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LIVE Transfer Talk: Manchester United target Dembele and Longstaff

The transfer windows in Europe's top leagues are closed, but 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.

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TOP STORY: Man United target Dembele and Longstaff

Manchester United could go after both Moussa Dembele and Sean Longstaff during the January transfer window, the Daily Star reports.

The Red Devils are struggling to make an impact in the early stages of the Premier League campaign, which has led to executive vice chairman Ed Woodward informing manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that the necessary funds will be made available to him in the New Year.

French striker Dembele, 23, has been linked for months after enjoying a fine last season in France, scoring 18 times for Lyon in all competitions. Dembele only moved to the Ligue 1 giants from Celtic last summer but United reportedly believe a bid of around £43m could be enough to trigger a move.

Sources have also told ESPN FC that United's chief negotiator Matt Judge, head of corporate development, spoke to Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley about Longstaff over the summer but a formal bid was not submitted because the two clubs were so far apart, with the Magpies wanting £50m -- more than double what United are willing to pay for the 21-year-old midfielder.

LIVE BLOG

23.30 BST: That will do it for the latest edition of our LIVE Transfer Talk blog. We hoped you enjoyed following along with us and remind you to check back shortly for the latest transfer rumours, reports and rumblings. Goodnight!

22.44 BST: After Tottenham's embarrassing 7-2 defeat to Bayern on Tuesday and Spurs' poor start to the season in general, there is increased speculation that Mauricio Pochettino could soon leave London in favour of a new challenge.

Man United and Real Madrid are the two clubs the Argentine is most often linked with, with both clubs trending towards having coaching vacancies in the near future. Former Spurs  -- and Man United --striker Dimitar Berbatov does not believe the time is right for Poch to leave London.

"Many people are connecting Pochettino to Manchester United, but is it the right moment? Of course, United already have a manager in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, I don't think it's the right moment to do any changes," said Berbatov in an interview with Betfair.

"Many people are connecting Pochettino to Manchester United, but is it the right moment? Of course, United already have a manager in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, I don't think it's the right moment to do any changes.

"Of course, as a manager you want to find the best possible moment to move, not go to a team that is struggling, yes it would be a challenge to go and help them but what happens if you go from bad to worse? Your reputation will suffer and then you're f*****."

Never shy of a good quote, Berbs may be on to something here.

21.16 BST: Man United have been linked with Lyon striker Moussa Dembele but that is not the only Dembele the Old Trafford club are monitoring, according to reports.

The Transfer Window podcast lists talented but oft-injured Barcelona wide player Ousmane Dembele as one of three forward targets for the Red Devils. Dembele, 22, is listed alongside Lyon's Dembele and RB Leipzig's German forward Timo Werner as forward targets for United in January.

Dembele, who has struggled to stay healthy and was seemingly replaced this past summer with Barcelona signing Antoine Griezmann, could be available but won't come cheap.

20.00 BST: Napoli are viewed as Juventus' biggest challengers this season in Serie A but star striker Dries Mertens could be in his final year with the club.

Out of contract at the end of the year, Mertens, 32 has admitted he doesn't know what the future holds for him in club football.

"I still don't know what my future will be,' he told Voetbal Sport/Magazine.

"My objective right now is to have a very good season with Napoli. Then we'll see how things go. There's still some time left until the end of the season.

"Here at Napoli, I still have seven months left on my contract. I don't know where I'll be playing next season.

"At the end of this year, I'll assess whether to renew my contract or not, but it's still too early. I'm not in a position to rule anything out."

Despite his age, Mertens should have plenty of suitors if he does depart the San Paolo next summer.

19.13 BST: Nineteen-year-old Erling Braut Haaland has the looks of Europe's next great young striker, see Mark Ogden's profile of him here, but is ready for the big-time just yet?

