The coronavirus pandemic has made the summer transfer window uncertain, but here are the rumours floating around Europe's big leagues and beyond.
TOP STORY: Inter keen to swap Perisic for Sanchez with United
Inter Milan want to conclude a deal for Manchester United winger Alexis Sanchez once his loan expires, and are willing to add Ivan Perisic as part of the deal according to Calciomercato.
Sanchez, 31, took time to settle back in Italy after struggling at United, but has seven assists and two goals in his last nine Serie A games. Now Inter boss Antonio Conte is keen land the Chilean permanently and is happy to let Perisic, who has been on loan at Bayern Munich this season, go.
United handed Sanchez a contract until 2022 when they signed him, reportedly on wages of around £500,000-a-week, so they will be keen to get some cash back as well as a player they have followed for many years. Inter won't be paying anywhere near those wages, so a deal may rest on if Sanchez is willing to take a pay cut in order to continue his career in Serie A.
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LIVE BLOG
23.00 BST: 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!
22.36 BST: Tottenham need to make some changes this summer and reports in Italy suggest that Roma's Nicolo Zaniolo could be one player headed to London.
Italian journalist Nicolo Schira claims that Jose Mourinho and Spurs are weighing up a move for the Italian starlet. Zaniolo is regarded as one of Roma's prized assets but due to financial losses. the Serie A side could elect to cash in on the attacker, who they value at over £50 million. Spurs reportedly would be willing to pay around £45m for the 20-year-old, who burst onto the scene last season with six goals and three assists.
Zaniolo, who recently returned and scored on his return from an ACL tear, is widely regarded as one of Italy's next big stars.
21.29 BST: Edinson Cavani to... Leeds?
A Bola, via teamTalk, claims that the newly-promoted club are now in the driver's seat for the Uruguayan striker, whose contract recently expired at PSG. That is after a meeting "El Matador" had with Benfica, in which he and his agent demanded around €20 million-a-year in wages. With that number forcing Benfica to pull out of negotiations, ambitious Leeds are tipped as a potential landing spot for Cavani.
Could Leeds afford £350,000-a-week in wages for one play? Unlikely, but sign us up for Cavani and Marcelo Bielsa together.
20.52 BST: Everton will be paying very close attention to the relegation picture this weekend, if a report from Football Insider is to be believed.
The outlet suggests that the Toffees are keen to swoop for centre-back Tyrone Mings -- if Aston Villa are relegated. Even if Villa stay up, which is looking more likely after the midweek fixtures, could Villa look to cash in on their £30 million-rated asset? The 27-year-old England man has been one of the bright spots in a challenging season for Villa and has drawn interest from a plethora of clubs further up the table.
20.06 BST: Bayer Leverkusen to land Brazilian teenage sensation Reinier on loan?
The 18-year-old, who signed with Real Madrid in January for around €35 million from Flamengo, is expected to go out on loan next season with Leverkusen keen, according to Goal.com. The Bundesliga club, who already have considerable South American flavour with Wendell, Lucas Alario, Paulinho, Exequiel Palacios and Charles Aranguiz, are hoping to bring in Reiner to help offset the expected departure of superstar Kai Havertz.
Goal adds that Leverkusen face competition for the teenage wonder boy from La Liga outfit Real Valladolid.
19.14 BST: Rangers have announced they have signed former Wigan and Nigeria centre-back Leon Balogun.
The 32-year-old, who has played his entire career in Germany and England, joins the club on a one-year deal after the expiration of his contract at Wigan. Capped 32 times by the Super Eagles, Balogun has played for Hannover 96, Werder Bremen, Fortuna Dusseldorf, Darmstadt and Mainz in Germany, and Brighton and Wigan in England.
18.36 BST: The Philadelphia Union's Brenden Aaronson, who our Tor-Kristian Karlsen ranked among CONCACAF's top young prospects, is reportedly garnering plenty of interest from Europe.
According to a report from Bild, which ESPN's Taylor Twellman confirmed, the 19-year-old box-to-box midfielder is on the radar of a half-dozen Bundesliga clubs, including but not limited to Freiburg, Borussia Monchengladbach, Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt.
MLSsoccer.com can add that Celtic and an unnamed Belgian club are also looking into the once-capped American midfielder.
17.42 BST: Man United to go for Bayern Munich's Kingsley Coman, if they fail to land Jadon Sancho?
The Athletic understands that the French winger is United's Plan B when it comes to wide players, right behind the aforementioned Dortmund playmaker. The 24-year-old, who has won the league in each of his first eight seasons as a professional split between PSG, Juventus and Bayern Munich, registered seven goals and seven assists this season and would be a far cheaper alternative to Sancho.
Coman, who is close to international teammates Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, is valued at around £35 million by transfermarkt but the Athletic's report says a loan with an obligation to buy has been discussed. Bayern also could be willing to part with the tricky winger now that they have finally signed Leroy Sane from Man City.
