Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and more all remain active in the market with just a week remaining, so welcome to our live coverage of today’s latest transfer news, gossip and done deals as we bring you the very latest rumours from around the continent.
It still remains uncertain whether Manchester United will sign up Sporting Lisbon skipper Bruno Fernandes as both clubs haggle over a fee, with Sporting holding out for as much as £68m in total, while United appear reluctant to go north of £50m. Real Madrid star Gareth Bale was linked with a loan back to Tottenham, but that has been dismissed by the Welsh forward’s agent. Spurs still look keen to buy though, with Willian Jose the next man in after Gedson Fernandes. Chelsea, too, are active and seemingly keeping Frank Lampard on edge despite their transfer ban being lifted since before the window open. No additions to the first team have been made, with Wolves, at least, and feasibly many other sides closing in on the Blues in fourth in what promises to be a frantic race to qualify for the Champions League.
At the other end of tha table you will have Newcastle, Brighton, Burnley, Aston Villa and West Ham all trying to remain out of the relegation zone and Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich City all looking for that one move to put them over the top and escape the fall to the Championship. Undoubtedly now, a week out, momentum will start to pick up, so stick with us and follow all of the latest transfer news, gossip and done deals live below.
West Ham want Slavia Prague midfielder Tomas Soucek.
Soucek has scored 10 goals this season and operates both as a centre-midfielder or an attacking midfielder.
Chelsea could be set to boost their spending in the transfer window this summer after making a move to replace Yokohama as their principal shirt sponsor.
The move will see them look to upgrade the existing £40m per season deal with the Japanese tyre company and approach Manchester United’s £53m per year deal with Chevrolet.
Lukaku on why he left United
“I made my decision around March, and I went to the manager’s office and told him it was time for me to find something else,” Lukaku told Sky Sports.
“I wasn’t performing and I wasn’t playing. I think it was better for both sides to go separate ways. I think I made the right decision.
“Manchester United has made space for the younger players to come through so I think it was a win-win situation for both of us.
“I think I had to rediscover myself. Last year was difficult for me on the professional side, because stuff was not going how I wanted and I was not performing as well.
“So I had to find it within myself what was lacking and came to the conclusion that it was time for me to change environment.”
Liverpool
No, Liverpool are not going to sign Kylian Mbappé this January. Sorry. The Premier League leaders have been one of the busier clubs this month having signed Takumi Minamino from Red Bull Salzburg for £7.25m and 21-year-old Joe Hardy from Brentford’s reserve team. Minamino will play a role in the remainder of Liverpool’s campaign; Hardy joins the club’s Under-23 team. If they dip into the market again it will almost certainly be for another young player. They have been persistently linked to Nice winger Pedro Brazão, although face stiff competition from the usual suspects, with Paris Saint-Germain seemingly at the front of the queue for the 17-year-old.
Leicester City
A relative lack of activity in the January transfer window looks set to end this week, as Leicester attempt to capitalise on an unexpectedly strong start to the season by securing their place in the Champions League. The defence needs attention: Wes Morgan has been struggling with form and fitness while Brendan Rodgers has not been convinced by Filip Benkovic. That leaves just Çağlar Söyüncü and Jonny Evans – Southampton’s Jannik Vestergaard could join them given that he has fallen out of favour at St Mary’s. The club also wish to sign another attacker, a desire that will have only grown since the recent injury suffered by Jamie Vardy. Bertrand Traoré is a target, albeit an ambition one.
Allan is not the only Napoli player that Carlo Ancelotti wants to bring with him to Everton as Corriere dello Sport report Hirving Lozano could be targeted.
The Mexican has slipped out of the first team since Gennaro Gattuso arrived and Ancelotti would love to acquire his former player if he becomes available, with the Italians paying €42m last summer.
Aaron Mooy has completed a permanent move to Brighton from Huddersfield.
The Australia international was initially on loan at the Amex, but has now signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Seagulls.
Danny Rose could leave Tottenham this month, claim Sky Sports.
Bournemouth, Newcastle and Watford are all interested, with Jose Mourinho discarding the left-back since joining the club.
The French winger has struggled since his move to Atletico Madrid and is available this month.
The Gunners appear primed to sign Lemar on loan, with Atletico eager to raise the player’s value back towards the €72m they paid Monaco in 2018, with the French club reportedly still owning 30 per cent of his rights.
AC Milan striker Krzysztof Piatek wants to leave, according to the player’s father.
The Polish striker has been linked with Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid, and would cost between €30-35m.
“Kris wants to reach Euro 2020 in good shape and that means he can’t be a reserve sitting on the bench,” Wladyslaw Piatek told Polish paper Sportowefakty.
“He wants to be a regular starter. If he can’t do that at Milan, then he’ll gladly do it elsewhere.
“He is on the transfer market in January, just like Lucas Paqueta, Suso and Hakan Calhanoglu.
