The transfer windows in Europe’s top leagues are closed, but it’s never too early to look forward to January. Click here to view the latest transfers, and keep up to date with the newest gossip below.
TOP STORY: Matic mulling over United exit in January
The Manchester Evening News claims Man United midfielder Nemanja Matic is open to leaving the club in the January transfer window, after growing increasingly frustrated at a lack of playing time under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The 31-year-old has started just two Premier League games this season, and with the European Championships just around the corner, the Serbian is worried his lack of first-team football could see him axed from his national side for the tournament next summer.
The former Chelsea man’s contract at Old Trafford expires at the end of the season, and he has been linked with a move to Inter Milan in recent weeks. United, however, have an option to extend the midfielder’s contract by a further season, to the summer of 2021, but could be tempted to cash in at the turn of the year and buy a younger replacement.
LIVE BLOG
13.27 GMT: Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has been playing for the club again, having been axed in recent weeks, but Fanatik claims Fenerbahce are hot on his tracks for next season.
Juventus’ Blaise Matuidi and Roma’s Aleksandar Kolarov are also on the Turkish club’s shortlist, but Ozil is the No. 1 target.
12.18 GMT: Liefering’s centre-forward Karim Adeyemi may only be 17 but he’s already attracting interest from Liverpool, Arsenal and Barcelona.
According to Transfermarkt, Barca have had a €15m bid for Adeyemi turned down, with the German side hoping to spark a bidding war.
11.39 GMT: Former Boca and Chile coach (and now pundit) Claudio Borghi says that River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo will become Barcelona boss in December.
River have denied any approach for their boss, while sources have told ESPN that Ernesto Valverde still has the support of the Barcelona board but there is increasing concern about how the team is playing.
10.24 GMT: Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo has hit back at Zinedine Zidane after the Real Madrid boss spoke about Kylian Mbappe‘s childhood dream to play for the Spanish giants.
Zidane discussed Mbappe’s reported admiration for Madrid as a child during a news conference on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Galatasaray, and Leonardo was less than happy.
09.57 GMT: Will the curse of the captain strike again at Arsenal now that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has the armband?
El Desmarque reports that the club have told Aubameyang (whose contract expires in 2021) they will listen to offers for him if he chooses he wants to leave, with Real Madrid apparently keen on a £69m summer move.
While El Chiringuito says that Barcelona are interested in the Gabon striker as long-term replacement for Luis Suarez and could even make a bid in January.
08.41 GMT: Aaron Ramsey left Arsenal on a free transfer this summer to join Juventus, but former manager Arsene Wenger says that the Wales midfielder didn’t want to go.
“He wanted to stay at Arsenal,” Wenger said on beIN Sports. “We had an agreement and the club went back on that. I tried a long time to extend his contract.
“But sometimes you have influences from agents. Every case is different and you have to understand in decision making — always who is influential and not when you make transfers. What I know from him, he was keen to stay.”
08.00 GMT: Willy Caballero says he would like to return to play in Spain and not to his native Argentina before retiring.
Caballero, 38, an understudy of Kepa Arrizabalaga at Chelsea, is tied to the Blues until next summer. The veteran goalkeeper says he is not considering retiring any time soon but told Diario AS: “Returning to Argentina is not in my plans because I feel more like a European player. I came here [to Europe] very young and left the domestic league in my country at 22.
“I would like to return to Spain. Elche or Malaga? Of course, but it’s not just a case of what one desires, but that they want you and the circumstances are there. For the time being, I’m a Chelsea player and we shall see what happens in June. I’m 38 but I feel in good form and perfectly ready to continue to play at a good level for longer.”
PAPER TALK (by James Capps)
Real lie in wait for Mbappe contract snub
Real Madrid are confident Kylian Mbappe will turn down Paris Saint-Germain’s offer of a new contract, opening the door for the Frenchman to join Zinedine Zidane’s side, according to Marca.
The 20-year-old has two-and-a-half years remaining on his contract in the French capital, meaning his transfer value could begin to decrease in around six months’ time, if there is no indication that the World Cup winner will sign a new deal.
Real president Florentino Perez is a long-term admirer of Mbappe, but the consensus among the Madrid hierarchy is there isn’t the required €300-400m available to sign the former Monaco man as early as January, so are prepared to wait for the player to turn down a bumper contract offer and force the move through, himself.
The Parisians, meanwhile, are preparing to offer Mbappe a whopping €40m a year to stay at the club beyond 2022.
Premier League giants in renewed Haaland hope
Premier League trio Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United have placed themselves on red alert after the father of highly-sought-after FC Salzburg striker Erling Haaland admitted his son is keen to play Premier League football.
Alf-Inge Haaland, who himself spent a decade in English football with Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Man City, believes his son has the physical and technical qualities required to be a success in the English top flight.
Haaland Sr. said in the Daily Star: “He’s built for the Premier League at one stage, I think. Whether that happens now or at a later stage, we don’t know.”
Haaland Jr., 19, has also been linked with moves to Real Madrid and Juventus, with reports claiming it will take a bid in the region of £90m to prize the Norway international away from the Austrian Bundesliga champions.
Tap ins
– Sources at Calciomercato believe AC Milan are monitoring Granit Xhaka‘s situation at Arsenal, and could make a move for axed Gunners skipper in January. Switzerland international Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy by boss Unai Emery on Tuesday, and could now be sold to help ease tension in the Arsenal dressing room.
– Calciomercato claims Crystal Palace are keeping tabs on Wolfsburg striker Wout Weghorst, as manager Roy Hodgson seeks desperately to add goals to his misfiring forward line. The 27-year-old Dutchman has scored five goals in 10 Bundesliga games this season.
– Reports claim Paris Saint-Germain left-back Layvin Kurzawa will leave the Ligue 1 champions at the end of the season on a free transfer. The 27-year-old joined the club in 2015 from Monaco, but is unlikely to be offered an extension to his contract, which expires next summer.
