The transfer window opens in early January, and speculation is heating up about potential deals. Check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here.
TOP STORY: Eriksen could wind up in Madrid
Christian Eriksen is set to leave Internazionale this January, and the Denmark midfielder has been offered to both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, according to Marca.
Eriksen has only been in the Italian fashion capital for a year, but Inter boss Antonio Conte has made it clear that he doesn’t figure in his plans.
The 28-year-old has also been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain following the announcement of Mauricio Pochettino as manager, but Marca believes the two Madrid rivals have been contacted about signing the Dane.
Eriksen has failed to secure a regular first-team place under Conte, and after having joined the Nerazzurri for €20 million last winter, he could prove to be a bargain addition for the right club and the right system.
Both Real and Atletico face a tough transfer window and so a cut-price midfielder of Eriksen’s quality and experience could represent the perfect move.
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18.01 GMT: Arsenal, Leeds and Crystal Palace are all monitoring QPR goalkeeper Seny Dieng, according to the Sun.
The 26-year-old has enjoyed a bright start to the season at QPR and is garnering interest from several top-flight sides. Arsenal could be a club that makes sense for Dieng, as the Gunners have struggled to replace Emi Martinez behind No. 1 Bernd Leno.
17.12 GMT: Bayern Munich are set to bring FC Dallas midfielder Tanner Tessmann to the club to train during the MLS offseason, sources have told ESPN.
Tessmann, 19, enjoyed a fine breakout year in MLS, starting nine games while developing his game at senior level. If the defensive midfielder is included in either U.S. Soccer’s national team or U23 camp later this month, he would travel to Germany shortly after. The length of his training stint would be impacted by the MLS schedule, which has yet to be announced.
The Texas franchise and German giants Bayern have established a flourishing youth partnership over recent seasons, with 20-year-old U.S. defender Chris Richards making a loan move in 2018 before signing permanently a year later. Richards, a former teammate of Tessmann in the state of Alabama’s Olympic Development Program, has gone on to make eight appearances for the Bayern first team and 34 for their reserve team Bayern II.
While Tessmann is expected to return to Dallas for the upcoming MLS season, the possibility of joining Bayern, either on loan or permanently, at a later date remains.
– Bonagura: Tessmann chose FC Dallas over Clemson football
0:55
Gab Marcotti outlines Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool’s options for adding defensive help during the January window.
16.33 GMT: The the January transfer window is open, and clubs across Europe have been planning their business after the COVID-19 pandemic cut short the summer break, while injuries have been mounting around the top leagues.
ESPN’s writers bring you everything you need to know about the top teams’ hopes and delve into the deals that might be on the cards. Who will come in? Who will depart?
– Transfer window preview: Messi to City? Sancho to United? Liverpool to land Upamecano?
15.57 GMT: Real Madrid will continue to pursue their interest in Eduardo Camavinga despite verbally agreeing a new contract with Luka Modric, AS reports.
Rennes midfielder Camavinga, 18, has been a regular for the French club ever since making his debut toward the end of the 2018-19 season, and scored his first for France’s senior side in October.
AS reports that veteran midfielder Modric, whose current contract expires at the end of this season, has verbally agreed a new one-year deal.
However, that will not stop the Spanish champions building for the future by making a bid to recruit Camavinga, who Madrid see as part of the team’s next generation in midfield along with Martin Odegaard and Federico Valverde.
15.10 GMT: Former Italy striker Graziano Pelle has left Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng, the club said on Sunday after the expiry of the forward’s contract.
Pelle, who joined Shandong in the summer of 2016 from Southampton, where he scored 30 goals during his two seasons for the Premier League side, decided not to extend his relationship with the club despite helping steer them to success in the Chinese FA Cup last month.
The 35-year-old was part of Hao Wei’s side as they defeated Chinese Super League winners Jiangsu Suning in the final of the knockout competition to book a place in this year’s Asian Champions League.
Pelle scored 63 times in 132 games for Shandong in all competitions during his four-and-a-half spell and also played a key role in their third place finish in the Chinese Super League in 2018.
