The summer transfer window is closed for the major leagues in Europe. However, with an eye on January, there’s plenty of gossip swirling about who’s moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!
TOP STORY: Lille’s Jonathan David on Milan’s radar
AC Milan are considering signing a replacement striker amid Divock Origi‘s struggles, with Lille‘s Jonathan David and FC Salzburg‘s Noah Okafor at the top of the Serie A champions’ shortlist, according to Calciomercato.
Origi has endured a tough start to life at AC Milan after signing from Liverpool on a free transfer in the summer in an aim to get more regular game time. The Belgian has not started any of the games he has been involved in, playing just 81 minutes across four appearances off the bench. He also didn’t appear against Bologna and has missed two games due to injury.
As for the potential candidates, David has four goals and two assists in seven Ligue 1 matches for Lille and will lead Canada‘s attack in the World Cup. Okafor has six goals and two assists in all competitions for Salzburg and will likely be involved for Switzerland when they head to Qatar.
For the time being, there are more problems up front for Milan, who have Olivier Giroud with only one year on his contract, while 40-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic is expected to be out injured until early 2023.
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15.49 BST: Playing kids who are barely teenagers is all the rage these days…
So Newcastle United are reportedly keen to sign Sunderland midfielder Chris Rigg, according to The Chronicle.
Rigg, 15, who has been scouted by Manchester United and Leeds United, has yet to sign a professional deal and comes from a family of Newcastle fans, which may sway his next move.
14.57 BST: Inter Milan could let midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu move to Newcastle United target in the January transfer window, according to Calciomercato.
Calhanoglu, 28, joined Inter in the summer of 2021 from rivals AC Milan on a free transfer and is now rated at around €30m.
The Turkey international would be allowed to depart if an offer in that region was put forward, with Newcastle looking to strengthen their attacking options.
14.28 BST: Manchester City have joined Chelsea in the race to sign AC Milan forward Rafael Leao, says Calciomercato.
Leao, 23, has impressed in Milan and was linked with an €80m move to Chelsea at the end of the transfer window, despite having a €150m release clause in his contract.
The Portugal international has three goals and four assists from seven games this season, but it remains to be seen how he would fit into a City side already containing some of the world’s best attacking players.
13.50 BST: Le Parisien claims that Chelsea are ready to appoint Luis Campos as their sporting director.
Campos is currently employed as a football advisor by Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, but the Blues are prepared to offer him a salary of €8m and hand him €300m in transfer spending to build a new squad with newly-appointed manager Graham Potter.
The 58-year-old made his name at Monaco, where he scouted and signed some of the world’s top talent from 2013 to 2016, including Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez, Fabinho, Anthony Martial and Bernardo Silva.
He would be allowed to continue his advisory role with PSG, while also keeping his sporting director role with La Liga outfit Celta Vigo, as his contract allows him to work for up to three different clubs.
13.03 BST: Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio could be a target for Liverpool in January, says Sport.
Asensio, 26, has been struggling to get minutes under manager Carlo Ancelotti and has a year left on his contact.
The Spain international has made only two appearances for the club so far this season.
12.41 BST: Former Real Madrid, Monaco and Everton midfielder James Rodriguez is set to move to Greek side Olympiakos on loan, says Fabrizio Romano.
Rodriguez, 31, joined Qatari side Al-Rayyan from Everton in 2021 but lasted just a year and is now opting to leave.
The Colombia international is set to undergo a medical on Wednesday.
12.00 BST: Unthinkable a short while ago, but is Son Heung-Min‘s place at Tottenham in danger?
Janusz Michallik speaks about the form of Son Heung-Min after Tottenham’s 2-0 loss to Sporting CP.
10.48 BST: Barcelona’s teenage midfielder Gavi has agreed to sign a new contract at Camp Nou until 2026, the Catalan club announced on Wednesday.
Gavi’s release clause will rise to €1 billion as part of the deal, the same amount as the clauses written into Pedri, Ansu Fati, Ronald Araujo and Ferran Torres‘ contracts.
Barca have long been optimistic about getting Gavi to agree to new terms, with his previous deal due to expire in 2023, but a series of factors held up the process.
Players under the age of 18 in Spain cannot sign contracts for longer than three years, so Barca had to wait until Gavi turned 18 in August to be able to get him to commit.
The club also needed to make salary space within their LaLiga-imposed spending limit to be able to register the new deal. Miralem Pjanic‘s move to Sharjah FC last week, sources told ESPN, means the club have been able to finalise Gavi’s new terms with LaLiga.