17.00 BST: Leroy Sane moved from Manchester City to Bayern Munich for €49m earlier this month, but how would he feel if his old club won the Champions League?
16.13 BST: The lower leagues of Italy are all the rage at the moment.
Northern Ireland forward Kyle Lafferty is set to complete a move to Italian Serie B club Reggina.
And Serie C side Como are in talks to sign former Inter, Milan, Manchester City, Liverpool, Nice and Marseille forward Mario Balotelli when the 29-year-old leaves Brescia this summer.
15.32 BST: Mundo Deportivo says that Tottenham are set to battle Atletico Madrid in a bidding war to sign Schalke midfielder Can Bozdogan.
Bozdogan, 19, is a Germany U18 international and broke into the Schalke first team this season. The club are willing to listen to offers and Tottenham are reportedly set to bid around €10m.
14.52 BST: Corriere dello Sport might have some bad news for Manchester City.
The Premier League club have reportedly seen a €65m bid rejected for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, but the Senegal international is also happy to stay in Italy now, despite previous reports claiming he wanted to move on.
Koulibaly, 29, is highly rated and Napoli are looking for around €100m for him. City are looking to strengthen their defence and will return with a second bid in the coming weeks.
14.00 BST: San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski has told ESPN's Taylor Twellman that he would be open to staying in Major League Soccer for another season.
Wondolowski, 37, was set to call time on his soccer career after the 2020 campaign but said he is now considering his options.
13.35 BST: Jose Mourinho claims he has received assurances Tottenham do not need to sell any key players to offset the financial impact of the coronavirus.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was one of the first senior figures in the game to highlight the potential monetary effect of COVID-19 as the United Kingdom went into lockdown in March and the club have since taken advantage of a government loan facility to borrow £175m to help with running costs.
That led to speculation striker Harry Kane -- worth an estimated £200m prior to the pandemic -- could be made available for transfer along with several other prized assets but when asked whether he had been told that would not be the case, Mourinho replied: "Yes, yes."
Spurs have a limited transfer budget but Mourinho reiterated he is not demanding a radical overhaul of his squad.
"I think we're going in the right direction," he said. "Very calm, organised, thinking well, measured, thinking of everything. We know what we can do, we know what we cannot do, we know which directions we can go in, which directions we cannot.
"We cannot be reactive in relation to what our opponents may do that we cannot do. We are very balanced, we're together. No doubts about what we need, no doubts what it is possible for us to get. Step by step we'll end with a better, more balanced squad thank we have now, keeping the great players we have is a very important thing."
12.55 BST: Manchester United goalkeeper Sergio Romero is wanted by Everton and Leeds United, sources have told ESPN's Rob Dawson.
Everton are keen to add competition for Jordan Pickford, while Leeds are putting together their transfer plans as they prepare for their first season in the Premier League since 2004 after winning promotion from the Championship. Both clubs are interested in Romero, who is No. 2 behind David De Gea at Old Trafford and is reportedly getting frustrated about his lack of game time.
Romero, 33, has an incredible record of 38 clean sheets in 59 games since arriving in 2015 after spells with Racing Club, AZ Alkmaar, Sampdoria and Monaco. He was unexpectedly left out of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team for the FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea having played in every other round this season. De Gea was picked in his place and made two crucial mistakes as United slumped to a 3-1 defeat.
12.09 BST: West Ham have confirmed Tomas Soucek has joined the club on a permanent deal from Slavia Prague and signed a four-year contract.
Soucek, 25, has been on loan at the club since January but West Ham had an option to sign the Czech Republic international permanently for a fee of £15m as long as they avoided relegation from the Premier League.
Manager David Moyes told Sky Sports News: "I have always believed it would be a permanent deal because I knew it was subject to us being in the Premier League and I always felt that we would be a Premier League club so I never really had any great worries about Thomas.
"The biggest concern was how well and how quickly he could fit into the Premier League. I think all the other things connected to him were good - he could score, he could run, he was a good footballer. So it was more to see how he would fit in.
"I was always confident he would be here with us. But I am glad to get it out of the way because I've been asked the question a few times. Obviously, we are glad he is going to be a West Ham player for a good period to come."
12.02 BST: Liverpool's Dejan Lovren is on the verge of joining Zenit St Petersburg for a fee of around £10.9m, reports the Times.
The 31-year-old centre-back almost signed for Roma in January and has fallen down the pecking order at the Premier League champions this season.
11.40 BST: Sergio Romero is ready to leave Manchester United as the backup goalkeeper is getting frustrated at a lack of opportunities given first-choice David De Gea's recent poor form, says the Metro.
Being dropped for the FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea probably didn't help.
