United must pay £40m for Milenkovic

Manchester United are interested in Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic, but the Sun says they will have to spend more than they would like to in order to land him.

With Juventus, Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea also linked with the Serbia international, United "have been told it will cost more than £40 million" to sign him.

That is £10m more than they had hoped to pay for the 21-year-old, who was scouted by Jose Mourinho while on international duty last week.

The Sun says "United's money men are wary of paying over the odds, having already given Mourinho £61m to buy Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof -- both struggling for regular starts."

And with United having been told Juve are "very keen," Mourinho's search for a new centre-back may go on a bit longer.

Meanwhile, the Manchester Evening News says the manager is also looking at Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly, "who is understood to be open to moving to England."

Senegal international Koulibaly recently signed new terms, "but Mourinho must believe there is a possibility of signing him."

Chelsea are "desperate" for midfielder N'Golo Kante to agree a new contract amid ongoing interest from Real Madrid, the Sun reports.

It says Madrid are weighing up an £80m move for France international Kante.

Although the former Leicester midfielder has three years remaining on his contract, Chelsea "will have to move quickly to improve his terms if they want to keep him out of their clutches."

The report says that although Kante is happy in London, "he would consider an offer from 13-times European Cup winners Madrid."

Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus have also been linked with Kante, but it is thought a move to either would be unlikely.

Ake 'would have first-team chance at City'
As the race for Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake hots up, Manchester City may have moved to the front of the queue, according to the Mail.

Reports over the weekend suggested City were preparing to bid £40m for Netherlands international Ake.

And the Mail says that although the champions have plenty of options in central defence, "Ake's stock is rising rapidly and it is thought he would compete for a place straight away."

United, along with Tottenham, are also interested in the 23-year-old, who would count as a homegrown player because he came through the ranks at Chelsea.

Reports last week said Bournemouth would have to inform Chelsea of any offer because the Blues have first refusal to re-sign him.

Tap-ins
- With Toby Alderweireld seemingly on his way out, Tottenham have identified the player they want to bring in in his place, according to the Sun.

It reports that Spurs are ready to offer £25m for Sampdoria defender Joachim Andersen, "seen as the long-term replacement for Alderweireld."

- New Aston Villa manager Dean Smith is targeting Sheffield Wednesday defender Matt Penney, according to the Birmingham Mail.

Penney, 20, has also been linked with Bournemouth and Brighton, but Wednesday hope to persuade him to sign a new contract.