Football transfer rumours: Pavard to Chelsea or Manchester United?

The domestic football campaign is approaching faster than a charging Shericka Jackson – the top flight kicks off in just two weeks – and wherever you look, football fans are frothing with excitement at the prospect of another seemingly interminable season.

To begin at the beginning, with some hot Premier League transfer speculation, Chelsea and Manchester United are reportedly both keen to sign the France international full-back and Rumour Mill staple Benjamin Pavard – although the Sun reports that Juventus and Atlético Madrid are also keeping a beady eye on the situation.

However, Pavard is said to want to play at centre-back rather than full-back, which may prove an issue at both Premier League clubs: Kalidou Koulibaly and Thiago Silva are poised to form a fearsome central defensive partnership at Chelsea with Jules Koundé and Presnel Kimpembe also on Thomas Tuchel’s summer shopping list. Lisandro Martínez, meanwhile, has already boosted Manchester United’s options at centre-back.

A player sizing up the Old Trafford exit door is Cristiano Ronaldo, and the latest scoop is that he has been offered to Barcelona by his agent Jorge Mendes. Why Xavi might want another ageing forward in addition to Robert Lewandowski, recently signed from Bayern Munich, is anybody’s guess. But then, Barça are busy pulling those “economic levers”. A final snippet of Manchester United news is that the club are increasingly keen to move for Youri Tielemans from Leicester if they cannot snare Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona.

Over at Liverpool, Jürgen Klopp fancies bolstering his midfield by signing Matheus Nunes from Sporting. Reports in Portugal suggest the clubs are ready to sit down and thrash out a deal for the 23-year-old, who is valued at