Paper Round: RVP to consider his future in summer

Robin van Persie could be set for a shock exit from Manchester United; patience is wearing thin for David Moyes, but his job is safe for the moment; and Liverpool are planning a swoop for Bojan Krkic of Barcelona - here are the main stories making headlines in today's newspapers.

RVP mulls summer move: Robin van Persie is uncertain whether to remain at Manchester United and will consider his future in the summer, according to a report in The Guardian. However, the paper understands the Dutchman has no release clause in his contract, which has two years left to run, and the club will resist any attempt by the player to leave. The Dutchman, who apparently criticised team-mates in the wake of United's defeat to Olympiacos, is reported to have been particularly disappointed when Sir Alex Ferguson retired, given the Scot was integral in the striker's signing from Arsenal.

Paper Round's view: We're not set for another Rooney-esque saga this summer, are we? Van Persie's comments to a Dutch television station were hardly an overt come-and-get-me-plea, but they could well prove to have been the first shot fired in what may become a battle for United to keep hold of him. The fact that his views were conveyed to his manager and team-mates via that typical medium of disgruntlement, the native-speaking interview, suggests the latter. However, United, as they did with Rooney last summer, will be sure to play hardball and stand firm. Given how Rooney's attempts to leave Old Trafford ended up, RVP would do well to remember that.

Moyes safe for now: Patience is wearing thin after United's abysmal showing in the 2-0 defeat to Olympiacos, but David Moyes' position is safe for now, according to most papers today. The Daily Mail reports that United's manager looked "haunted" as he arrived home from Athens on Wednesday, but the club's board will continue to back the Scot for now. However, with a general mood shift in the corridors of power since Tuesday night, that could change unless the team show signs of progress soon. Most papers agree that the next few weeks will be crucial for Moyes, with the club willing to spend more than £100 million in the summer on new players but wary about handing such a massive transfer budget to the wrong man.

Paper Round's view: These stories are not unexpected, although Moyes must be quaking in his boots at the line that he has 12 games to save his job (in The Independent), given that those include three games in nine days against Liverpool, Olympiacos and Manchester City. Defeat to Liverpool would end United's hopes of a top-four finish, failure to overturn the deficit against the Greek side would rule out winning any silverware this season and defeat to City would just be, well, just plain bad for morale. And considering United, in their current malaise, don't really look like winning any of those games, it's easy to see why the board's faith in Moyes is waning.