The winter transfer window is closed, but now it's time to look ahead to the summer! Here are the new rumours floating around Europe's big leagues and beyond.
TOP STORY: Liverpool to move for Napoli's Koulibaly
Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly is hot property and a number of clubs are reported to be in a race to land him this summer. The latest from Le10 Sport is that Liverpool are in pole position after Paris Saint-Germain pulled out with an eye to focusing their efforts on securing Thiago Silva to a contract extension instead.
Newcastle United are also said to be interested in Koulibaly, but they will have to wait until their proposed takeover by a Saudi consortium is completed, believed to be next week, before they can put their new-found riches to good use in the transfer market.
The Senegal defender is set for a new challenge after six years at Napoli and he's not short of potential suitors. And while the 28-year-old is valued around €100 million and under contract until June 2023, he is apparently keen on a move to the Premier League.
Koulibaly and Virgil van Dijk would form an incredibly solid defensive pairing and would further enhance Liverpool's already impressive back-line credentials.
- Stream new episodes of ESPN FC Monday-Friday on ESPN+
- Stream every episode of 30 for 30: Soccer Stories on ESPN+
LIVE BLOG
21.33 BST: Roma are preparing for life after Chris Smalling, who is widely expected to be too expensive to make a permanent move to the Italian capital, by registering their interest in Liverpool's Dejan Lovren and Barcelona's Jean-Clair Todibo, now on loan at Schalke, according to Corriere dello Sport.
20.16 BST: Le10 Sport reports that Brescia starlet Sandro Tonali, who turned 20 on Friday, would prefer to remain in his home country, where Juventus lead the chase for his signature, but that Paris Saint-Germain have made the Italy international their priority signing in midfield and have enlisted their own Italian Marco Verratti to convince his countryman to join him at the Parc des Princes.
18.59 BST: Paris Saint-Germain are keen to make Mauro Icardi's loan move to the French capital permanent, but seek to negotiate down the €70m purchase option for the 27-year-old striker by sending midfielder Julian Draxler in the other direction, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
17.42 BST: On Thursday we brought you news of interest in pending free agent Dries Mertens from Chelsea and Inter, and now Mundo Deportivo writes that Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have joined the pack chasing the 33-year-old forward's signature.
16.25 BST: Ajax lost Frenkie de Jong (to Barcelona) and Matthijs de Ligt (to Juventus) last year and now Hakim Ziyech is Chelsea-bound, but the Dutch club's chief executive Edwin van der Sar has warned that their top stars won't come cheap.
"In January last year, people said we were going to lose seven or eight players but we lost only two key members,' Van der Sar told Reuters. "The big clubs such as Bayern Munich have said the benchmark fee will go down in the next few transfer windows. But it's easier for them to say because they are the buyers.
"Of course, the €150-200m transfers are gone. But I think there is still a lot of value for players who come from Ajax. Well educated, experienced in winning and playing European football.
"Last year, we made verbal agreements with [Andre] Onana, [Nicolas] Tagliafico, [Donny] van de Beek to stay another season and then we look to help each other and find the next step in their careers. Nothing has changed. There won't be a 50% discount. The clubs can forget about that."
15.40 BST: Fiorentina winger Federico Chiesa has been linked with Juventus, but would it be a move that ruins Serie A?
14.55 BST: Arsenal are set to sign Norwegian winger George Lewis after the 19-year-old impressed on trial, says Goal.
Lewis is available on a free transfer after a number of spells in Norway's lower leagues, most recently the third-tier with Fram Larvik.
Having made an impression at Arsenal, the winger seems to have earned himself a contract and the report states he'll go into Steve Bould's U23s.
14.10 BST: Could Arsenal be set to swap captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi?
Tuttosport claims that Inter want Aubameyang as he enters the final year of his contract this summer, with the 30-year-old yet to make any headway over an extension.
And the Serie A side are ready to offer Icardi in return. The Argentine is on loan at PSG, who can sign him permanently for €70m, but it seems neither club wants to keep him.