1:36
Mark Ogden confirms the signing of Atalanta’s Amad Diallo looks set to be completed in January.
14.32 GMT: Manchester United will reject Atalanta’s attempts to keep teenage winger Amad Diallo at the Serie A club until the end of the season, sources have told ESPN’s Mark Ogden, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen on adding him to his squad this month.
Diallo was signed by United from Atalanta on the last day of the transfer window in October for €21 million, with a further €20m in potential add ons, but they allowed the player to remain with the Italian outfit while they secured a UK work permit for the youngster, 18.
Sources told ESPN in December that United were close to obtaining a Governing Body Exemption for Diallo, following talks with the English Football Association, that would enable the Ivory Coast-born winger to link up with Solskjaer’s squad this month.
But although United are confident that Diallo will receive his paperwork imminently, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said on Saturday that he wanted the player to stay with the Bergamo-based team until the end of the 2020-21 season after being asked about potential January signings.
“The transfer market? We are fine, the club is attentive,” Gasperini said. “There is an internal solution within the club that could be very interesting, even if the team is fine: it is Amad Diallo.
“It is clear that he is going to Manchester United, but he could still remain here for a few months with us. I like him a lot, he’s only 18. I’d like him to stay until June, obviously it depends on his club.”
Sources have told ESPN, though, that Diallo will arrive at Old Trafford this month and that there are no plans for a loan back to Atalanta.
– January transfer grades: United get a B for Diallo deal
13.40 GMT: Tottenham Hotspur are planning to make a second bid for young Wigan Athletic striker Kyle Joseph, The Sun on Sunday reports.
Spurs had a £150,000 bid for the Scotland U21 international rejected during the summer transfer window, although they did succeed in signing midfielder Alfie Devine from the League One club.
Now Spurs will return to Wigan with a more attractive package for the club and 19-year-old Joseph, who scored a hat trick in Tuesday’s 4-3 win at Burton Albion.
12.58 GMT: Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori has been the subject of an enquiry from Newcastle United over a loan for the remainder of the season, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Tomori, 23, broke into the Chelsea team last season as manager Frank Lampard relied heavily on the club’s young players, but has so far made just three appearances this season.
The versatile defender, who made his senior England debut in November 2019, is on Newcastle manager Steve Bruce’s list of potential January loans along with Leicester midfielder Hamza Choudhury.
12.24 GMT: Manchester United are reassessing their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund forward Jadon Sancho as the club have played their way into this season’s Premier League title race without him, the Sunday Mirror reports.
Sancho was United’s top transfer target during the summer window but, after they did not lodge a bid big enough to trigger the England international’s release clause by the deadline that Dortmund had set, he instead remained at the German club.
Since then, the 20-year-old has struggled to replicate the form that made him a target for so many of Europe’s top clubs, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has guided United to joint-top of the Premier League table following Friday’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
The Sunday Mirror report adds that United would now, given the choice, prioritise signing centre-forward Erling Haaland over his Dortmund teammate.
Haaland was another player wanted by United before he chose to move to Dortmund from Salzburg a year ago, since when he has scored 33 goals in 32 appearances.
11.37 GMT: Paris Saint-Germain announced the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager on Saturday, on a contract which runs until 2022. Can he get the club’s season back on track and convince Kylian Mbappe to stay?
1:15
Frank Leboeuf explains why he thinks Mauricio Pochettino will bring a trophy to PSG very soon.
10.43 GMT: Olivier Giroud is not looking beyond the end of the season as he wants to help Chelsea make the most of their “big opportunity” to win trophies this season.
Despite the high-profile arrivals of attacking talents such as Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech, Giroud is Chelsea’s top scorer this season with nine goals in all competitions.
The 34-year-old France international’s contract at Stamford Bridge expires in the summer, and there had been reports that he was looking at a loan move in January to ensure he has enough game time ahead of this summer’s European championship.
