The Premier League transfer window has closed, but the rest of Europe remains open for business until Monday. Plus, it’s never too late to look forward to January! Click here to view the latest transfers and keep up to date with the newest gossip below.
All the major completed transfers | European transfer review
TOP STORY: De Gea to Juventus; Oblak to Man United?
With his contract extension talks seemingly at a standstill, David De Gea may be lured away from Manchester United by Serie A champions Juventus.
According to the Daily Express, Juventus are monitoring De Gea’s status at Old Trafford, and could convince the Spain No. 1 leave on a free at the end of the season if United can’t get him to commit by January.
As everyone fondly recalls, De Gea would have left Manchester for Real Madrid in 2015 — if not for a malfunctioning fax machine that torpedoed the deal in the waning moments.
Should De Gea depart for Turin, then Manchester United have already identified his successor — Atletico Madrid shot-stopper Jan Oblak.
A source had told ESPN FC back in June that Oblak would prefer an exit to United if he were to leave Madrid, so time will tell that interest rekindles in the coming months.
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12.11 BST: Chelsea are supposed to be banned from signing players until next summer, but the Daily Mirror reports that agents have been told to be ready to do business in the January window. They hope their ban will be reduced to just one window once their hearing is heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, allowing Frank Lampard to bring in some fresh faces.
11.38 BST: According to a report in Marca, senior members of the Barcelona squad told president Josep Maria Bartomeu that the club could only win the Champions League if Neymar were re-signed. And some of those players were prepared to put their own money towards the transfer fee!
10.58 BST: We heard on Saturday how Lionel Messi has a standard clause in his Barcelona contract that gives him the right to leave Camp Nou on a free transfer next summer — 12 months before his deal actually expires. Let’s be honest, though, no one is expecting the Argentine wizard to ever leave the club, and now Mundo Deportivo reports that Barca plan to renew his contract for the rest of his career.
10.14 BST: Manchester United have had a desperately poor transfer record in recent years, and have been looking for a director of football for months to sort things out in the corridors of power. According to the Daily Mirror, United have now made former goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar their No. 1 choice for that role. He is currently chief executive of Ajax, who had a superb run to the semifinals of the Champions League last season.
09.30 BST: Sunday might be a day of rest, but don’t expect Transfer Talk to rest on its laurels! We’re scouring the world for the latest transfer rumours all day.
PAPER ROUND (by Harry Kettle)
Real Madrid go after Mbappe
Spanish giants Real Madrid are set to go after Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe during the 2020 summer transfer window, Sport reports.
The youngster was heavily linked with a move away from the French capital throughout the recent transfer window, but in the end, he remained in Paris as his stock continues to rise.
Mbappe was at the forefront of world football last year during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, named the Best Young Player as France lifted the famous trophy. He has continued to plunder goals for PSG, and earlier this year became the youngest player to strike 50 times in Ligue 1.
But Mbappe may have to leave PSG for one of Europe’s biggest clubs if he is to have a chance of winning the Ballon d’Or. With Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi heading into the twilight of their careers, the chance is there for some of the game’s younger stars to come to the fore. Could Mbappe do that at Real Madrid?
Icardi’s agent hints at Inter return
“It’s not a divorce but a pause for reflection among engaged couple.”
Those are the words of Mauro Icardi‘s agent and partner Wanda Nara, who has indicated that this may not be the end of the forward’s time with the Italian giants, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Argentina international has been in dispute with Inter Milan for months, after being stripped of the captaincy in February due to public comments made by his wife and agent in the press.
Just before the transfer deadline it was revealed that Icardi is suing Inter for discrimination, claiming €1.5 million in damages and to be allowed back into the first-team fold.
But despite signing a deal with French champions Paris Saint-Germain, with a €70m option to buy, it seems it may not yet be over and out for Icardi at San Siro.
Man Utd to monitor Dybala
Calciomercato reports that Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could rekindle his interest in Juventus star Paulo Dybala.
United are said to be considering a number of top European names, but feel that Dybala could change his mind after a move to Old Trafford fell through over the summer.
If the Argentina international is not getting consistent game time with Juventus, given that Gonzalo Higuain seems to be ahead of him in the pecking order, he could look for a way out.
With Juve having failed to get the sale done during the summer, it’ll be interesting to see how they negotiate this potential deal, especially given that he isn’t the only name being discussed amongst the United faithful.
Tap-in
– Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo is set to leave the club during the January transfer window, Calciomercato reports. Rojo was once considered to be a valuable member of the starting XI for the Red Devils, but now, it appears as if he has fallen down the pecking order to the point where he is desperate to hunt out a move away from Old Trafford. The introduction of Harry Maguire into the mix certainly hasn’t helped matters, as Rojo edges closer and closer towards a new life away from English football.