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Transfer Talk: Premier League giants line up for Leverkusen's Leon Bailey

The coronavirus pandemic has made the summer transfer window uncertain, but here are the rumours floating around Europe's big leagues and beyond.

TOP STORY: Prem clubs eye Bailey after masterclass

The interest in Bayer Leverkusen star Leon Bailey from top Premier League clubs has accelerated, the Daily Mail reports.

The 22-year-old's performance this week in Leverkusen's win over Cologne, in which he assisted two of the goals, is said to have sped up the bidding process for the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City.

Right now Bailey is being viewed as a cheaper option than Borussia Dortmund youngster Jadon Sancho, but how long that prospect lasts remains to be seen.

The Jamaica international's haul of seven goals in 28 appearances this season might seem modest compared to Sancho's but four of those strikes have come against Bayern Munich (twice), Dortmund and RB Leipzig.

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- Reporters' Notebook: Prem contract scramble, Arteta's hair

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22.30 BST: That's all for today's Transfer Talk live but please check back in a few hours for tomorrow's edition. Thanks and stay safe.

21.41 BST: Monaco star Keita Balde would love to play in the Premier League someday, he told Sky Sports.

"I was born in Spain and grew up in Barcelona, but I never played in La Liga," the former Spain Under-21 international said.

"I became a man and a footballer in Italy, and then moved to Monaco.

"I like experiencing new places and challenges. The Premier League is a great challenge for any ambitious player."

20.11 BST: Bayern Munich want to keep Thiago, says manager Hans-Dieter Flick.

Thiago has been rumoured to be mulling a Barcelona return next season, but Mundo Deportivo reports that Flick doesn't want to see him, or his Bayern teammate David Alaba, go.

18.35 BST: Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has said that he wants Matty Longstaff to agree to an extension at the club.

Longstaff currently earns just £850 a week but has quickly become Newcastle's best young player.

Bruce has said that they have offered him "a fantastic deal" to sign a new contract which includes a wage jump to £25,000 as well as performance-related bonuses.

However, the 20-year-old will earn a larger basic wage if he moves somewhere else such as Italian side Udinese who have reportedly been interested in him.

The move would also mean he secures an extensive signing on bonus.

17.25 BST: Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has said he wants to sign Pablo Mari on a permanent basis even if the centre-back has sustained a season-ending ankle injury.

The 26-year-old has suffered what the club describes as a "significant" setback after limping out of Wednesday's 3-0 defeat at Manchester City after just 24 minutes.

Sources at the club have told ESPN that staff at the club are afraid that he may have suffered long-term ligament damage.

Arsenal secured the defender on a €4m loan at the start of the year and are said to have the option to make the move permanent for another €8m.

16.36 BST: Neymar has been ordered to pay Barcelona €6.7m following a dispute based around a renewal bonus included in the last contract he signed with the club in 2016.

The Brazil forward received around €14m of the bonus before leaving Barca, who deposited the remaining amount with a notary once it became evident he was signing for Paris Saint-Germain.

When he signed for PSG in 2017, he demanded Barca pay the rest of the bonus. Barca responded by suing him for breach of contract and requested the return of the €14m already paid to Neymar as well as €8.5m in damages plus interest.

A judge found in favour of Barca on Friday and said that Neymar had breached his contract.

Neymar does have the option to appeal the decision but only has 10 days to do so.

15.44 BST: Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has warned that Tammy Abraham will have to "sustain and improve" his form if he is to compete with new arrival Timo Werner.

Werner will arrive in London next month after Chelsea signed him from RB Leipzig for around €53m.

Chelsea won't be able to register Werner for the remainder of the Premier League which gives Abraham -- who has scored 15 goals this season -- a chance to cement his place.

Both like to play at No. 9 and Werner's arrival could encourage Abraham not to sign a new deal with the club as his game time will likely be curtailed.

"I've spoken to Tammy before about the idea of competition and I don't feel the need to have to address every player if a player comes that might contest a position at a club like Chelsea because that's what its about," Lampard said.

"It has been about that in its most successful years in the Roman Abramovich era. And Tammy obviously had a very good season for us this season. He has to sustain and improve on that because at Chelsea we have demands. I am happy to have options and we have options in forward areas and we must have competition for places. So I am pleased with the idea of that.

