January is just around the corner. Click here to view the latest transfers, and keep up to date with the newest gossip below.
TOP STORY: Tottenham eyeing Flamengo star Gerson
Tottenham Hotspur are looking to shore up their midfield by bringing Flamengo's Gerson to London. According to 90min, Spurs have held talks with the former Roma man, whose had a bit of a career resurgence since returning to his native Brazil.
Gerson has been a key cog for Flamengo, who lost a 1-0 heartbreaker on Saturday to Liverpool in the Club World Cup final. Spurs boss Jose Mourinho is said to have given his blessing to bring the Brazilian during the January transfer window.
In addition to Gerson, Mourinho's side would like to nab Issa Diop from fellow London side West Ham, according to Sky Sports. But there is a big catch -- the Hammers aren't willing to part with the defender for less than £50 million.
Spurs' pursuit of reinforcements comes as Mourinho has urged Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen to follow Toby Alderweireld's lead by signing a new contract. Alderweireld ended speculation about his future on Friday by committing to the club until 2023, with his previous deal due to expire in the summer.
LIVE BLOG
23.00 GMT: That will do it for the latest edition of our LIVE Transfer Talk blog. We hoped you enjoyed following along with us and remind you to check back shortly for the latest transfer rumours, reports and completed deals. Goodnight!
22.52 GMT: Jonny Evans back to Man United?
Former Liverpool player and current pundit Graeme Souness believes United should sign Evans, 31, in January.
"Jonny Evans has been a revelation and both Manchester clubs would love him right now.
"If he and their other key players stay fit, Leicester will be there or thereabouts."
United currently have Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof at centre-back and would seem to have bigger problem areas at the moment.
22.14 GMT: We had a line earlier about Arsenal potentially being in on Bayer Leverkusen striker Kevin Volland. Another forward being linked with a move to the Emirates? Dries Mertens.
With talk that star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could leave in January heating up, Italian outlet Calciomercato suggests that soon-to-be-out-of-contract Mertens could be targeted as a replacement. The report writes that Napoli would be willing to let Mertens, 32, go for as little as €10 million, so that they don't lose the Belgian for nothing come summer.
The diminutive forward has been in fine form for Napoli, having scored nine goals and added four assists in 21 games so far this season.
21.02 GMT: Another player West Ham are reportedly in on is Championship ace Jarrod Bowen.
The Hull City man has 17 goals this term and is drawing interest from Premier League clubs like West Ham, Leicester, Aston Villa and even Tottenham, according to The Sun. The 23-year-old, who previously flopped at Wolves, is valued at £20 million and could be a valuable addition for a promotion hopeful or relegation threatened side.
20.13 GMT: West Ham, Brighton and West Brom are all supposedly duking it out for Bordeaux right-back Enock Kwateng, according to The Telegraph.
The French defender is rated at £4 million and would be seen as a replacement for West Brom if highly-rated youngster Nathan Ferguson is sold this January.
19.22 GMT: Arsenal are considering a move for Bayer Leverkusen striker Kevin Volland, according to Sky Sports News.
The London club reportedly recently scouted the 27-year-old, who has scored seven goals and added seven assists so far this season. Volland has 18 months remaining on his contract and could be Mikel Arteta's first signing as Gunners boss.
18.39 GMT: Celtic are looking to add Cruzerio defender Fabricio Bruno but there is a catch.
The 23-year-old has gone to court in an attempt to terminate his contract with the Brazilian side due to unpaid wages. If Bruno is successful, Celtic could sign the central defender for free in January, who they recently made a £3 million enquiry about.
17.55 GMT: Leicester City have yet to replace Harry Maguire in central defence and after recouping £80 million for the England man this summer.
The thought is that the surprise Premier League contenders could do so in January, with The Telegraph reporting that Juventus and Italy defender Daniele Rugani is an option. The Foxes are reportedly "weighing up a move" for the 25-year-old defender, who has only appeared once in Serie A this season for the Old Lady.
Leicester currently have Caglar Soyuncu and Jonny Evans in central defence but could be looking to upgrade this winter with Rugani a potential target.
17.02 GMT: Tottenham are set to recall Jack Clarke from his season-long loan at Leeds United as the young winger is getting barely any playing time at his former club, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Spurs signed Clarke, 19, from Leeds last summer for £8.5m, but then immediately loaned him back to the Championship club for the 2019-20 campaign.
However, despite making 22 league appearances in his first season under Marcelo Bielsa's management, this term Clarke has featured in just three games, a pair of Carabao Cup starts in August and a 19-minute substitute appearance in the league last month.
