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LIVE Transfer Talk: Man City to beat Man Utd, Chelsea for defender Ake

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: Man City ahead of Man Utd, Chelsea for Ake

Manchester City are close to agreeing a £35 million deal with AFC Bournemouth that would see 25-year-old centre-back Nathan Ake move to the Etihad, according to the Guardian.

The Chelsea academy graduate has also been linked with a return to his former club, as well as Manchester United.

Bournemouth are on the verge of relegation with one match left in the Premier League season, but Netherlands international Ake has been one of the bright spots for the Cherries.

Ake joined Bournemouth in 2018 for a reported £20m fee and Chelsea reportedly hold a £40m option to buy him back, though are focusing their budget elsewhere.

Pep Guardiola has been keen on upgrading City's backline, with John Stones pegged as an odd man out, and they are favourites for Ake.

LIVE BLOG

22.29 BST: Roma midfielder Alessandro Florenzi has left Valencia after the completion of his loan, but he may yet remain in Spain. Gazzetta dello Sport writes that Sevilla are interested in the 29-year-old midfielder who the Giallorossi value at €12m, but they face competition from Atalanta and Fiorentina for the Italy international's signature.

21.42 BST: Manchester United are monitoring the situation of Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Idrissa Gueye, Le10 Sport reports, with the 30-year-old Senegal international having made just 20 appearances since moving to the French capital last summer.

20.55 BST: Brighton & Hove Albion are interested in recruiting Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles, according to the Evening Standard, amid suggestions that the 22-year-old's lack of game time in North London could lead to him looking for pastures new this close season.

20.08 BST: Sevilla have received two bids from English clubs for 27-year-old centre-back Diego Carlos, Goal writes, with Manchester City and Liverpool both previously linked with the Brazilian who has a €75m release clause.

19.21 BST: Wolfsburg are looking to reinforce their defensive ranks, and in the process wouldn't be opposed to selling U.S. international John Brooks, according to Kicker. However, with two years remaining on his contract and heft wages, there reportedly isn't much of a market for the 27-year-old centre-back.

18.34 BST: Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Inter have their eyes on two Fiorentina starlets in forward Federico Chiesa and midfielder Gaetano Castrovilli. Meeting La Viola's €60m asking price for Chiesa could prove troublesome, and the Milanese club are hopeful the addition of a player like Radja Nainggolan could offset some of the cost. And while Castrovilli is said to be keen on a role in Antonio Conte's Inter, Fiorentina reportedly would be reluctant to part with the 23-year-old, especially if they also sell Chiesa.

17.47 BST: Paris Saint-Germain have begun a charm offensive to try to convince RB Leipzig's France U21 centre-back Dayot Upamecano to return to his home country, according to Le10 Sport, but they face competition from Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.

17.00 BST: Manchester United have a David De Gea problem.

16.05 BST: This transfer window seems to be all about Chelsea already.

Not content with signing Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, the Blues want a new goalkeeper to replace Kepa and the MEN reports they are "prepared to more than double Dean Henderson's wages in an attempt to prise him away from Manchester United."

Henderson, 23, has impressed on loan at Sheffield United but isn't deemed ready to replace David De Gea just yet -- despite the Spaniard's poor form this season.

United reportedly pay Henderson around £70,000-a-week and the Blues are set to offer him £170,000-a-week, with talks already underway with his representatives.

Of course Chelsea will have to discuss a transfer fee with United, given Henderson is under contract until 2022 with the option of another year.

15.40 BST: Former West Brom defender Nathan Ferguson has signed for Crystal Palace on a free transfer.

Ferguson, 19, almost signed for the club in January for around £8m but the move fell through. Palace have saved themselves some cash as the England U20 international's contract ran out.

"It's great to be here," he told the club website. "Crystal Palace is a great club in my opinion, and I feel like there's a lot that I can bring to the team. I'm so happy to be here and I can't wait to get started."

15.27 BST: AS Roma's Nicolo Zaniolo seems to have fallen out with manager Paulo Fonseca and that has attracted interest from Tottenham.

