The coronavirus pandemic made the summer transfer market unlike any before it, but there were still plenty of deals done, and you can check out the major ones here. The window might be closed across the top leagues in Europe, but here are the best rumours from around the globe.
TOP STORY: Bayern readying De Jong deal
Bayern Munich are preparing a move for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong just a year after he moved to Spain, Catalonia-based outlet Mundo Deportivo reports.
Barcelona beat many of Europe’s top clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City to sign De Jong from Ajax in 2019 for an initial fee of €75 million. But the Netherlands international’s arrival at Camp Nou was poorly timed, with the club falling into in disarray at board level as well as on the pitch.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Bayern are ready to take advantage of Barcelona’s precarious financial position and offer De Jong a way out. They had been in the hunt to sign both De Jong and defender Matthijs de Ligt in 2018 for a joint fee of €150m, but in the end the Dutch club earned around that amount by selling De Jong to Barca and De Ligt to Juventus.
Barca are reportedly aware that Bayern have been in contact with De Jong’s agent, Ali Durson, and the European champions believe they could secure a deal for around the same fee that Barca paid Ajax, well below the 23-year-old’s €400m release clause.
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14.29 GMT: Tottenham Hotspur are considering a move for Brentford forward Marcus Forss, Eurosport reports.
Forss announced himself on the global stage last month when he scored the opening goal of Finland’s 2-0 win over France in Paris, 28 minutes into his first senior appearance for the national team.
The 21-year-old is in good form for Championship side Brentford, scoring seven times in 17 games for the club so far this season.
Spurs have shown they are not afraid to recruit young talents from the second tier of English football. They signed Joe Rodon from Swansea City toward the end of the previous transfer window, and the Wales international centre-back has since featured in Premier League matches against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.
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13.41 GMT: Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha has been a target for Arsenal in the past. Could he be the player to boost the Gunners’ ailing form this season?
1:47
Colin Udoh considers whether Wilfried Zaha has missed his opportunity for a move to one of the Premier League’s “big boys.”
12.58 GMT: Manchester United have doubts about whether Real Madrid or Juventus can afford Paul Pogba, sources have told ESPN’s Rob Dawson.
Agent Mino Raiola has announced his intention to find a new club for Pogba, who will not sign a new contract at Old Trafford according to the Italian.
The Frenchman has a contract with United until 2022 but Raiola has invited bids for the 27-year-old in January and next summer.
Pogba’s preference is to join Madrid but sources have told ESPN that United do not believe the Spanish champions can afford a significant transfer fee and the midfielder’s hefty wages of around £290,000-a-week.
Pogba is a favourite of Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane but there are question marks over the 48-year-old’s job at the Bernabeu after a mixed start to the season.
Juventus and Barcelona have also expressed interest in signing Pogba in the past but, like Madrid, have been forced to tighten their finances following the coronavirus pandemic. Paris Saint-Germain is Pogba’s only other viable option.
Because of lack of funds available for transfers, sources have told ESPN that United are expecting to receive cash plus swap offers but they will not consider players not already on the recruitment department’s list of targets.
12.07 GMT: Moise Kean has said he is open to the possibility of making his loan move to Paris Saint-Germain from Everton permanent.
The 20-year-old striker joined Everton from Juventus in the summer of 2019 but struggled to establish himself at Goodison Park, scoring just two goals in 31 Premier League appearances.
Kean has been reinvigorated since joining to PSG in October, scoring seven goals in 12 appearances including two in the Champions League.
“I am very happy with my performance with PSG,” the Italy international is quoted by the Daily Mail as saying before PSG’s game against Istanbul Basaksehir on Tuesday. “It’s a very good thing to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. I am focused on bringing good results. For the future, we’ll see, you never know.”
11.22 GMT: The way Inter Milan are treating Christian Eriksen is “completely wrong,” according to his former coach with the Denmark national team, as West Ham have emerged as a surprise destination for the midfielder in the January transfer window.
Eriksen joined Inter in January in a €20m move just months before his contract with Spurs was due to expire, but is yet to be a regular starter for Antonio Conte’s side.
Rosenborg boss Age Hareide, who coached the Denmark national team for four years, is quoted by FCInterNews as saying: “First of all, I think it’s a shame for Christian. But I also think it’s completely wrong that Conte is keeping him out so much.
“In my opinion, he is good enough to play for Inter. He proved to be an important player, both for Denmark and for Tottenham in the Premier League, where he was a key player.”
Meanwhile, Eurosport reports that West Ham are looking into the possibility of signing Eriksen in the January transfer window, just a year after he left their bitter London rivals Tottenham.
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10.37 GMT: Bayern Munich defender David Alaba continues to be the subject of interest from several of Europe’s top clubs, Sport Bild reports.
Alaba, 28, is out of contract at the end of the season after talks over a new deal with the European champions stalled. That means the Austria international can is free to negotiate a contract with a new club from Jan. 1 and move as a free agent in the summer.
German outlet Sport Bild reports that Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea are the clubs most interested in Alaba, who is hoping for an annual salary of €20m from any contract he signs.
0:55
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer criticises Paul Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola following Manchester United’s elimination from the Champions League.
09.56 GMT: Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hit back at Mino Raiola by reminding Paul Pogba‘s agent that football “is a team sport.”
Raiola announced on Monday that Pogba will not sign a contract extension and wants to leave Old Trafford — 24 hours before the crucial clash with RB Leipzig that United lost 3-2 to crash out of the Champions League.
Rio Ferdinand branded the timing of Raiola’s comments “disgusting” before Solskjaer used his postmatch news conference to vent his frustration at Pogba’s representative.