“Many clubs are asking to take him on loan, but Milan want to sell straight away to recover the money they paid Genoa a year ago and reinvest immediately in new players.
“It’ll all go down to the final week of the transfer window, when his future will be decided.”
Chelsea
Chelsea are of course available to sign new players this month after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced their Fifa transfer ban after an appeal. Top of their wish list is a new striker, potentially to replace Olivier Giroud, who has been linked with a move to Italy. Edinson Cavani on loan is one option, while the club have long held an interest in Moussa Dembélé, only for the 23-year-old to very publicly commit himself to Lyon for the rest of the season. There have been repeated whisperings that the club intend to sign a new goalkeeper given Kepa’s poor form, although such a move this month is highly unlikely given the amount of disruption shelving the £71.6m record-signing would cause.
Everton
Everton had a very busy summer window – splashing the cash on the likes of André Gomes, Moise Kean and Alex Iwobi, among others – and with an already large squad, they were always unlikely to make too many signings this window. They have been rumoured to be interested in signing a new centre midfielder, although reports from Italy that they could move for Napoli’s Allan seem fanciful, and the poor form of Jordan Pickford has resulted in speculation they could sign a new goalkeeper. But Everton signed Jonas Lössl from Huddersfield in the summer and also have Holland international Maarten Stekelenburg warming the bench.
Newcastle are on the verge of signing Valentino Lazaro from Inter Milan.
Inter Milan are keen on Napoli’s Allan, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, who label the Brazilian midfielder as the “dream”.
Everton want the Napoli star too, with Carlo Ancelotti particularly fond on his former player.
United still want Maddison despite Fernandes chase
Man United are still pursuing Bruno Fernandes but do want to take a long-term view there, and not make the kind of expensive signing that is only for the short-term.
They still want James Maddison, The Independent understands, and they have investigated the possibility of Edinson Cavani this window, among a few striking options.
Burnley
Sean Dyche is keeping his cards close to his chest as the deadline nears with perhaps a central midfielder the likeliest late addition after Danny Drinkwater left for Aston Villa earlier in the window. That said, his priority may well be keeping hold of his stars with the likes of Dwight McNeil and James Tarkowski wanted men. Ben Gibson could be allowed to leave though with former club Middlesbrough one of a number of Championship clubs interested in a loan move.
Bournemouth
Eddie Howe wants goals as he plots the Cherries way out of trouble. To get them it appears he has money to spend with a forward and/or a winger a priority. Lyon’s Bertrand Traore looks to be his top target with the French club looking for around £35m to do a deal for the former Chelsea man. Out wide Borussia Dortmund’s Jacob Bruun Larsen has been mentioned with a loan move the likeliest outcome for the Danish youngster. Nathan Ake looked a near-certainty to be departing this month but former club Chelsea appear to have cooled their interest. For now at least.
The carousel of options at the Nou Camp is not done yet though, with Olivier Giroud an alternative and a more short-term option.
The Chelsea star was set for Inter Milan, but Matteo Politano will not swap clubs with Leonardo Spinazzola and head to Roma.
Instead Napoli are willing to take the Inter forward, but another deal that could run adjacent to that is Fernando Llorente heading in the opposite deal, which would leave Giroud out in the cold.
But Barcelona, should they not want to spend big on a striker this month, could offer the France forward a lifeline.
Barcelona will move for Rodrigo, instead of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, claims the front page of today’s Mundo Deportivo.
The Valencia star could directly replace Luis Suarez as the side’s No 9.
Paco Alcacer will replace him at the Mestalla to satisfy Los Che.
Brighton
A new right-back is top of Graham Potter’s wishlist with Martin Montoya’s form patchy at best of late. Tottenham’s Kyle Walker-Peters, available for around £12m, is a target as is Nottingham Forest starlet Matty Cash. On-loan midfielder Aaron Mooy will make his loan move from Huddersfield Town a permanent one with a fee of around £5m set to get it done. Ex-France under-19 Billel Omrani, rated at around £3m by his club CFR Cluj, is another possible arrival before the window shuts.
What every Premier League club should do before the transfer window shuts
Aston Villa
Dean Smith finally has the striker he craves, Tanzania international Mbwana Samatta arriving from Genk for £10m earlier this week. Smith could also look for more help in the final third with AC Milan’s Krzysztof Piatek, Leicester’s Islam Slimani and Rio Ave’s Mehdi Taremi have also been linked. The long-awaited move for Louie Barry from Barcelona finally went through on Thursday, a deal which could well prove the shrewdest of all this window.
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United and Chelsea have both been linked with Dinamo and Spain star Dani Olmo. There could also be some big moves across Europe. Real Madrid have been linked with a £68m move for Timo Werner, as well as Flamengo wonder kid Reinier, while Arsenal have turned their eyes to RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano as a long-term target.