16.13 GMT: David Beckham's new Major League Soccer franchise are keen to bring in goalkeeper Joe Hart, according to The Sun.
Hart, 32, was formerly No. 1 for Premier League giants and also the England national team. However, he has endured a torrid spell in his career ever since City boss Pep Guardiola decided he did not fit into the team's playing style.
Spells on loan at Torino and West Ham followed for Hart before he signed permanently for Burnley last year, but he is not getting much game time at Turf Moor either.
Inter Miami, which will begin MLS play in 2020, have also been linked with interest in Hart's former City teammate, Spanish playmaker David Silva.
15.23 GMT: Paris Saint-Germain have entered into negotiations with AC Milan for the purchase of Lucas Paqueta, according to Sky Italia.
Brazil international Paqueta, 22, joined Milan from Flamengo in January. Since then the attacking midfielder has made 30 appearances for the Rossoneri, including 20 starts in Serie A, but has managed only one goal for the club.
14.34 GMT: Watford paraded a new signing on the Vicarage Road pitch before Sunday's Premier League clash with Manchester United -- Brazilian forward Joao Pedro.
The 18-year-old agreed a deal to join the Hornets from Fluminense in his homeland earlier this year, and will officially join them on Jan. 1 after his UK work permit application was processed.
Joao Pedro follows the same path as Richarlison, who also left Fluminense to join Watford in 2017 before making a £40m move to Everton the following year.
Our new number 17!
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) December 22, 2019
Welcome @DeJesusofiicial 🇧🇷#WATMUN pic.twitter.com/W0q8tiEOVG
13.43 GMT: Chelsea defender Marc Guehi is wanted by Premier League strugglers Norwich City and Southampton to help boost their respective survival bids, according to The Sun.
Guehi, 19, has made a seven appearances for Chelsea's U21 side in the EFL Trophy since the start of last season, while this term he made his first appearances for the senior side in a pair of Carabao Cup games, the most recent being the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in October.
Norwich and Southampton have both contacted Chelsea about signing the England U21 international on loan in January, but they face competition from Championship sides Bristol City, Swansea City and Nottingham Forest.
12.59 GMT: Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic is on the verge of moving to Qatari club Al Duhail, according to Sky Sport Italia.
Mandzukic, 33, was reportedly pictured arriving in the Gulf state to have a medical for the club where his former Juve teammate, moved in January.
The Croatia international has been at Juventus since 2015, scoring 44 goals including a memorable overhead kick in the 2017 Champions League final loss to Real Madrid.
Mandzukic had been linked with a move to Old Trafford in the summer.
12.16 GMT: Schalke captain Alexander Nubel has told the club he will not renew his contract, which runs out at the end of this season.
The Bundesliga side, who signed him from Paderborn in 2015, confirmed the news on Sunday. In a statement they said they were "not particularly surprised" by the goalkeeper's decision.
Nubel has been linked with a summer move to reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Earlier this month the 23-year-old was banned for four matches following a kung-fu kick landed on Eintracht Frankfurt player Mijat Gacinovic.
11.30 GMT: Bayern Munich have appointed Hansi Flick as their coach until the end of the season, the Bundesliga champions have announced.
Flick, 54, was promoted following Niko Kovac's dismissal in early November. He was originally appointed for two matches against Olympiakos in the Champions League and against Borussia Dortmund in the league. But two wins earned him the trust of the club and squad to continue until the winter break.
In November, Bayern had been linked with several top managers such as Mauricio Pochettino, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Thomas Tuchel. They will now have time to bring in a new head coach for the 2020-21 season.
Pochettino said in an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday that he would be open to a new job after a short period out of football, and that he is willing to listen to offers outside the Premier League.
"In football you never know what can happen in the future. you need to be only free and open to listen and anything can happen," Pochettino said. "I am a coach and I would love to be in in the best place that you can.
"Now is a moment to recharge the batteries. The Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world. But it's not only the Premier League, there are a lot of leagues in the world that can be exciting or a very good challenge."
Hansi #Flick will remain in charge until the end of the season. #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/Xxov09ujFi
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) December 22, 2019
10.52 GMT: Freddie Ljungberg ended his tenure as Arsenal's caretaker manager by casting fresh doubt over Mesut Ozil's future at the club.
Ljungberg said after Saturday's 0-0 draw at Everton that Ozil, who was ruled out of the game through injury, would not have been selected in any case due to his petulant reaction to being substituted in last Sunday's 3-0 loss at home to Manchester City.
