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: Manchester City all-in for Barcelona target Martinez
With Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirming that transfer activity at the Camp Nou will be put on hold until the end of the season, Manchester City are set to do all they can to spoil the party in the Catalans' ongoing pursuit of Internazionale's Lautaro Martinez.
Spanish publication Marca reports that Man City have been buoyed by the overturning of their two-year ban from UEFA competitions and are now set to go all out to snatch Martinez from under Barca's noses.
Unlike Barca, City do not have to worry about the intricacies of negotiating a swap deal and are ready to splash €100 million on the man they see as club legend Sergio Aguero's replacement, with the Premier League side also able to offer Martinez a more lucrative contract.
Meanwhile, Marca says that Pep Guardiola is still keen to secure a proper replacement for Vincent Kompany and could move for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly if the Italian side miss out on Champions League qualification -- which they can only now achieve by winning the competition.
- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+
- What did you miss? The latest from Europe's top leagues
LIVE BLOG
23.00 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 completed deals. Goodnight!
22.49 BST: ESPN FC's Mark Ogden doesn't believe Man City will splash £75 million on Kalidou Koulibaly but what about City's alternatives?
The Telegraph writes that City's centre-back search has led them to Seville and Sevilla centre-half Diego Carlos. The 27-year-old Brazilian has been a breakout star in La Liga this season following his £13.6 million move from Nantes, rating among La Liga's top centre-backs in 2019-20. With good pace, strong aerial ability and a comfort playing out from the back, Pep Guardiola reportedly believes Carlos possesses many of the attributes City missed this season following the departure of long-time captain Vincent Kompany,
Carlos wouldn't be cheap (estimates have him valued at around €50 million) but he would be considerably cheaper than Napoli's Koulibaly and also is a full two years younger. Like with Koulibaly, Liverpool are thought to also be interested in the defender.
22.13 BST: Demarai Gray's role at Leicester has lessened this season, leading many to believe the former England youth international could be on the move.
The London Times understands that Tottenham Hotspur have shown some interest in the dynamic young winger. The 24-year-old, who has been a solid attacking threat the past three seasons with the Foxes, has only one year remaining on his deal at the King Power leading Spurs to believe they can secure the winger on a cut-price fee.
If Gray does move to London he might find competition for places even tougher than at Leicester, with Lucas Moura, Son Heung-min, Erik Lamela, Ryan Sessegnon and Steven Bergwijn all currently on the books for Jose Mourinho and Co.
21.45 BST: Could Liverpool outcast Xherdan Shaqiri be Turkey bound?
The Swiss international, who had a great debut season on Merseyside but has played sparingly this campaign, has been offered a £35,000-a-week contract by Fenerbahce, according to Turkish outlet Fotomac. Still just 28, Shaqiri is keen to find regular first-team football but is reportedly holding out for a contract in the £50,000-a-week range.
Liverpool are keen to rid themselves of the former Stoke star's wages, with Fenerbahce's rivals Galatasaray also reportedly considering the diminutive attacker.
20.53 BST: Have a week Adebayo Akinfenwa!
The 38-year-old Wycombe striker -- and social media favourite -- helped seal Wycombe's promotion to the Championship on Monday, got a WhatsApp from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, was invited to Liverpool's championship celebration and now has inked a new one-year deal to stay with the Chairboys for another season.
Akinfenwa, who is known as "The Beast" for his stature and having the highest strength rating in EA Sports' FIFA franchise, quietly tallied 10 goals this season and is one of five Wanderers players to ink deals to stay on for Wycombe's maiden Championship voyage.
20.04 BST: Norwich's fate is confirmed as the Canaries will drop down to the Championship after one season in the Premier League. But what will happen to their top players?
At the top of list is young attacker Todd Cantwell, who after factoring in eight league goals this season (six goals, two assists), is attracting interest from various Premier League sides. The Daily Mail lists Leicester City, Newcastle United and Sheffield United as potential landing spots for the golden-locked Cantwell.
An England Under-21 international and still just 22, Cantwell figures to leave Carrow road in favour for a Premier League club this summer.
19.17 BST: Arsenal have received a boost regarding the prospects of keeping on-loan midfielder Dani Ceballos on a permanent basis.
Despite clinching the La Liga title on Thursday, not all is well in Madrid, as the club will be forced to balance the books, especially in the wake of COVID-19. That could make Ceballos, who has really shined since the restart for Arsenal, a player Real Madrid elects to cash in on.
"The situation is really bad," Real Madrid CEO Florentino Perez confirmed to El Transistor.
"It's difficult to ask the players to take a pay cut to help deal with the situation and then make signings like that. That can wait. Madrid will sign the best again when the situation changes.
"This year has been the most difficult for me. We lost important income from the stadium. We had to talk to the players for them to do their bit. If they hadn't voluntarily lowered their salaries, the company would have suffered losses.
