Paper Round: Aymeric Laporte on verge of Manchester City move

Manchester City close in on Aymeric Laporte, Real Madrid want Mauricio Pochettino, who in turn wants Lucas Moura, while Arsenal will bid for Jonny Evans.

City close in on £57m Laporte 
Manchester City have agreed a fee of £57m with Athletic Bilbao for their central defender Aymeric Laporte. Laporte failed to play for Athletic in their game against Eibar last night, suggesting he is ready to leave the club. The fee would be the highest paid by City, who spent £55m on bringing Kevin De Bruyne to the club. Laporte can play in central defence, and at left-back. 

Real turn to Pochettino 
Real Madrid are making plans for life without current boss Zinedine Zidane. Zidane is expected to leave in the summer after a difficult season, and Real have already made contact with associates of Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino about the possibility of him taking over. Pochettino would not want to leave mid-season, but the Spanish club are confident that a huge transfer budget and the reputation of the club could get their man. 

Moura agrees Spurs deal 
Lucas Moura is expected to join Spurs for a fee of £25m in the coming days. Moura had rarely featured for Paris Saint-Germain this season after the signings of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, and the French side needed to sell in order to start complying with UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules. The two sides have now agreed on a fee for the 25-year-old. 

Arsenal offer part-exchange for Jonny Evans 
Arsenal have made an offer of £10m and Mathieu Debuchy as they attempt to prise Jonny Evans from West Bromwich Albion before the transfer deadline expires on Wednesday, next week. Debuchy, 32, has fallen out of favour with Arsene Wenger, and the lowball offer represents the fact that Evans is 30 himself, and has just 18 months left on his current contract.