"He walked off and kicked the drinks bottle and the fans were not happy," Ljungberg said, as reported by The Times. "I got asked after the game and I said for me, and Arsenal, that is not how we behave and that is not what we do and I stand by that. Mesut was injured but I would not have picked him for the squad today because I wanted to make a stance: that is not what I accept from an Arsenal football player and that is my decision."
One of the most pressing matter for new Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is how to deal with Ozil, who is the club's highest earner under a contract that runs until 2021 but has had lengthy spells out of the team over the past year amid inconsistent form.
- Too late to back out now! Arteta, Ancelotti's awkward afternoon watching new teams
10.00 GMT: Manchester United manager insists that Paul Pogba's recent, lengthy absence is genuinely through injury and not because the way is being paved for him to leave the club.
Pogba has not played for United since Sept. 30, and what was initially thought to be a short-term ankle injury then required surgery. Footage recently emerged of the France international dancing at his brother's wedding while he was still ruled out, but he could make his return against Watford on Sunday.
"All I can say is that Paul is working as hard as he can to get back and you will see him smile again as soon as he's back on the pitch," Solskjaer said. "He is a Manchester United player, someone we are really happy to have in the squad and one of the best players in the world, but he needs to be fit.
"Everyone is allowed to be injured from time to time. I was out for 18 months once, and of course I attended weddings and did all sorts of different things during that period, but it was still a bad time for me because I wasn't playing football. Being out for a long time like Paul is the worst thing that can happen to a player, because everyone wants to play. It's a proper mental test for a footballer because there's nothing more disheartening."
The Norwegian coach also insisted that he is the one who has the final say on transfers at Old Trafford. United are yet to appoint a sporting director despite announcing they would seek to fill the newly created role almost 18 months ago.
"I'll always have the final say on transfers," the manager said. "No one comes in the door without me saying yes. It has to be that way, even though signing players is a process involving other members of staff. I don't really speak to agents, because I have nothing to do with the money side of it, but the final decision on who becomes a Manchester United player will be mine."
PAPER TALK (by Rich Edwards): Chelsea confident of securing Sancho
Jadon Sancho's return to the Premier League has been the source of almost constant speculation throughout 2019 -- and it shows no sign of slowing at January looms into view.
Talksport claim that Chelsea are increasingly confident that his next destination will be Stamford Bridge, rather than Anfield or Old Trafford. The club are apparently keen on making up for lost time after having their transfer ban lifted, and believe that they are now in pole position to secure the precocious teenager's signature.
That will raise more than a few eyebrows at both Manchester United and Liverpool, both of whom believed that they were in the running to lure him back home from Borussia Dortmund. He won't come cheap and could bite a huge chunk out of Frank Lampard's reported £150 million transfer kitty when the window re-opens in just ten days time.
Sancho's price tag could be as much as £120m as Dortmund hold out for a mega payday on a player they paid just £8m for in the summer of 2017. It has proved cash very well spent.
No Real deal for Pogba in January
The January transfer window may be rapidly approaching but Real Madrid are apparently in no mood to bring a quick end to Paul Pogba's time at Manchester United.
So says Marca, with the Spanish outlet reporting that Los Blancos have so far lived up to their name -- by blanking any attempts by his agent Mino Raiola to offer them a shot at buying the player.
Real Madrid are instead likely to spend most of January trying to recoup money rather than spend it, with the club needing to claw back some or all of the €200 million they need to make up after their summer splurge.
The emergence of Fede Valverde, meanwhile, has made the signing of the up-and-down Frenchman less of a priority for Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.
All of which could leave Pogba waiting until the summer before he finally leaves Manchester, if that's really what he wants to do.
Tap-ins
-- Bayern Munich seem reluctant to launch a fresh bid for Leroy Sane in the January window, with the German giants apparently intent on saving, rather than splashing their cash in the New Year. The club's director Hasan Salihamidzic wouldn't be drawn on Sane, who was a target for Bayern in the summer, but seemed to indicate that the Bundesliga side were in parsimonious mood. "Sane? I don't want to talk about other clubs' players," he told Calciomercato. "We will wait and see but we aren't expecting to do much in January."
-- Over in Italy, it seems as though Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte is keen on being reunited with Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal. The pair worked like a dream together at Juve and now the ex-Chelsea gaffer is reported to be lining up a £17m bid for the 32-year-old Chile international. That's according to Gazzetta dello Sport, which claims that Barcelona would be willing to part with the player for the right price. The Italian outlet claim that Barca might even accept a six-month loan deal for the player, with a permanent switch then happening in June. Inter, though, want the deal done now, preferring to seal Vidal's signature in January rather than waiting for the summer.