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The transfer window may be shut for Premier League teams but it is still open around Europe – and you can follow live coverage of all of the latest news and rumours below.
There is still plenty of business left to complete, while Premier League teams can still sell players. What does the future hold for the likes of Manchester United’s Paul Pogba, Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen and Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil?
The future of Neymar meanwhile remains up in the air, with Barcelona and Real Madrid both reportedly considering massive bids. Follow all of the latest news below:
Sokratis Papastathopoulos believes he can form as strong a defensive partnership with new Arsenal signing David Luiz as he did with Mats Hummels at Borussia Dortmund.
The Gunners made a surprise move to bring in Luiz from rivals Chelsea on transfer deadline day and he made his debut alongside Sokratis in Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League win over Burnley.
Greece international Sokratis joined last summer but despite some good performances he struggled to help improve an Arsenal defence which again proved to be their Achilles heel.
The no-nonsense 31-year-old will now be hoping to develop an understanding with Luiz and feels their contrasting styles could help form a similar to bond he enjoyed alongside Hummels during their three seasons together in Germany.
“I have known him for a lot of years,” Sokratis said of his new team-mate.
“He also speaks some Greek and is a very good guy. I am happy also that we took a player like him, with experience.
“When I was in Dortmund I played with Hummels, who has the same style as David. It was also a very good partnership and it is very good (now with Luiz).
“It was his first game, it is important that we won and we can go from here.”
Zinedine Zidane has responded to talk about a move for Paul Pogba.
The Manchester United midfielder has remained at Old Trafford beyond the end of the English transfer window, but is still eligible for a move to Spain.
But Zidane batted away talk Los Blancos could make a move for Pogba in the coming days.
“I am happy with my players,” Zidane said. “The players are the same. We are ready to play a good game, we want to compete. I have the best players here, no doubt, I always say that.”
Mauricio Pochettino has once again criticised English football’s early transfer deadline.
Here’s the full story:
Not many English players try their luck in La Liga but Kieran Trippier joined Atletico Madrid from Tottenham this summer.
The former Burnley right back made his debut as Atletico beat Getafe 1-0 on Sunday and it was his cross which created the goal for Alvaro Morata.
Trippier attacked with abandon and gave Atletico a dangerous outlet on the right flank, with other crosses causing the Getafe defence problems.
There are question marks over the England full back’s quality in purely defensive tasks, but starting with a solid display and a clean sheet at the Wanda Metropolitano was a good way to respond.
Here’s our weekly European football wrap, which obviously takes in Coutinho’s big move from Barcelona to Bayern…
Moroccan Romain Saiss is on the verge of moving from Wolves to Besiktas, according to reports.
Beyaz TV claim that the Turkish club’s Football Director Ali Naibi has been in England to negotiate the deal.
Saiss, 29, joined Wolves in 2016 from Angers but made just 19 appearances in the Premier League last season.
Ole Gunnar Solsjaer has denied sending Alexis Sanchez to train with the Manchester United reserves.
“Alexis is such a pro and he comes in working every single day really hard and wants to be a part of this,” Solskjaer said. “It’s these stories he’s been put in the reserves – of course he hasn’t.”
Solskjaer then offered a glimmer of hope to Sanchez and his projected playing time.
“We don’t have the biggest forward line in terms of numbers so Alexis might end up playing a lot more games than you expect,” Solskjaer added. “We expect him to come good at this club. He’s quality.”
Blaise Matuidi will see out his Juventus contract despite being linked with a move away this summer.
Monaco were in talks to sign the French midfielder, but L’Equipe claim the 32-year-old will stay this year and leave on a free next summer.
Maurizio Sarri now has six first team players ineligible for his Champions League squad.
Fernando Llorente is on the verge of joining Lazio, according to reports.
Inter, Fiorentina and Napoli are also monitoring his situation.
But Corriere Dello Sport say the veteran striker currently prefers a move taking him to Lazio.
This summer’s transfer spending across Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues has set a new record, according to the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES).
Statistics compiled by the CIES Football Observatory indicate that top-flight clubs in England, Spain, France, Germany and Italy have spent a combined 5.34 billion euros (£4.89bn) on new signings this summer, slightly up from 2017’s record of 5.28bn euros (£4.86bn).
Premier League clubs spent £1.41bn before August 8’s deadline, according to Deloitte’s sport business group, just short of their own record from two summers ago of £1.43bn – while there is still a week until the Italian deadline and two weeks before the window closes elsewhere in Europe.
The leading Spanish clubs have been especially active, with reported £100million-plus fees shelled out for Barcelona new boy Antoine Griezmann and his Atletico Madrid replacement Joao Felix while the likes of Real Madrid signing Eden Hazard and Barca’s Frenkie De Jong also commanded huge fees.
There could still be more to follow, with Paris St Germain forward Neymar linked with a return to LaLiga with either Real or his former club Barca.
Juventus’ capture of Ajax defender Matthijs De Ligt and Inter Milan’s move for Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku headline Serie A’s spending while Bayern Munich have led the way in the Bundesliga, signing defender Lucas Hernandez for a reported £72m from Atletico and paying a sizeable loan fee to take Philippe Coutinho from Barca.
The Football Observatory cites last summer’s spending in the five leagues as 4.78bn euros (£4.37bn), with the last three years far out in front of any previous figure.