"It's an exceptional situation."
Ceballos, who is under contract at the Bernabeu through 2023, would likely cost Arsenal somewhere around £20 million.
18.10 BST: Bernardo Silva to Barcelona?
According to Le10 Sport, the Man City winger could be become a 'priority' for the Catalan side -- if Barca are able to sell Antoine Griezmann that is. That remains a big if as Grizemann, who has not fit in alongside Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou, is on big wages and reportedly does not want to leave the club.
If Barca are able to sell Griezmann, Silva would be an enticing option according to the outlet, as Barca are looking to refresh their squad to keep Lionel Messi happy. Silva is also represented by super agent Jorge Mendes, who Barcelona have a grown close to in recent years.
17.29 BST: The race for Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes looked to be a two-horse race but a third club has reportedly entered the fray at the final hour.
Sky Sports News has learned that Ligue 1 champions PSG are set to rival the two aforementioned clubs for the 22-year-old's signature. Valued at around £20 million, Gabriel was originally set to make his decision this week but the late push by the French club is set to delay the Brazilian's decision.
PSG's interest in the centre-back makes sense, as the club recently saw long-time captain Thiago Silva's contract expire at the club.
16.41 BST: Leicester City will not be entertaining any bids for Ben Chilwell, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Friday as interest grows in the 23-year-old fullback with the transfer window set to open at the end of the month.
The window opens on July 27 in England and sources have told ESPN that Chilwell -- who has three goals and three assists this season -- is a transfer target for Chelsea and Manchester City.
"He's a Leicester player, he's not a player that I'm worried about at all," Rodgers told reporters in a virtual news conference ahead of Sunday's trip to Tottenham Hotspur.
15.55 BST: Could Lionel Messi really decide to leave Barcelona?
15.15 BST: Andre Schurrle, a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, has announced his retirement from professional football on the age of 29. Schurrle, who won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2015 and was on the books of Borussia Dortmund, told Der Spiegel of his decision on Friday.
After two largely unsuccessful years at the Westfalenstadion, he was first loaned to Fulham, where he was relegated from the Premier League and then he spent last season at Spartak Moscow. He made his Bundesliga debut for Mainz in 2009 at the age of 18 and in 2011 joined Bayer Leverkusen before moving to the Premier League with Chelsea. After leaving Stamford Bridge in 2015 he returned to Germany with Wolfsburg where he won the DFB-Pokal. Schurrle played in a total of 373 competitive matches at club level, scored 86 goals and set up a further 51.
14.39 BST: AS Monaco defender Kamil Glik is set to sign for ambitious Italian side Benevento. Sky Sport Italia reports that the 32-year-old, who has also played for Palermo, Bari and Torino, will sign for the runaway Serie B champions for €3m.
14.01 BST: Are Manchester United on the verge of signing a Spanish starlet? Dario AS reports that the Red Devils have agreed a deal with left-back Alvaro Fernandez, who departed Real Madrid at the end of last month after turning down a new contract. The 17-year-old would join United's youth team initially.
13.23 BST: An update now on the reports linking Bayern Munich's Thiago to Liverpool. Only last week, sources told ESPN Liverpool would not pursue a move for the Spanish midfield maestro, but Jurgen Klopp reportedly has told club owners FSG that he wants to sign the player, who turned down a contract extension beyond 2021 at Bayern.However, Bild reports that Bayern are currently holding out for a fee in the €40 million region and Liverpool are not willing to spend more than €25 million. Some work to be done still.
12.41 BST: Julien Laurens thinks Valencia right-winger Ferran Torres would be able to fill the void left by Leroy Sane at Manchester City.
11.53 BST: Birmingham City youngster Jude Bellingham has gone through the formalities ahead of his €23m transfer to Borussia Dortmund. The 17-year-old spent a good part of Thursday in the German city, completing his medical and putting pen to paper on a three-plus-two-year contract at the Westfalenstadion.
With two match days left to be played in the Championship and Birmingham in a relegation fight, one of the longer transfer sagas of 2020 is set to be finally concluded toward the end of next week when Dortmund will make the official transfer announcement.
Sources told ESPN that Bellingham had his heart set on a transfer to Dortmund. Despite major competition from Manchester United and Chelsea as well as a late attempt from Bayern Munich to hijack the deal in June, the England youth international will now follow in the footsteps of winger Jadon Sancho, whose future at the Westfalenstadion beyond the summer remains wide open.
11.12 BST: Sky Italia reports that Internazionale are in talks with Manchester United to extend Alexis Sanchez's loan spell until the end of the season. Under the current agreement, Sanchez will return to United on Aug. 9 and would only be available to play for Inter in the Europa League round-of-16 tie against Getafe on Aug. 5.