“As soon as Paul’s agent realises this is a team sport and we work together the better and that’s maybe the last thing I’ll say on that,” said Solskjaer. “What we speak about in the background is something. I’m not going to talk about Paul’s agent anymore.”
In his interview with Tuttosport, Raiola demanded United sell Pogba, who was left on the bench against Leipzig, either in January or at the end of the season because the 27-year-old is “unhappy” at the club he joined for a world record fee in 2016.
The Frenchman still has 18 months left on his existing deal and Solskjaer was in no mood to talk about his transfer plans after seeing his team eliminated from the Champions League in Germany.
“You have got to ask Paul if he is happy or unhappy,” Solskjaer told BT Sport. “He is focused on doing his best for the team. Now is not the time to discuss transfers.”
09.12 GMT: Zinedine Zidane has said it wouldn’t surprise him if he was sacked should Real Madrid crash out of the Champions League.
Madrid need to beat Group B leaders Borussia Monchengladbach at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium on Wednesday to guarantee qualifying for the round of 16, although a draw would be enough if Inter Milan beat Shakhtar Donetsk. The Spanish giants have never failed to get out of the Champions League group stage in the competition’s history.
“No. The club will do what it has to do, as always,” Zidane said in his prematch news conference, when asked if he’d be shocked to lose his job if that record is broken. “I am not thinking about that, I’m thinking about tomorrow’s game. The club will do things as it always has. I don’t think about that, honestly.”
Zidane’s Champions League record is unmatched, winning the competition an unprecedented three consecutive times in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Last year’s European campaign ended with a disappointing defeat to Manchester City in August, while this season has seen two group stage losses to Shakhtar.
Domestically, Madrid won La Liga last season, but they have already been beaten by Cadiz, Valencia and Alaves this term.
08.30 GMT: Borussia Dortmund are looking at PSV Eindhoven’s Donyell Malen as a potential replacement for Jadon Sancho, Sport Bild reports.
England international Sancho is under contract at Dortmund until 2023 and could leave the Westfalenstadion next summer should a club make a bid in the region of €100m.
This summer, Manchester United failed in their attempt to land the 20-year-old winger, who has struggled for form this season but is slowly returning to being the influential player he was last term.
Malen, 21, has also been linked with interest from Arsenal, where he was on the books as a youth player. The Netherlands international has scored 12 goals in 19 club appearances so far this season.
PAPER TALK (by Danny Lewis)
Pogba to Juve rumours heating up
Paul Pogba‘s name is firmly back in the headlines this week, and that is set to continue following Manchester United‘s exit from the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Athletic this week reports that a swap deal between United and Juventus could be in the offing in January, with Argentina forward Paulo Dybala moving to Old Trafford and Pogba returning to Turin.
Meanwhile, Juventus sport director Fabio Paratici made some interesting comments to Mediaset regarding the France World Cup winner.
“Will Pogba return? He’s not a free agent so you have to pay … We all know well his value and how much he costs,” Paratici told Mediaset. “We shall see, He is a player that we love, a great player, we know more than anyone else but right now, he is a Manchester United player.”
Pogba, who played at Juve between 2012-16, seems unhappy with his current situation at United with agent Mino Raiola telling Tuttosport on Monday that “I can say that it’s over for Paul Pogba at Manchester United.”
Spanish giants Real Madrid were also linked with interest in Pogba before he returned to United for what was at the time a world-record fee, and the 27-year-old said as recently as October that a move to the Bernabeu remains “a dream for me.”
Trio of big clubs circling for Lazio‘s Correa
Juventus, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid are all looking at Lazio’s Joaquin Correa, according to Calciomercato.
The Argentine scored in Lazio’s 2-2 draw on Tuesday, helping the club reach the Champions League knockout stages for the first time since 2000. Both Juventus and Atletico have looked at the 26-year-old in the past, and it seems they have not gone off him, while Milan’s interest will grow further if Hakan Calhanoglu leaves.
It is suggested within the report that any side who signs Correa will need to pay a fee of €50m – €55m.
Juventus and Milan join race for Rudiger
It has already been mentioned that Barcelona are chasing Chelsea‘s Antonio Rudiger, but it seems they may have competition from Juventus and AC Milan.
That is according to Calciomercato, which writes that Juventus want the Germany international due to injuries suffered, while Milan don’t feel they have an alternative to Simon Kjaer.
Chelsea are believed to be looking for €18 million for Rudiger, but there may be room for negotiation on that price. After failing to land a move away from Stamford Bridge in the summer, it seems as though Rudiger will have plenty of options when the January transfer window comes around.
Tap-ins
– There have been plenty of reports around Christian Eriksen‘s potential departure from Internazionale. However, Calciomercato is suggesting that the Dane isn’t the only man who could be leaving the San Siro.
The report has learned that Radja Nainggolan is wanted by Cagliari but could still join a different club, Matias Vecino may also be available and that Andrea Pinamonti is likely to be loaned out or used in a deal to bring someone else in.
– Premier League-linked Jonathan Tah has admitted that he is open to a move to England. The Bayer Leverkusen centre-back told Goal and SPOX: “The Premier League appeals to me, it has always been like that. I always had the feeling that my style of play would suit England well.
“The physicality of the league and the need to think quickly are qualities that suit my game. Opinions differ as to which league is the best in the world – for me it’s the Premier League.”
– Could defender Emily Sonnett be the nest USWNT player to make the move to England? The Athletic’s Meg Linehan reports that clubs in both in England and Germany have interest in Sonnett, with the defender’s agent revealing that she currently has two offers on the table. Sonnett, 27, currently plays in Sweden with Kopparbergs/Goteborg FC.
