Neymar snubbed massive offers from both Chelsea and Manchester City over the summer; Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has appeared on Zenit's radar; and Manchester United are keen on Derby starlet Will Hughes - here are the main transfer stories from today's newspapers.
overlooked Premier League duo in favour of Barcelona: Chelsea and Manchester City were both snubbed by Neymar after having put in mega-money bids over the summer, the Daily Star reports. Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were also keen on the Brazilian, who ended up opting for Barcelona in £48.6m deal from Santos.
Paper Round's view: What can a club do when Barcelona want a player and the player wants to go to the Camp Nou? Not much. Although Chelsea fans could be forgiven for feeling slightly miffed that they ended up with Samuel Eto'o when the likes of Neymar were on their radar.
Skrtel back on Zenit radar: Liverpool defender is being tracked by his former club Zenit St Petersburg, according to the Daily Mirror. The Russian club have set aside around £16 million to bring in a new central defender in January and Skrtel is on their wish list, the paper claims.
Paper Round's view: Rumours linking Liverpool centre-backs with moves elsewhere will persist until one of them actually leaves, given the arrival of three new faces in that position over the summer. It seemed likely that Skrtel would be first out of the door, but a recent resurgence in form has seen him make six appearances this season and he could yet have a future at Anfield.
United target Derby midfielder: Manchester United boss David Moyes wants to sign Derby County youngster Will Hughes, according to the Daily Mail. The 18-year-old is one the best young talents in the Championship and has already made almost 50 appearances for the Rams, the paper reports, and although Moyes is reluctant to delve into the January transfer window, he remains keen on taking Hughes to Old Trafford.
Paper Round's view: Hardly the big-name signing United fans would want to hear about, given the summer's transfer dealings, but certainly one for the future. Whether said supporters are willing to settle for a long-term transfer strategy at the moment is an entirely different matter though.
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Arsenal set to miss out on Martinez: Porto have offered Arsenal target Jackson Martinez a massive 100 per cent pay hike in a bid to keep him from the Gunners' clutches, reports the Daily Mail. Chelsea and Liverpool have also been linked to the Colombia striker, the paper claims, but negotiations have begun on a new long-term contract that should ward off his predators for the time being. "As part of the negotiations, Porto are also hoping to increase his current £32million escape clause to just over £45million, in a further attempt to deter the likes of Arsenal," the paper adds.
Paper Round's view: Martinez is exactly what Arsenal are missing at the moment - as his 33 goals in 37 appearances for Porto attest to. But with a new price tag of £45m, perhaps that might prove too much for a player as yet unproven in the Premier League, even for the cash-rich Gunners.
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But it's Wayne Rooney who dominates most back pages today, with his revelations about why he nearly quit Manchester United over the summer making headlines across the board.
And the Jack Wilshere nationality debate also features heavily after the Arsenal midfielder became embroiled in a Twitter spat with cricket star Kevin Pietersen.
Both stories are covered in depth elsewhere:
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