With 17 goals in 10 games, the Norwegian phenom is off to a flying start at Red Bull Salzburg and his hat trick on Matchday 1 in the Champions League has caught the eyes of some of Europe's biggest clubs. Man United are reportedly front of the queue, with current Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer having previously coached Haaland at Molde. 

Haaland and Salzburg are in action today vs. Liverpool, so United and English fans will get an up-close look at the star striker.

18.47 BST: By now it is no secret that Man United want Jadon Sancho but what if they fail to sign the England starlet?

The Evening Standard reports that United continue to track Leicester ace James Maddison, and could move for the £80 million midfielder this summer. The Leicester playmaker, 22, has started the season well, registering two goals and an assist for the Foxes. Maddison, who was called up by England last month, has also been linked with a move to Tottenham.

18.02 BST: With Zlatan Ibrahimovic's contract up at the end of the season, the LA Galaxy could be in the market for a new front man.

In a report in The Scotsman, former Rangers captain and current club ambassador Richard Gough admitted that LA technical director Jovan Kirovski was recently in Glasgow for "a number of things." One of those, according to Gough, was to watch and enquire about Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos

"Jovan is a friend of mine and I sat next to him at the game on Saturday," said Gough. "He is in Europe to see a number of things at the moment. He was asking me about Alfredo and I told him he's just a pure goalscorer."

The prolific, and as equally hotheaded Morelos, scored 30 goals in 48 games last season but also was sent off five times! Linked with Aston Villa, Espanyol and a host of other clubs, Morelos is also now on the Galaxy's radar. Just 23, the Colombian has a bright future... if he can keep his emotions under control that is.

17.15 BST: Spending €100m on a player doesn't always work out... Just ask Real Madrid.

15.56 BST: Arsenal are looking to tie down Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette down to new contracts, says the Daily Mail.

Aubameyang's deal expires in 2021 while Lacazette has one year more. The former is reportedly the club's priority as he has scored seven goals in as many games this season.

14.58 BST: Ajax have already lost some of their top players after last season's run to the Champions League semifinals, but now AS reports that Real Madrid will watch Donny van de Beek, Hakim Ziyech and David Neres against Valencia on Wednesday night.

The trio could cost as much as €150m combined but they would certainly give an underperforming Real side a kick in the right direction.

14.09 BST: Monaco's France U19 sensation Benoit Badiashile has been linked to Manchester United before, but now Chelsea are in the mix, according to Le10 Sport.

The Blues need to wait for their transfer ban to end, but are readying a summer move for the young forward.

13.02 BST: Serge Gnabry's four-goal performance for Bayern Munich against Tottenham will have raised his transfer value. The winger left Arsenal in 2016 to join Werder Bremen, then joined Bayern for around £8m in 2017. Even before his feat yesterday, Transfermarkt had him rated at £55m.

12.17 BST: Here's a bit more on Manchester United's plans for new signings over the next two transfer windows, from the MEN.

"United have provisionally earmarked a full-back, a midfielder, a forward and a striker to reinforce their squad ahead of the 2020-21 campaign," says the paper.

And here comes a list of names, with their new "young and British" policy meaning United are keen on Leicester duo James Maddison and Ben Chilwell, Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho and Declan Rice of West Ham.

11.20 BST: This is a bit weird but Burnley's Jay Rodriguez is being linked with a move to Inter Milan by Calciomercato.

Inter spent €80m to bring Romelu Lukaku from Manchester United this summer so they aren't going to bench him just yet, but they do need a capable backup. Enter the 30-year-old Rodriguez, who could be available on loan.

10.24 BST: Sources have told ESPN FC that 21-year-old right-back Colin Dagba is set to extend his PSG contract until 2024.

Coach Thomas Tuchel is a big fan of the youth academy graduate and has used him ahead of Thomas Meunier at times this season.

As well as Dagba, homegrown goalkeeper Garissone Innocent will pen improved terms until 2023 -- despite sitting behind Keylor Navas, Sergio Rico and Marcin Bulka in the Parc des Princes pecking order.