Chelsea are also closely monitoring Aubameyang's contract situation with a view to making a move this summer, sources have told ESPN.
13.28 BST: Cristiano Ronaldo remains committed to Juventus, according to Filipe Goncalves, the Nacional Under-19 goalkeeper who trained with the superstar during the lockdown at Funchal's Madeira stadium.
Goncalves, 18, was one of the young players to work out with Ronaldo last month at the home of newly-promoted CD Nacional, where the Portugal captain began his career.
He was asked by Tuttosport if the two had spoken about Juventus and Goncalves said: "Certainly. He seemed very happy with his experience in Italy, in Turin and more especially, to be playing for Juventus. He told me many times that it's a very big club, organised and that he has an enormous admiration for the Bianconeri fans, who care a lot for him."
13.08 BST: Kosovo winger Milot Rashica is still of interest to Liverpool, according to Kosovan FA president Agim Amedi.
Rashica, 23, has scored 23 goals in 64 appearances for Wolfsburg since he joined in 2017 and is worth around €30m.
"There are many requests for him. I know that Liverpool in the Premier League want him, but also RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga," Amedi told Syri TV. "I am sure that he will be advised in the best way to make his decision."
12.33 BST: Did Real Madrid waste €100m on signing Eden Hazard from Chelsea?
11.46 BST: Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool, Manchester City and Rangers are all interested in Linfield's Charlie Allen, says the Yorkshire Evening Post.
But Leeds United are reportedly in the driving seat to sign the 16-year-old attacker.
"Charlie over the course of the year has been to Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea were interested," Linfield's academy director Glenn Ferguson told The Belfast Telegraph.
"With all due respect, Manchester City can go and get 20 Charlie Allens from across the world. He's maybe better off going to a club like Ipswich or Leeds where someone like Stuart Dallas can take him under his wing."
11.13 BST: Sources from Chilean club Colo Colo have brushed aside reports that Claudio Bravo's return is imminent.
Reports in Spain had claimed that Manchester City goalkeeper Bravo, whose contract expires this summer, was set to close his 14-year chapter in European football and re-join Colo Colo this summer with an announcement to be made in the coming days.
However, El Grafico newspaper reports that club sources have denied the 37-year-old's imminent return, saying: "Let's be serious. Due to the pandemic, we can't pay the complete wages of 72 people. We would be irresponsible."
Colo Colo were unable to reach an agreement for players and staff to cut their wages during the coronavirus pandemic. Bravo began his career at Colo Colo before joining Real Sociedad in 2006 and reportedly earns €3.5m a year at Manchester City.
10.41 BST: Manchester City winger Leroy Sane is of interest to Bayern Munich, but surely they can wait a year to sign him for nothing in 2021?
10.24 BST: Miralem Pjanic would be willing to accept a move to Barcelona in a swap deal that would see Arthur join the Turin giants.
According to the Italian sports newspaper, Pjanic would welcome the move to Barca after four seasons at Juventus. The Turin giants would allow the Croatian midfielder, whose contract expires in June 2023, to depart if Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo was included in the deal.
However, according to Gazzetta, Barca are only offering Ivan Rakitic or Arturo Vidal as players that could be included.
09.51 BST: Spanish forward Jose Callejon will not continue at Napoli beyond this summer, according to reports.
Callejon, who becomes a free agent on June 30, has turned down offers to sign a new contract with Napoli. According to Estadio Deportivo, Callejon is keen to return to Spain and has offers on the table from Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Valencia.
The 33-year-old joined Napoli from Real Madrid in 2013.
09.37 BST: Tottenham are interested in Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Hojbjerg, 24, has a year left on his contract at St Mary's but has been on Tottenham's radar for some time. The Denmark international joined Southampton in 2016 for £13m from Bayern Munich and could now head to link up with Jose Mourinho in London.
09.00 BST: ESPN's Insider Notebook is live and has a number of interesting transfer bits, including:
- Manchester United are open to adding a centre-back to their squad in the next transfer window to provide more competition for Victor Lindelof.