“We will see what happens in the next few months but I just want to keep my efficiency high,” Giroud told Sky. “When I am not on the pitch, I just try to be a part of the team. I really want the best for this team and I really believe we have a big opportunity to win something at Chelsea with this great squad. I will just carry on like this and try to keep it up.”
09.56 GMT: Real Madrid forward Lucas Vazquez said he is hopeful he can agree a new contract with the Spanish champions after scoring in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Celta Vigo.
Vazquez, along with club captain Sergio Ramos and midfielder Luka Modric, is one of several Madrid players who are out of contract in the summer, but the 29-year-old is optimistic he can continue his career at the club.
“I’m really happy,” Vazquez said after the match. “That’s football, sometimes everything changes when you least expect it. I’m playing a lot, I’m really happy with the opportunities the boss is giving me, and I want to keep helping my teammates.”
When asked specifically about the prospect of a new deal, he added: “We’ll see, it doesn’t depend only on me, we’ll see what happens.”
– Real Madrid ratings: Vazquez, Asensio 8/10 vs. Celta
09.00 GMT: Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has said he is not concerned by the uncertainty surrounding Lionel Messi‘s future with the forward now free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with other clubs.
Messi, 33, is out of contract at the end of the season and Jan. 1 marked the date when he could legally open negotiations with other teams outside of Spain.
In an interview last week, the Barca captain said he still hasn’t decided where he will play his football next season but ruled out talking with other clubs until the campaign is over.
“He said he doesn’t want to make a decision yet and we have to respect that,” Koeman said in a news conference ahead of Barca’s league game against Huesca on Sunday.
“Like any player whose contract is expiring, he is free to decide as he chooses. I don’t see any problem if he doesn’t make a decision now. We must respect his decision and what he said in the interview. It doesn’t generate any nerves or worries.”
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Ronald Koeman doesn’t see a problem with Lionel Messi being tight-lipped about where he will play next season.
PAPER TALK (by Nick Judd)
Manchester United will sell Paul Pogba in the summer, reports the Daily Mirror.
Club officials have resigned themselves to the fact that the French World Cup winner doesn’t want to sign a new contract, and so instead they’ll grant his wish to leave the club at the end of the season.
Pogba has been in fine form ever since his agent Mino Raiola suggested last month that his client is still desperate to leave Old Trafford, and Reds boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has remained keen to keep hold of him.
United recently triggered a one-year contract extension keeping him in Manchester until 2022, but the report says the club now believes they must try and recoup some of the money they paid for him to prevent him leaving on a free transfer in two years.
The club has won eight of their past 10 matches, and they’ll be hoping Pogba can continue to play his part in the run to create a bidding war for his services.
United lead the race for defender Kabak
Another from Manchester here, with United keen to sign Schalke defender Ozan Kabak. However, they’ll face competition from Crystal Palace, RB Leipzig and Leicester City, according to the Daily Mail.
The Turkish centre-back has played seven games this season but is being monitored by a number of clubs, including Liverpool, who were considering him as cover for their current defensive shortfall.
Kabak, who won the Turkish league title with Galatasaray in 2018, is believed to be available for around £25m.
United are looking to strengthen their central defensive options behind Harry Maguire and Eric Bailly, while Crystal Palace are said to be looking for replacements for James Tomkins and Mamadou Sakho, who are both nearing the end of their contracts.
Palace are in dire need of defensive reinforcements after having kept just two clean sheets all season, their second coming in this weekend’s 2-0 win against Sheffield United.
Tap-ins
– Inter Milan could bolster their attacking options with the signing of Divock Origi, reports Calciomercato. Origi has played alongside compatriot Romelu Lukaku at international level for Belgium and the duo could be reunited at the San Siro if Antonio Conte looks to pursue a loan deal with Liverpool. Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are also said to be interested in the forward.
– AC Milan are looking to strengthen in the heart of defence and in midfield, and today Calciomercato links them with a move for Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare. They believe the Rossoneri are looking to get Soumare on a loan deal, but reports in France suggest that Lille are reluctant to do business in January.