09.31 BST: Cardiff City will appeal against FIFA's ruling they must pay the first instalment of €6m (£5.3m) to Nantes for £15m striker Emiliano Sala, who tragically died in a plane crash before he could play for the club.

09.28 BST: Manchester City and Arsenal are set to go head-to-head over the signing of Real Madrid's Martin Odegaard, says Eldesmarque.

Odegaard made waves when he joined Madrid aged 15 in 2015 but has been on loan for the past few years and has only made one appearance for the Real first-team since.

The Norway midfielder is currently at Real Sociedad but the outlet reports City want him to replace David Silva, who will leave the club this summer, while Arsenal are keen to move on Mesut Ozil. A price of £71m has been quoted, which would give Real a tidy profit. But it's hard to see anyone paying that for a player who has yet to fully prove himself at the highest level.

08.30 BST: Bayern Munich turned down the chance to sign Manchester City attacker Gabriel Jesus for around €100m, Sport Bild claim in their latest issue.

The outlet reports that Bayern were offered the Brazil international instead of their No. 1 transfer target Leroy Sane. But the German champions were not interested in discussing a move.

Instead, Bayern want to re-open talks with Sane's agent David Gardner in the next weeks and hope City will significantly lower their expectations.

Having reportedly asked for a fee of around €150m for the injured Germany international this summer, City only have Sane under contract until 2021 and the upcoming transfer windows in 2020 would be the last chance to cash in on the forward.

In addition, should Bayern be able to lure Sane back to Germany, they would only have the funds to sign one of Philippe Coutinho or Kai Havertz, the outlet said. Bayern can sign Coutinho on a permanent deal for a fixed fee of €120m after his loan from Barcelona ends, while Leverkusen midfielder Havertz, one of Bundesliga's biggest talents, would cost at least €100m.

PAPER TALK (by Harry Kettle)

Pogba hopeful for return to Italy

Paul Pogba has had it with life in Manchester and wants to return to Juventus, reports Calciomercato.

The tussle to lock down the long term future of the Frenchman has been ongoing for quite some time now, with United trying to keep hold of him as Real Madrid spent the entire summer attempting to convince the World Cup winner to make the jump over the Santiago Bernabeu.

But Turin serves as familiar territory for Pogba, who picked up a knock in United's drab 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Monday, after he spent four successful years with the Old Lady. While there are still question marks over where they will get the money for a potential deal, which could cost upwards of €140m, there's a lot of hope that it can be done, according to the report.

Barcelona to scout Inter stars

Barcelona are set to use their game against Inter Milan to scout some of the Italian side's top names, Calciomercato reports.

The two European giants will battle it out at the Nou Camp tomorrow evening, but beyond three points in the Champions League being at stake, Barca will also have one eye on a handful of Inter players as we get closer and closer to the January transfer window.

Stefano Sensi, Milan Skriniar and Lautaro Martinez are all on the club's wishlist, although manager Antonio Conte is eager to keep hold of them as he attempts to guide Serie A leaders Inter towards a title challenge against Juventus.

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Arsenal fearful over Ozil loan

Arsenal are considering the possibility of sending Mesut Ozil out on loan but fear that they will be unable to get a deal done due to two factors -- money and desire -- the Daily Mail reports.

The Germany international is believed to be on around £350,000-a-week, but at this moment in time, the 30-year-old still isn't featuring all that heavily in manager Unai Emery's plans. As such, the focus has turned towards entertaining offers from elsewhere.

The club are willing to pay some of his wages in order to get the process moving with whatever club may be interested, although the belief is that Ozil will be more than happy to stay put and ride out his contract, which expires in 2021.

Tap-ins

- In the end to a bizarre chapter of a young player's career, striker Lamine Diaby-Fadiga was sacked by Nice after he admitted to stealing teammate Kasper Dolberg's watch in the dressing room, the Ligue 1 club said on Tuesday.

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