- Pedro is hoping for a late change of heart from Chelsea. So far, the Blues have shown little willingness to extend the 32-year-old's contract, which expires at the end of the season. The winger turns 33 in July and Chelsea have a policy of only offering one-year extensions to players over 30, but he will request the same two-year deal offered to teammates David Luiz and Willian when negotiations begin.
- Cesc Fabregas recently got a call from a scout at an English club to talk about Rennes' Eduardo Camavinga, the 17-year-old French prodigy that Real Madrid are keen on.
08.36 BST: Borussia Dortmund have reportedly managed to hold off interest from a host of Europe's top clubs to sign youth prospect Nnamdi Collins to sign his first professional contract at the Westfalenstadion.
Collins, 16, attracted interest from the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Juventus for his performances in defence for Dortmund's under-17 side and as captain of Germany's U16s.
However, despite being offered signing-on fees of around €1m to move abroad, both Sport1 and Bild report that Collins has agreed a long-term deal at Borussia.
08.00 BST: Barcelona youngster Marc Jurado has turned down the chance to extend his contract with the club and will join Manchester United this summer, sources have told ESPN.
Jurado became eligible for a professional contract in April when he turned 16 but he has turned down Barca's offer.
The Spanish champions proposed a three-year deal, worth €60,000 annually in the first year rising to €100,000 by the third year of the contract, in addition to a €200,000 bonus if he made his debut for the B team in that time.
However, Jurado, a right-back who spent this season with the club's U16 team, has instead accepted an offer to move to Premier League side United.
As his non-professional terms with Barca expire this summer, the English club will only have to pay a small amount of compensation in development rights, which one source says is likely to be less than €200,000.
Gab Marcotti hopes Federico Chiesa stays at Fiorentina to keep Serie A somewhat balanced and competitive.
PAPER TALK (by Nick Judd)
United step up Grealish interest
One of the "will-they, won't they" transfer sagas of the summer continues with Manchester United ready to pay £50m for Aston Villa's Jack Grealish.
United have been pursuing the 24-year-old for what feels like most of the 2019-20 season and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is clearly a fan of the Villa creative midfielder. Now, United are finally putting their money where their mouth is, according to The Sun.
United have been actively scouting Grealish for 18 months and believe he has the ability and temperament to join a club of their size, despite him being fined by Villa for attending a friend's house party in March, subsequently crashing his car and thus being caught breaking the coronavirus lockdown restrictions in the process.
Solskjaer has done his due diligence on Grealish's attitude and work ethic and the Norwegian boss believes the midfielder would bring good character to the dressing room. Villa are likely to ask for £70m for their prized asset, but he could cost less than that if the side are relegated at the end of the season, hence United's low-ball bid.
Barcelona closer to signing Brazil kid Maia
Barcelona are closing in on the signing of young Brazilian star Gustavo Maia from Sao Paulo, reports Sport.
Sao Paulo have given the player's agent permission to talk to Barca's representatives, and Sport is suggesting that the Catalan club will start negotiations in the next few days as they look to beat a host of clubs to the 19-year-old's signature.
They have already paid €1m as a form of deposit, and now have until the end of July to pay a further €3.5m. If Barcelona agree to pay the full amount in the allocated time, then Maia is able to join the club from the end of August and could feature next season.
Maia has scored three goals in seven matches at the Sao Paulo Junior Cup.
Tap ins
- The future of Fiorentina's Federico Chiesa continues to be shrouded in mystery, but it would appear as though Juve could make another move for the midfielder, says Calciomercato. Juventus were close to signing Chiesa last summer and they remain the player's preferred destination should he leave the Artemio Franchi Stadium. The Old Lady would have to part with around €50m to secure his signature.
- Antonio Conte is looking to raid his former club Chelsea in an effort to be reunited with Emerson Palmieri, reports Calciomercato. Conte knows full well the qualities of the left-back, and he has instructed Inter officials to make the move happen. Inter are reported to have made contact with Chelsea but the deal hinges on the defender's willingness to move back to Italy, where he last played for Roma.