Man Utd beat Chelsea to Serge Aurier but could lose Ibrahimovic

Serge Aurier has agreed a five-year deal with Manchester United. That's the stunning claim in The Sun, which says that the Paris Saint-Germain right-back has plumped for Old Trafford over Chelsea.

The 24-year-old Frenchman has thrashed out personal terms, but United "are yet to agree a fee with PSG". And of course there's also the tricky question of a work permit, with the feisty French defender banned from entering the UK last year because of a conviction for assaulting a police officer outside a nightclub in Paris after he was stopped for a breath test. The Ivory Coast star is appealing the conviction and the outcome of that appeal will determine whether he moves to Manchester this month.

Jose Mourinho will certainly be hoping everything works out for Aurier with the Sun claiming that the Special One has identified the Frenchman as the man to shore up his defence. That suits Aurier who, says the Sun, would have struggled for regular game-time this season in Paris because of the arrival of Dani Alves.

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Elsewhere and the Daily Telegraph says that AC Milan are ready to rival United for the signature of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish striker, currently recuperating from knee surgery, was released by the Red Devils at the end of last season but reports this week suggest the club want to offer him a new deal after being impressed by his speedy recovery.

But according to the Telegraph, AC Milan have their eye on Ibrahimovic and will use the money from their new Chinese owners to make the veteran striker an offer he can't refuse.

Serge Aurier to Man United as PSG clear the decks for Neymar

2 August

According to reports from France Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier will soon be officially unveiled as a Manchester United player.

Citing media outlets on the other side of the Channel, The Sun says that United are "closing in on £95,000-a-week contract for the Ivorian defender" after personal terms were agreed.

The deal will be a five-year one and it's believed that United will pay PSG £30m for the 24-year-old. Jose Mourinho has been stalking Aurier for several months and apparently super agent Mino Raiola has been "speaking to PSG on United's behalf as the French club look to raise funds for the signing of Neymar".

The French giants are reportedly close to pulling off a world-record £198m deal for the Barcelona striker and not surprisingly they'll need to cash in some of their chiips to finance the signing. Last season PSG told United that Aurier was "off-limits" but they've since revised that position and the Sun says that the blocker could make his debut for United as early as Saturday week when the new season starts.

But the Daily Mirror isn't so sure, pointing out that Aurier "is currently banned from entering the UK" having been found guilty of assaulting a police officer outside a Paris nightclub last year. That offence meant he was barred from entering the country for PSG's Champions League game against Arsenal in October and the Mirror says that United will be forced to "make representations to the government to clarify his position" before completing the transfer.

Elsewhere and the Daily Star says that Inter Milan are poised to make a proposition to United concerning Ivan Perisic.

Citing Italian paper La Gazzetta dello Sport as their source, the Star claims that Inter boss Luciano Spalletti believes United "might sacrifice Anthony Martial" in their quest to land Perisic. Apparently Inter are refusing to budge from their £49m asking price for the Croatia international but what could persuade them to offload Persic "is if Martial heads in the opposite direction on a season-long loan".

The offer may be accepted by United given that Martial struggled for form last season and is not considered a first-team regular by Jose Mourinho.