Zaniolo, 21, is rated highly in Italy but La Repubblica report that the midfielder is set for talks over his future, even though Roma aren't keen to let him go.

Jose Mourinho is very keen to bring Zaniolo to London, while Tottenham's interest goes back to a time before Mourinho was even manager. So watch this space.

14.55 BST: Midfielder Jude Bellingham, 17, left Birmingham for Borussia Dortmund, snubbing Man United in the process. Here's why.

14.16 BST: Chelsea are expected to make a formal offer for Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz when their Champions League qualification is confirmed, sources have told ESPN's James Olley.

The Blues are reported to be confident of securing a deal in the region of £70-£75m despite Leverkusen demanding closer to £90m when initial contact was made prior to this month.

Negotiations are yet to begin and so the exact structure of any transfer -- relating to add-ons or performance bonuses -- have not been determined, but sources have told ESPN that Havertz is keen on joining Chelsea this summer and the club expect an agreement to be reached.

13.48 BST: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been speaking about his plans in the transfer market...

"I'm completely happy with my squad," he told a news conference. "It was last year when everybody asked us to sign him and him and him. We try to make right decisions constantly -- we do what's possible for us and what we're able to do.

"The main difference between us and other teams this year was consistency. I don't know if you can buy consistency on the transfer market. We cannot buy just because other teams buy. We can buy if we have the money and need for it - we will not use it as an excuse if we do not buy anyone. We will have a lot of tests next year -- some of these things can be decided in the transfer market but not all."

13.37 BST: RMC Sport says that Dortmund defender Leonardo Balerdi is set to join Marseille on loan.

Balerdi, 21, moved to the club from Boca Juniors in January 2019 for around €15m. The loan with Marseille reportedly has an option to buy at the end of next season for €14m.

13.00 BST: Manchester United's deal for Bruno Fernandes came with a fair few add-ons...

A Bola says United will have to pay €5m to Sporting Lisbon once Fernandes makes two more appearances for the club (to make 20 in total), while they will also owe €5m if United qualify for the Champions League this season.

Worth it.

12.34 BST: Manchester City have identified Atletico Madrid defender Jose Gimenez, said the Sunday Times a few days ago, but it's not going to be easy to get him.

Spanish paper AS claims that Atletico won't let the 25-year-old leave and would only be forced into a sale if City paid his €120m release clause.

11.42 BST: Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is being lined up to become the next manager of Juventus once Maurizio Sarri departs.

La Stampa says that despite the fact Juventus are going to win the Serie A title, Sarri is on thin ice in Turin and Pochettino has been approached about taking over.

The Argentine is reported to be interested in the job.

10.58 BST: The Sun reports that Chelsea will have to spend £63m up front, plus add-ons which would take the total fee above £90m, if they want to sign Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz this summer.

10.03 BST: Manchester United are ready to make an £80m "take it or leave it" offer for Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho.

Sancho, 20, is one of the top players in Europe and is valued at around £100m.

Sources have told ESPN that United are leading the chase, but the Daily Star reports that their only offer is going to be less than the German club want.

10.00 BST: Tottenham defender/midfielder Eric Dier has signed a new contract with the club until 2024.

The 26-year-old had entered the final year of his contract but hailed the impact of head coach Jose Mourinho after penning a new four-year deal.

"My clear objective and the manager's clear objective is to try to win trophies for the club," he said. "The manager, his record, his mentality towards winning trophies, that was a huge thing for me."

Dier has made 239 appearances for Spurs since joining the club from Sporting Lisbon in 2014 and he stated a desire to establish himself as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League.

"That was one of the reasons why I wanted to stay here and commit my future here because I feel like I want to prove myself in this position in the Premier League," he said. "And I feel like Tottenham is the best place for me to do that."

09.29 BST: Chelsea are hoping to tempt West Ham into selling them Declan Rice by offering players in exchange, The Times reports.

Rice, 21, is from west London and spent time in Chelsea's youth system before joining West Ham at the age of 14.

