big for Yerry Mina and Robert Lewandowski, and Jamal Lascelles will stay at Newcastle United.

Chelsea and Liverpool battle for Pulisic 

Chelsea and Liverpool face stiff competition in the pursuit of Christian Pulisic. The 19-year-old American will be sold by Borussia Dortmund as he has two years remaining on his current deal, and would command a £65m price tag. However, while the Premier League duo could both afford him, they will have to beat Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to his signature. Bayern regard him as a successor to Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, while Real Madrid have already made contact for the player. 

United move onto £35m Mina 

Manchester United have moved on from Harry Maguire already. With Leicester City wanting £60m, they have been priced out of a move, and that means that they are looking elsewhere. The next target is Barcelona central defender Yerry Mina. Everton and Wolves have both shown interest in the player, but his £50m price tag might come down as Mina lobbies for a move away after falling down the pecking order. 

Lewandowski wants Sanchez-level wages 

Robert Lewandowski wants to be paid the equivalent of Alex Sanchez’s wages if he is to move to Manchester United or Real Madrid. Sanchez is on roughly half a million pounds a week at Old Trafford, while Lewandowski earns just over half that at Bayern Munich. Bayern would accept £70m for the 29-year-old Poland international, and has also been linked to Real Madrid this summer. Meanwhile, Juventus, Napoli and both Milan clubs are in for the £15m-rated Matteo Darmian. 

Benitez refuses to sell Lascelles 

Rafael Benitez is playing hardball over the future of Jamal Lascelles, Newcastle United’s central defender. The 25-year-old has been linked with a £25m move to West Ham United, and also a deal for £10m more than that to Leicester City if they sell Harry Maguire to Manchester United. However Benitez has made it clear that he won’t entertain the sale of Lascelles. 

Eurosport