Ajax forward Kasper Dolberg is poised to join Ligue 1 outfit Nice, according to L’Equipe.
The 21-year-old is poised to sign a five-year deal at the Allianz Riviera, in a transfer worth slightly over £20m.
Dolberg made 38 appearances in all competitions for Ajax last season, scoring 12 goals.
After only one game back as a starter, the player who wasn’t wanted by coach Zinedine Zidane a few weeks ago showed he can still contribute to the team.
Zidane started Bale in the team’s Spanish league opener on Saturday — less than a month after saying his transfer would be good for everyone — and got a positive response from the Wales forward in a 3-1 win over Celta Vigo.
Bale’s good performance was a relief after Zidane and Madrid had struggled to find ways to deal with the forward following failed attempts to transfer him in the off-season.
“He is going to stay,” Zidane said Saturday. “All the players we have now are focused on the season ahead. Bale and all the players want to stay and want to do their best to defend this jersey.”
Bale had a great first half against Celta, setting up Karim Benzema’s opening goal with a perfectly placed cross in the 12th minute. He nearly found the net himself a few moments later with a shot that prompted a good save by the opposing goalkeeper.
After being substituted by Francisco “Isco” Alarcon toward the end of the second half, Bale was saluted by Zidane and his teammates on the bench.
“Bale has helped us win titles, he has scored important goals for us,” Madrid midfielder Casemiro said. “We have a lot of respect for him. He has to keep playing, he is a great player.”
Ivan Perisic’s agent Frane Jurcevic has claimed his Croatian client is delighted to have joined Bayern from Inter on loan.
“Perisic is very, very happy, Bayern are the best club,” Frane Jurcevic told Sportske. “Ivan is more than satisfied with the club and everything else. Inter are also exceptional, but this is another step forward for him.
“As for whether he could return, you can never say never but I can’t answer that. His exit was completely civil. Conte was surprised when Ivan told him he would leave. It went exactly like this: after it was reported in the Press that he no longer counted on Ivan, Conte approached him in training and told him he was angry with these journalists who had written this nonsense.
“However, Bayern changed everything. That’s the truth. When the German club’s offer came in, obviously Ivan was interested but it’s true that we thought that if the transfer had been permanent, it would’ve been fantastic.”
Here’s the full story on Coutinho’s move to Munich…
“I’m very much looking forward to that. Like FC Bayern, I have big ambitions and I’m convinced that I can achieve them together with my new team-mates.”
Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: “We’ve been working on bringing in Philippe Coutinho for quite some time and we’re very happy that we’ve been able to complete this transfer.
“Our thanks go to FC Barcelona for agreeing to the transfer. With his creativity and outstanding skills, Philippe is a player who will immediately strengthen our attack.”
Defender David Luiz said he decided to move from Chelsea to Premier League rivals Arsenal for a different challenge after an “honest conversation” with manager Frank Lampard about the Stamford Bridge club’s new direction.
Luiz, 32, made a deadline day move across London to Arsenal where he signed a two-year contract after spending three seasons in a second stint with Chelsea. He made his Arsenal debut last weekend in a 2-1 home win over Burnley.
With Chelsea operating under a FIFA transfer ban, Lampard’s policy has been to build the side with younger players, choosing to start Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma in central defence in his first two league games.
“Everyone knows I was so happy in Chelsea and won many trophies there. I had a real honest conversation with Lamps and Lamps had different ideas for his plans for the year,” Luiz told reporters.
“So the best way for me to respect the club where I can was to move on, try a new challenge and give him the opportunity to do his job.
“I’m so happy here as since the first day I felt welcome. This is a big club and I want to be here and see it shine on the pitch and outside.”
Luiz said he could have remained at Stamford Bridge, where he had signed a new two-year contract extension at the end of last season after helping the club finish third in the league, but chose to seek a new challenge.
“I am a guy with ambition and that is why I moved,” Luiz added. “I could have chosen a comfortable zone and got money and be cool and that is it.
“But I like a new a challenge and new things in my life.”
Bayern Munich midfielder Rentao Sanches, who was previously loaned to Swansea City, has admitted that he is desperate to leave the Bundesliga champions.
“The situation is not good for me,” said Sanches after coming on as a late substitute against Hertha.
“I again asked the club to leave and join a different club. But they did not let me leave. Five minutes, like today, is not enough for me,” he said.
Sanches, who joined in 2016, has failed to hold down a starting spot amid tough competition and has repeatedly vented his anger at being given little playing time.
Ole Gunnar Solsjaer has denied sending Alexis Sanchez to train with the Manchester United reserves.
“Alexis is such a pro and he comes in working every single day really hard and wants to be a part of this,” Solskjaer said. “It’s these stories he’s been put in the reserves – of course he hasn’t.”
Solskjaer then offered a glimmer of hope to Sanchez and his projected playing time.
“We don’t have the biggest forward line in terms of numbers so Alexis might end up playing a lot more games than you expect,” Solskjaer added. “We expect him to come good at this club. He’s quality.”
Transfer deadlines
Italy’s Serie A is the next big transfer deadline. The Italian window shuts on 23 August.
The transfer window in La Liga, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 meanwhile shuts on 2 September.
For a comprehensive review of the English transfer window: click here.
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