In need of a left-back and ready to plump for experience over youth, José Mourinho will look beyond Celtic’s Kieran Tierney and sign Alex Sandro from Juventus instead. A deal could be done following next Saturday’s FA Cup final and any such transaction looks likely to spell the end of Luke Shaw’s miserable stay at Old Trafford. Juve are prepared to let Sandro leave this summer, but will demand £55m for the 27-year-old, while Shaw is attracting interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Everton. Daley Blind and Matteo Darmian are also expected to leave United and their departures would help trim the club’s wage bill by the thick end of £10m.

Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri has made no secret of the fact he’d quite like Antonio Conte’s job at Chelsea and speculation is already mounting that the two men might swap roles. Reports from Naples say the club’s deep-lying midfielder, Jorginho, reckons Sarri would take him to Chelsea, while Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in making a Premier League player of the 26-year-old Italy international who is valued at just over £50m.

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Having issued what has been interpreted as an ultimatum to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, a Tottenham splurge of such magnitude might constitute just what the doctor ordered for the Argentinian manager. Current Spurs midfielders Mousa Dembélé and Victor Wanyama could be sold to help fund a move for one of the most sought-after players in Europe. In other news pertaining to Napoli, Arsenal are giving the Serie A side’s burly Senegalese centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly the glad eye but will have to pay more than £50m for his services.

Riyad Mahrez looks to have played his final game in a Leicester City shirt and is once again the subject of interest from Manchester City, having failed to secure a move to the Etihad on the final day of the January transfer window. City’s interest in Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has also been well-documented, but upon being quizzed about his future yesterday, the 25-year-old said Palace “is my home and there’s no reason for me to leave”.

Brazilian fun-boy Neymar continues to be mentioned in conjunction with a move away from Paris Saint-Germain to Manchester United or Real Madrid, but says he is “weary” of speculation regarding his future and wants to hear no more of it until after the World Cup.

Barcelona remain hopeful of signing Atlético Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann without upsetting his employers by activating his £88m (€100m) release clause and are prepared to pay an additional £13.2m (€15m) on top of that sum to maintain good relations with the Madrid side. Barcelona have already agreed personal terms with the France international, who wants the move wrapped up before the World Cup.

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Leicester fans will be upset to learn that their unpopular manager, Claude Puel, plans to honour his contract despite receiving overtures from 1990s synth-popsters Saint Etienne, while their Huddersfield counterparts are collectively clinging to the lower legs of their boss David Wagner, in the hope it will prevent the German from abandoning them. In other managerial news, Everton and West Ham both want Marco Silva, who has been out of work since being sacked by Watford in January.