10.21 BST: Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he is working hard to return to play for AC Milan.
Ibrahimovic, 40, is continuing his rehabilitation programme after undergoing left knee surgery in May. The Swedish forward is expected to be out of action until the new year.
“I’m well, working every day to return,” Ibrahimovic said. “When I return, I will make noise, you can count on that. Patience is needed this is the key now.”
Ibrahimovic signed a contract until June 2023 with AC Milan and has no intention to retire. “I’m arrogance, zero fear,” he said. “[Former AC Milan player Zvonimir] Boban said that it would be better for me to retire? If I see a player stronger than me, I will retire. But I still haven’t seen one…”
Ibrahimovic helped Milan win last season their first Scudetto since the 2010-11 campaign.
“We are much stronger than last season as a group,” he added. “Overall, we are a better team, the transfer market in the summer after the Scudetto strengthened us and now we have more alternatives on the bench. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have been here.”
09.40 BST: Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal made a contract offer of €242m over a two-year deal to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, says Marca.
Ronaldo, 37, would have immediately become the world’s highest-paid footballer by some distance, but decided to stay at Old Trafford this summer.
Saudi Arabia’s top flight has seen players like David Ospina, Luciano Vietto and Alvaro Gonzalez arrive in recent years as it looks to boost its global profile.
09.22 BST: Sevilla president Jose Castro has defended coach Julen Lopetegui and says everyone at the club is behind him.
Lopetegui has received heavy criticism following Sevilla’s tough start to the campaign. Sevilla have won one and lost three of their opening five league games and lost 4-0 at home to Manchester City in their Champions League opener.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s Champions League game at Copenhagen, Castro said: “When a team starts the season and things don’t work out, it’s normal that there is nervousness. I hope that this game will be a turning point, and that it will be another victory of many.
“We have faced a difficult calendar but I’m certain the team will bounce back. Of course we can’t be happy with our start to the season. From a financial standpoint, we have the fourth most important squad in Spain and things have to change. Julen Lopetegui is the coach of Sevilla. Sevilla must be united and focus only on winning games.
“We are all rowing in the same direction and the team is behind the coach.”
08.30 BST: Espanyol CEO Mao Ye does not consider the transfer of Raul de Tomas to Rayo Vallecano a disastrous operation.
The Spanish forward, who had a €70m release clause and was the highest paid player at the club, joined Rayo on Tuesday for €8m plus €3m in variables.
“The club is the first that wants to get benefits,” Ye said in a news conference. “A player like Raul de Tomas must give his best from a sporting standpoint and if that is not the case, to leave for the highest offer. We never put the player on the market but he wanted to leave. He had to be the one to come with an offer and none arrived officially [until Rayo’s offer]. It was a solution.”
De Tomas, who will not be able to play an official game with Rayo until January and hence has waved goodbye to any hopes of playing for Spain at the World Cup, said in a statement he felt “cornered and undervalued” at Espanyol.
Craig Burley debates how Graham Potter will handle Chelsea’s senior players.
PAPER GOSSIP (by Danny Lewis)
– Bayern Munich are monitoring Barcelona midfielder Pedri in case an opportunity ever arises to sign the Spain international, according to Mundo Deportivo. The Bavarians were linked with the teenager before he moved from lower division side Las Palmas to Barcelona in 2020, and then again when it seemed he might be available on loan. The German side got a close-up look at Pedri on Tuesday, who played the full 90 minutes in Bayern’s 2-0 win over Barcelona in Champions League play.
- Federico Valverde is not interested in a move from Real Madrid to Liverpool, according to AS. The report claims that Real Madrid turned down Liverpool’s offer of €100m for the Uruguay midfielder’s transfer in the final days of the summer transfer window, as the LaLiga champions consider him an important member of the squad.
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New Chelsea manager Graham Potter suggested that he won’t be too involved in the Blues’ transfers after taking over from Thomas Tuchel. “I have always thought I am a head coach. My job is to help the football club. I have always taken that approach,” Potter said ahead of the Blues’ Champions League match against FC Salzburg on Wednesday, as quoted by The Daily Express. “Not to say that I don’t try to help the club with decisions around transfers but my main job is to help the guys that are here and help them improve, put a team on the pitch that our supporters are proud of.”
– Toronto FC have signed 18-year-old Hugo Mbongue to a homegrown contract, the club announced on Tuesday. The forward becomes the 31st player in club history to sign for the first-team from the academy, with his contract running through 2025 with the option for 2026 to be included.