10.56 BST: Football Manager becomes reality. Yaya Toure is training with League Two side Leyton Orient.
Yaya Touré lads. Bloody hell. pic.twitter.com/mOe7Ua184I
— Leyton Orient (@leytonorientfc) July 24, 2020
10.44 BST: Barcelona may be looking at new coaches, but Laurent Blanc shouldn't be one.
10.00 BST: ESPN's Insider Notebook is back. Here's what's cooking in the transfer world.
- Chelsea will prioritise the signing of a new goalkeeper once a deal is finalised for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz, with sources telling ESPN's Mark Ogden that manager Frank Lampard has lost patience with No.1 Kepa Arrizabalaga.
- New Monaco manager Niko Kovac wants Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic as his first signing and has held talks with the Serbia international, sources have told ESPN's Julien Laurens.
- Callum Hudson-Odoi is mystified by reports he is unhappy at Chelsea and is committed to winning a place in the starting lineup under Frank Lampard, sources have told ESPN's Tom Hamilton.
09.34 BST: Rennes are leading the race to sign Barcelona's Jean-Clair Todibo, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Barca want at least €25m for the French centre-back after Todibo spent the last six months on loan at Schalke.
The German club did not exercise their €25m buyout option and Rennes, who want to strengthen their squad having qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, and have set their sight on Todibo.
The 20-year-old has played just five games for Barca since arriving at Camp Nou in January 2019 from Toulouse. Tied to Barca until June 2023, Todibo has fallen behind Ronald Araujo in Barca's pecking order and is expected to leave the club this summer.
09.15 BST: Barcelona are in the market for an experienced left-back and Athletic Bilbao's Yuri Berchiche is at the top of their list, Mundo Deportivo reports.
Berchiche has been impressive since joining Athletic in the summer of 2018 from PSG. The 30-year-old made 33 league appearances for Bilbao this season and is tied to the Basque outfit until June 2022.
However, the biggest hurdle for Barca to acquire Berchiche this summer is the Spaniard's release clause, which is set at €100m.
08.41 BST: Joao Felix's younger brother, Hugo, has signed a professional contract with Benfica, the club have announced.
Hugo, 16, made his debut in the U-17 National Championship in the 2019-20 campaign. He arrived at Benfica from FC Porto in 2016 and can play as a midfielder or a forward.
A Portugal youth international, Hugo was the top scorer with 13 goals in Benfica's U-16s in the Regional Championship. The previous season he had scored 14 goals in 17 games.
Joao Felix, who joined Atletico from Benfica last summer in a €126m transfer, recently said Hugo could follow his footsteps and play for a top club, claiming: "If he listens to those who want to help him, he is going to be successful. He does things I couldn't do at his age. He has everything to do well and reach the first team. For his age he works a lot. We both like to score. He takes better free kicks than me, I am better at penalties, but we both play more or less in the same positions. In football you have to play simple, but we like to do something different, something that excites the crowd, and we have some similarities. "Since we were little we saw each other playing and tried to do the same things."
08.00 BST: Sky Italia reports that the trip taken to Milan by Lionel Messi's father, Jorge Messi, has nothing to do with son's career.
Jorge Messi travelled to Milan this week, fuelling rumours that he could be negotiating with Inter Milan over the potential future arrival of his son to the San Siro. However, according to Sky Italia, Messi Sr. has acquired a house in Milan and is looking to move his residency to Italy due to tax reasons.
PAPER TALK (by Shaun Reynolds)
Sancho, Grealish top Solskjaer's' five summer targets
Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish remain firm targets for Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who wants to add five new faces to his first team this summer.
The Telegraph claims that Solskjaer will be backed by United CEO Ed Woodward with a right winger, a striker, a midfielder, a centre-back and a full-back being chased.
The report adds that a new centre back would partner Harry Maguire, suggesting that Victor Lindelof could become a back-up option.
600-goal City academy striker could flip to United
England youth star Charlie McNeill could be set to join boyhood club Manchester United -- from fierce rivals Manchester City.
That's according to the Daily Mail, who said the 600-goal academy striker -- who turns 17 in September -- has rejected a contract offer at the Etihad Stadium with United now set to pounce.
It is reported that McNeill has found opportunities to be limited with City's U18s team, and consequently he wants a new challenge.
The report adds that City want to include multiple performance-related clauses in the deal should McNeill join United.
Tap-Ins
- West Ham United will push several high-profile European clubs this summer for the services of AS Monaco sensation Chrislain Matsima, according to Football Insider. Juventus, Atletico Madrid and FC Porto are also said to be chasing the 18-year-old's signature despite his contract with Monaco ending in 2022.
- Respected Italian reporter Nico Schira has suggested that both Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers want to purchase Turkish defender Merih Demiral from Juventus. But Dermiral could be set to stay in Italy for an additional year after Juventus reportedly rejected a £27m bid plus add-ons from the Foxes for the 22-year-old. Last summer Dermiral penned a five-year deal with Juventus, keeping him at the club until summer 2024.