Transfer Talk: Chelsea to offload Kepa for Atletico Madrid's Oblak

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: Chelsea to offload Kepa for Atletico's Oblak

Chelsea have regularly been linked with several goalkeepers but the Mirror is saying that the Blues are making Atletico Madrid stopper Jan Oblak their top target.

The Slovenian stopper has a £120 million release clause in his contract that runs through 2023, so Chelsea are looking to offload current No. 1 Kepa Arrizabalaga as part of the deal to offset some of the cost.

Kepa, 25, became the world's most expensive goalkeeper when he made the switch from Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea for £71.6m in 2018, but has since struggled to justify his substantial price-tag.

Chelsea have also been linked to Dean Henderson (on loan at Sheffield United from Manchester United) and Andre Onana of Ajax Amsterdam.

This comes with the London club having already brought in Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, while also chasing Leicester City defender Ben Chilwell.

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22.45 BST: That's it for another edition of Transfer Talk folks, but fear not, tomorrow's paper round has already landed and we'll have plenty of fresh rumours to get you through the night before starting the whole live thing over again. Thanks as always for checking in!

22.31 BST: Earlier today in Transfer Talk, we shared that Manchester City is eager to extend manager Pep Guardiola's stay with the club, but in a press conference on Tuesday he refused to give any assurances about his future despite Manchester City's successful Champions League ban appeal.

"This club is incredibly solid with Pep and without Pep," said the City manager. "This club had success before my arrival here, with [Roberto] Mancini and with [Manuel] Pellegrini they won a lot of titles and they played really good football.

"So without me, when I leave -- I don't know when that will be -- the structure of the club wants to grow and to be solid, this is the most important thing."

21.33 BST: If Manchester United's ongoing pursuit of Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho fails to bear fruit this summer, the Old Trafford club could instead set their sights on rising Valencia star Ferran Torres, according to the Manchester Evening News. The paper cites reports in Spain that suggest that the 20-year-old, who is entering the final year of his contract, could be a cost-effective alternative to Sancho, with Valencia potentially motivated to sell due to financial strain caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

20.55 BST: Liverpool and Manchester City could be left disappointed in their pursuit of Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. The Italian outlet quotes the Senegal defender as saying he is "100 percent Napoli" and that the constant links to other clubs when he still has three years left on his contract in Naples bothers him.

"We will see what the president will decide and if he proposes to extend my contract, that would allow me to end my career here," Koulibaly said. "At the moment, I still have a three-year contract and I am not thinking of anything else but Napoli."

20.15 BST: The Telegraph is reporting that Tottenham centre-back Jan Vertonghen could be a potential target for Manchester City when transfer business reopens after the season. The Belgian would be available for free as his deal with Spurs ends once the Premier League season ends and could provide some much-needed cover at the heart of the City defence.

19.32 BST: Our ESPN colleagues in Mexico are reporting that Man City's victory at the CAS is having a knock-on effect with regards to the future of Raul Jimenez at Wolves. Nuno Espirito Santos' team would have a better chance of playing in the Champions League if City's two-year ban had been upheld and fifth place in the Premier League was given the UCL spot Pep Guardiola's side occupy in second. Wolves now face an unenviable route into the Champions League, trailing Leicester and Man United by four points with just three games left to play and Jimenez has been adamant he wants to play against the world's best in European competitions next year. That could necessitate a move away from Molineux.

18.55 BST: Chelsea could take heart from recent revelations that one of their top targets Kai Havertz would move to a team even if they haven't qualified for the Champions League. That's from the BBC, which reports that the Germany international is just as concerned with a club's long-term plans as he is with playing on European nights next season. Chelsea are locked in a battle for the final UCL spots in the Premier League, with Frank Lampard's side in third on 60 points, just one ahead of rivals Leicester City and Manchester United.

18.15 BST: Wolfsburg have signed United States youth internationals Bryang Kayo and Kobe Hernandez-Foster, the club announced. Kayo, a 17-year-old midfielder from Maryland, has represented the U.S. at under-15 and under-17 levels. He was a member of the country's U17 World Cup team last fall, playing in one match at the tournament. He joins Wolfsburg from Orange County SC.

Full-back Hernandez-Foster, 18, was also a member of the under-17 World Cup squad and has played 22 times overall for the team. He moves to Wolfsburg from LA Galaxy II.

17.29 BST: Club Leon striker Leonardo Ramos could be heading to Orlando City in another Liga MX to Major League Soccer transfer, according to Exa FM reporter Diana Mac.

The 30-year-old Argentine has 22 goals in 43 Liga MX appearances over his time at Lobos BUAP and then Leon.

16.47 BST: Bournemouth's Nathan Ake is unlikely to play again this season due to injury, coach Eddie Howe has said, harming the club's hopes of avoiding relegation this season which would in turn increase the chances of the defender leaving in the summer.

