Ronaldo out of Manchester United reach? Chelsea stay on Stones’ trail, Arsenal up Benzema bid

There is much speculation over the future of Cristiano Ronaldo this morning. Real Madrid have rejected a formal offer of £84 million from Paris St-Germain for the 30-year-old forward, according to several Middle Eastern newspapers. (AS) while Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal still wants extra cutting edge to his squad but thinks his former player would be out of reach (Manchester Evening News).

Chelsea are ready to make a renewed £26 million bid for Everton defender John Stones with hope that a deal can be tied up before Sunday’s Community Shield. Everton are maintaining their stance that the player is not for sale, but there is an expectation that the player’s desire to speak to Chelsea and the increased offer will persuade them to do business. (Daily Mail).

Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, is understood to be ready to table an increased bid for Karim Benzema, the Real Madrid striker, after an initial offer of £31 million was rejected. A report on Spanish website Fichajes claims that Wenger is prepared to offer the Santiago Bernabéu chiefs around £35m for the French international (Daily Telegraph).

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has backed Paris Saint-Germain’s widely reported move for Manchester United midfielder Angel Di Maria. The Sweden international has played in the French capital for the last three years and would be keen to team up with Di Maria at the Parc des Princes (Sky Sports).

Premier League clubs, notably Arsenal and Liverpool, are on alert after Newcastle appeared to stall on offering Rolando Aarons a new deal. The Mirror claim suggestions that talks had started were wide of the mark and the young English winger has been left in the lurch by his club. He has two years remaining on his current deal and last week reports suggested he was ready to end speculation on his future by penning a new five-year-contract at St James’ Park (Daily Mirror).

Newcastle United have agreed a deal to sign Anderlecht defender Chancel Mbemba, subject to a work permit. The DR Congo international has agreed personal terms and completed his medical with the Premier League club. However, Mbemba, 20, is under investigation from Fifa due to discrepancies over his age (BBC Sport).