Inter want to have the Chilean forward available for the duration of the Europa League. Both Manchester United and Inter are still alive in the competition but can only face each other in the final. The latest proposal made by Inter to hold onto Sanchez is to include a penalty should the Nerazzurri face United in the final on Aug. 21. If both teams reached an agreement to extend Sanchez's stay, it would also give Inter extra time to decide on signing Sanchez on a permanent transfer.
Inter CEO Giuseppe Marotta says it's "premature" to talk about Sanchez's possible acquisition. "We need to remember that he has been out for some time due to a serious injury," Marotta told Sky Italia. "He is now showing us his quality and we are not the ones to discover it. He is an important player. To talk about his future is premature because his sporting rights are owned by Manchester United. We will evaluate with our coach his future, taking into account that he is not a player that we own."
10.36 BST: Florentino Perez has said that Real Madrid won't make any big signings this summer as the club deals with losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but told fans to "stay calm" about the future of Sergio Ramos.
Madrid, who have been linked with Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba and Erling Haaland, won their 34th La Liga title on Thursday as Karim Benzema scored twice in a 2-1 win over Villarreal that saw them go seven points clear of Barcelona with one game left.
We've heard this one before, haven't we?
09.52 BST: Paris Saint-Germain are still interested in signing Barcelona defender Jean-Clair Todibo, according to reports. El Mundo Deportivo reckons that PSG have rekindled their interest in acquiring the 20-year-old.
PSG wanted to include Todibo as part of the deal that would have seen Neymar return to Barcelona last summer. Todibo instead joined Schalke on loan in January for a €1,5m fee and made eight league appearances for the Bundesliga outfit. Schalke had an option to buy the Frenchman for €25m plus €5m in add-ons but did not exercise it. Todibo is tied to Barca until June 2023.
09.11 BST: Internazionale CEO Giuseppe Marotta says he is not concerned by ongoing rumours regarding Barcelona's interest in Lautaro Martinez. Barcelona are keen to lure Martinez to the Camp Nou once the transfer window opens while Real Madrid and Manchester City are in the race.
Reports claimed Inter and Barcelona had postponed talks regarding Martinez's potential transfer to the Camp Nou until next month. "The rumours regarding Barcelona are lost, what matters are the facts," Marotta told Sky Italia. "He is our player, that has never expressed a wish to leave, he is a serious person who is not conditioned by these rumours. In the past few weeks he is showing us his quality."
08.30 BST: Eurosport Spain is reporting that Manchester City have agreed personal terms with Valencia winger Ferran Torres, and a move is edging closer. The player has less than a year remaining on his contract, meaning City should be able to get the 20-year-old right winger on a cut-price deal. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have also been linked, but Pep Guardiola has selected Torres as the perfect replacement for Leroy Sane, who has joined Bayern Munich.
PAPER ROUND
Arsenal still in for Roma's Kluivert
Arsenal are still keen on signing Justin Kluivert from Serie A side Roma this season, according to reports in Italy.
Corriere dello Sport reports that Mikel Arteta wants to sign the 21-year-old as the Arsenal boss looks to bolster his attacking options ahead of next season.
Roma are said to be willing to part with Kluivert for £27m, although the Gunners might attempt to agree a player-exchange deal that would see Henrikh Mkhitaryan make his move to the Italian capital permanent following a successful loan spell.
Kluivert, son of Netherlands great Patrick, made the switch to the Stadio Olimpico from Ajax in 2018 but has fallen out of favour after scoring just five goals in that time, assisting seven.
The two clubs are said to have held lengthy discussions over the player, but a deal is yet to materialise.
Tap-ins
-- Arsenal have held talks with France under-21 international Malang Sarr, who is a free agent after leaving Nice, Goal reports. However, the Gunners are yet to offer a contract to the 21-year-old, who is believed to be attracting attention from several European clubs.
-- Elsewhere, the Gunners are set to miss out on Salzburg teenager Dominik Szoboszlai, Football.London reports. The FC Salzburg midfielder is also wanted by Paris Saint-Germain, but is believed to have agreed to join the Rossoneri, who only have to alert the player's current club of their intention to pay his release clause.
-- The Daily Record reports that Sheffield United are set to offer Rangers goalkeeper Wes Foderingham a dream move to the Premier League, although they are still trying to sign Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson for a third successive season. The former Crystal Palace and Swindon man, 29, has fallen out of favour since Allan McGregor's move to Ibrox, but he will be offered the chance to compete for the No. 1 spot at Bramall Lane in a surprise turn of events -- though he has more likely been signed as back-up.
-- Liverpool forward Yasser Larouci is set to leave the club, with Leeds United and Brentford both interested, according to the Evening Standard. The 19-year-old Larouci joined the Reds from Le Havre in 2017. A move to either club could still see him remain in the Premier League with Leeds just a point away from a long-awaited top-flight return, while the Bees are currently third in the Championship.