"Nathan is sore," Howe said. "I think he has done something to his groin. With such a short time of the season left, I think it looks doubtful he will play again."

Bournemouth in the relegation zone, three points from three, with three games remaining. Were they to go down, there would no shortage of suitors for Ake.

Ake, 25, has been linked with interest from Manchester City recently, while Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last week moved to play down a postmatch conversation he had with the Netherlands international following his side's 5-2 win at Old Trafford on July 4.

15.56 BST: Manchester City are eager to offer manager Pep Guardiola a new long-term contract now that they have won their appeal against being banned from next season's Champions League, according to the Daily Mirror.

The futures of Guardiola and several of City's star players was put into serious doubt when UEFA dealt them the ban for failing to comply with its financial fair play regulations.

However, after that decision was overturned by the Court for Arbitration for Sport on Monday, City are now looking to the future with Guardiola, who has won two Premier League titles among the host of trophies he has claimed since joining the club in 2016.

The Mirror reports the City will offer Guardiola a "lucrative" new deal to keep him at the club where he already earns around £20m a year.

15.08 BST: Liverpool plan to extend Dejan Lovren's contract by a year to keep the defender at the club until 2022, Sky Sports reports.

Lovren, who has on year remaining on his current deal, has been linked with interest from Zenit St Petersburg.

The 31-year-old has been at Anfield for six years since signing from Southampton but, having once been a first-team regular, has found appearances more difficult to come by as Joe Gomez and Joel Matip have been regular partners for Virgil van Dijk in the centre of defence.

14.35 BST: Carles Alena will return to Barcelona this summer with a view of earning a place in the squad next season, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Barcelona loaned in January the 22-year-old midfielder to Betis, where he has scored one goal and set up two more in 17 games.

A youth product of Barcelona, Alena will be given the opportunity by coach Quique Setien to prove his worth during the club's pre-season.

13.41 BST: Napoli expect coach Gennaro Gattuso to continue at the club next season.

Gattuso, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti at the helm of Napoli in December, steered the club to victory in the Coppa Italia last month.

Napoli, sixth in the standings, are expected to miss out on Champions League football next season.

"With Gattuso there are no problems," Napoli sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli told Sky Italia. "We have decided to postpone any decision until the end of the season.

"The will for him to continue is there and he also has the will to remain so there are no problems."

Meanwhile, Giuntoli said Jose Callejon has not made a decision regarding his future. The Spaniard, who becomes a free agent on June 30, has turned down offers to sign a new contract with Napoli.

He is reportedly keen to return to Spain and has offers on the table from Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Valencia. Callejon, 33, joined Napoli from Real Madrid in 2013.

12.33 BST: Barcelona have exercised the option to sign promising Sao Paulo striker Gustavo Maia, sources have told ESPN.

The Catalan side paid €1 million earlier this year to the Brazilian club to have a preferential option to acquire 70% of the player's sporting rights.

Barca had until July 15 to complete the signing worth a total €4.5m and sources have told ESPN that they have done so.

Sao Paulo will retain 30% of the 19-year-old's future sale. The operation will allow the Brazilian club to pay some of its debts related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Maia arrived at Sao Paulo at 14 and was tied to the club until 2022. He won seven titles with Sao Paulo's youth teams and had his best season in 2018 when he scored 30 goals in 36 games.

11.57 BST: Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has said he would love to end his career at the club.

The Scotland international previously said he planned to play for his boyhood club Celtic one day but now intends to hang up his boots at Anfield.

"If you asked me when I was playing for Hull if I wanted to go back and play for Celtic, then I would have said that 100% I wanted to play for my boyhood club," he told The Lockdown Tactics podcast.

"But now I've found my home at Liverpool and I love playing for this club. If I could retire at Liverpool, then I'd bite your hand off for it now. Playing at this club is amazing. To play in front of the fans every second week at Anfield is incredible.

"When I was younger, I wanted to play for Celtic and give my best years to Celtic. I didn't want to be hanging on and going there at 33 or 34 when I knew my best years were gone.

"It might be something I'll need to think about at some stage. I still follow Celtic and they still have a place in my heart.

"It would be hard to say 'no' but, if I did have the option of retiring at Liverpool, I'd bite your hand off for it -- and I'd probably sign the contract now."

10.43 BST: Barcelona and Inter Milan have agreed to postpone talks regarding the potential transfer of Lautaro Martinez to the Camp Nou until August, according to Mundo Deportivo.

The Argentinian forward's €111m release clause expired on July 7 but Barca are still hopeful of landing the 22-year-old.

However, Barca must first sell some players in order to afford Martinez. Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu admitted the club had held talks with Inter regarding the player.

"Regarding Lautaro, we spoke to Inter a few weeks ago but it's an issue that is currently stopped," he said.

"We are now talking now. We still have to finish La Liga and the Champions League and see what our priorities are. It's not a market to think about making big investments."