14.57 BST: Nuno Espirito Santo has said he is open to new contract talks with Wolves.

The manager arrived at the Molineux in 2017 and has one year left on his contract with the club.

"When you have something so serious [as the peak of coronavirus] to take care of, you don't think of anything else," he said. "During this pandemic I think everybody worldwide was thinking about their own families. Now we are back we will have time to talk."

Asked whether he was keen to stay, he replied: "We are still under contract. We are here and it's good to be here."

Wolves are seventh in the Premier League table and in contention for European football. His success with the club has attracted attention from clubs across Europe.

14.06 BST: Mesut Ozil wants to see out the final year of his contract at Arsenal but the club are keen to move him on, sources have told ESPN.

The club are seeking to free up funds as the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic takes effect alongside a fourth consecutive year without Champions League football.

Ozil's wage is as much as £350,000 a week and offloading him this summer would free up a substantial amount of money for the club.

The midfielder didn't play in Arsenal's 3-0 loss to Manchester City on Wednesday with coach Mikel Arteta saying his absence was for "tactical reasons" but was named on the bench for Arsenal's game against Brighton on Saturday.

13.25 BST: Ivan Rakitic's priority is to return to Sevilla should he leave Barcelona this summer, according to reports.

El Mundo Deportivo claim that Rakitic, who has one year left on his contract with Barca, will meet with club officials at the end of the season to discuss his future.

The midfielder wants to honour his contract but Barca are keen to sell him this summer, hoping to get €20m from his transfer.

Sevilla, however, will only open the door to Rakitic if the player arrived for free and if he were willing to reduce his wages.

Rakitic is reported to be willing to cut his wages in order to return to Sevilla.

12.34 BST: Everton's Richarlison has revealed he turned down offers from Barcelona and Manchester United to leave Everton in the winter transfer window.

Speaking to Youtube channel Desimpedidos, Richarlison, who has scored 12 goals in 32 appearances for Everton this season, said he didn't want to let the team down.

"Several offers arrived in the middle of the season, from Barcelona, from Manchester, then the club decided to hold on and I also didn't want to leave the team in the middle of the season, it's bad to let the teammates down," he added.

"Of course, it is a balance, Barcelona is one of the biggest clubs in the world, but I think the happiness part weighs a little."

Richarlison also named three defenders better than Liverpool star Virgil Van Dijk, who his side will face on Sunday.

"People talk a lot about him, yes he is a great defender but I've already dribbled past him," he said.

"He was chosen as one of the top three in the world as he had an excellent season.

"But yes, for me there are better defenders. Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Sergio Ramos."

11.40 BST: Leroy Sane wants to leave Manchester City, according to Pep Guardiola, who told a virtual news conference on Friday that the winger has decided he will not extend his contract at the Etihad Stadium and will move, either in the next transfer window or at the end of his deal in 2021.

"Leroy said he doesn't want to extend the contract so it means he wants to leave and it's going to happen this summer or at the end of the contract," Guardiola said via Zoom.

"The club talked to me and he's been offered two or three times to extend his contract and he rejected so he wants to play for another club."

Sane, who returned to the bench against Arsenal on Wednesday after more than 10 months out with a knee injury, has been heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich.

Asked whether more talks were planned with the 24-year-old, Guardiola replied "no, no."

He added: "If at the end of the season we get an agreement with both clubs he's going to leave. If not then he'll stay one more year and then leave at the end of the contract."

11.05 BST: N'Golo Kante is happy at Chelsea and doesn't want to leave the club, sources have told ESPN, who added that the 2018 World Cup winner has not been told by the club that they intended to sell him as reports were suggesting on Friday.

Despite a 2019-2020 campaign hampered by injuries -- he only made 16 starts in the Premier League -- Kante is very much looking forward to the end of the season with the Blues and to a very exciting next campaign as well.

The Paris born and bred midfielder, 29, joined Chelsea in the summer 2016 from Leicester for around £30m and signed a new five-year deal with a big pay rise in 2018. His current deal ends in June 2023. Chelsea has never mentioned the club wanted to sell him in any discussions with the player or his agent.

With the arrival of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner as well as the coming of age of players from the Chelsea Academy (Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Reece James, Billy Gilmour, Callum Hudson-Odoi), Kante feels Chelsea is the perfect club to continue his career.

10.24 BST: Ryan Fraser, a long-term target for Arsenal, has played his last game for Bournemouth after manager Eddie Howe confirmed the Scottish winger has opted against a short extension to his contract that ends on June 30.

The 26-year-old, who joined Bournemouth from Aberdeen in 2013, has been a key component in Howe's side but they will have to do without him for their remaining nine Premier League games as they try to avoid being relegated.

Scotland international Fraser has been linked with interest from Arsenal since he had a breakout year with Bournemouth last season, registering 14 assists and scoring seven goals in the Premier League to help guide the club to safety.

"I don't think I was particularly surprised by his decision. I think it's been clear to us as a club for some time that Ryan wasn't going to sign a new contract with us," Howe told reporters ahead of Saturday's home game against Crystal Palace.

"He's now played his last game for the football club, he won't be involved with us for the last nine games."

09.47 BST: Atletico Madrid received a €150m offer from a Premier League club for Joao Felix, Diario AS reports.

Felix, who scored two goals in Atletico's 5-0 win at Osasuna on Wednesday, is reportedly unhappy with Atletico coach Diego Simeone. The 20-year-old forward became Atletico's top signing when the Madrid club splashed out €126m to acquire him from Benfica last summer on a seven-year contract.

However, Felix and his entourage believe Simeone is not bringing out the best from the Portugal international and that Felix is not a good fit for Atletico's style of play.

Diario AS claims that Atletico received a few months ago a €150m offer from an unnamed Premier League club. Manchester City and Manchester United were reportedly in the race to sign Felix last summer.

09.00 BST: Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani have agreed to take part in the Champions League Final 8 in August with PSG despite their contract with the club finishing on June 30, sources have told ESPN.

Leonardo, the Paris sporting director, told them last week that he will not renew their deals but that he wanted them to stay on until August to finish the Champions League campaign with the team. After a few discussions, an agreement was found for a two-month deal with the same financial conditions that the players are on currently.

Silva, 35, and Cavani, 33, are now back in the French capital after spending time in Brazil and Uruguay, respectively, during the coronavirus hiatus and will resume training with their teammates on Monday, after a three-month break.

They will sign their contract extensions early next week, a source told ESPN, and will then be able to focus completely on the end of the season.

PAPER TALK (by Harry Kettle): Chelsea want Kante to stay

The Evening Standard is reporting that Chelsea manager Frank Lampard wants N'Golo Kante to stay at the club beyond the summer transfer window.

It was recently suggested that, if necessary, the Blues would be open to the idea of selling the popular Frenchman's rights to raise funds for future transfers. Now, however, Lampard has put his foot down and claimed that he will not be leaving Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are gearing up for a spending spree in the next few months, but if the boss is to be believed, Kante will not be one of the outgoing players.

Leipzig to hold Angelino talks

RB Leipzig will hold concrete talks with Manchester City regarding the future of Angelino, Bild reports.

The full-back has been on loan at the Bundesliga club since making a surprise move over from Manchester during the January transfer window. He has impressed them ever since, and with the deal featuring an option to buy, Leipzig are obviously interested in making something happen.

Unfortunately for both parties, the German side believes the listed fee of €22-€23 million is too high -- with City's stance on the matter currently a mystery.

Tap-ins

-- Everton have entered the race to try and sign Real Valladolid defender Mohammed Salisu, the Mirror reports. Southampton and Manchester United are already keeping tabs, and with his contract being set to expire next year, the Toffees may fancy their chances. Salisu also has an incredibly reasonable £10m buyout clause.

-- Celtic are hoping to keep hold of Fraser Forster and Mohamed Elyounoussi beyond their current loan deals, Sky Sports reports. The pair are set to return to Southampton at the end of June, and despite the potential financial strain involved due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Celtic manager Neil Lennon has confirmed that they are eager to try and keep both men on the books.