The Times reports that Chelsea are willing to offer midfielder Ross Barkley and striker Michy Batshuayi as makeweights in a deal to bring England midfielder Rice to Stamford Bridge.

08.57 BST: Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale is not leaving the club even though he has not been featuring regularly for the La Liga champions in recent weeks, according to his agent Jonathan Barnett.

The Welshman, who has scored more than 100 goals for the club, infuriated Real fans as he joked about falling asleep with a protective face mask over his eyes while watching the team's recent 2-0 win over Alaves in Madrid from the stands.

"Gareth's fine. He has two years left on his contract. He likes living in Madrid and he's going nowhere," Barnett told the BBC. "He is still as good as anyone else in the team.

"Of course, there's been interest but there's hardly a club in the world which can afford him. It's a great loss that he's not in the Real Madrid team at the moment but he'll not leave.

"Gareth is not looking to outlast [coach Zinedine] Zidane. Zidane has been very successful. There's no hatred. Zidane just does not want to play him. Gareth trains every day and he trains well."

Barnett said that Bale was keen to represent Wales at next year's European Championship, but ruled out a loan switch to another club for regular game time to remain match fit.

08.28 BST: Qatar's Al Sadd bolstered their bid for an AFC Champions League title by signing former Arsenal and Villarreal star Santi Cazorla.

Cazorla, who played 81 times for Spain and won two European championships, had previously confirmed he would be leaving Villarreal at the end of the La Liga season.

There was speculation that the 35-year-old midfielder could rejoin Arsenal, where he played from 2012 to 2018, as a member of manager Mikel Arteta's coaching staff. But Cazorla will prolong his playing career and will be reunited with former international colleague Xavi at Al Sadd. 

08.00 BST: Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to resolve Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's future as soon as possible to allow the club to finalise plans for next season and to avoid the player from becoming distracted.

Aubameyang, 31, has entered the final 12 months of his existing deal and ESPN revealed earlier this month that he has requested a three-year deal worth up to £250,000-a-week.

Talks are ongoing with the outcome pivotal to Arteta's rebuilding job. Aubameyang has contributed 20 Premier League goals this season and scored twice as the Gunners beat Manchester City 2-0 at Wembley on Saturday to set up an FA Cup final meeting with Chelsea.

"When I was talking about the uncertain things that we have on the table, obviously he is one of them and there is another one of where we are going to finish and whether we are going to be playing in Europe or not which is going to have an impact," Arteta said.

"And then all this situation, the market and how it's going to develop. With Auba, I think I've been very clear with what I want. The quicker we do it for me personally the better because the player will be more focused, more determined and more calm. But we have to respect the timings as well and the needs that the football club has."

PAPER TALK (by Harry Kettle)

Ozil turns down Turkish club offer

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil has turned down an offer to join Fenerbahce in the summer, Bild reports.

The 31-year-old German has barely featured in the Gunners' starting XI since the start of Mikel Arteta's reign, leading to speculation as to whether or not he'd stay at the Emirates.

It was reported on Sunday that Ozil would strongly consider a move to the Turkish giants if they continued to strengthen over the next few months, but now it appears as if he's decided against it as the season comes to a close, with his £350,000-a-week wages proving to be too much of an obstacle to overcome in negotiations.

Milan continue to push for Emerson

AC Milan are still pursuing a deal for Barcelona youngster Emerson, Calciomercato reports.

The full-back is out on loan with Real Betis and, in recent days, Milan made contact with Barcelona in order to enquire over a potential transfer. However, the €30m pricetag that Barca quoted Milan have given the Italian side second thoughts. In addition, early termination of Emerson's loan with Betis will force Barca to pay the Andalusians €9m.

The likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, and Benfica are also in the mix as the race for Emeron's signature continues.

Tap-ins

- Burnley are interested in making a push to try and sign Southampton midfielder Harrison Reed, the Daily Mail reports. Reed has caught the eye of several clubs during his successful loan spell with Fulham in the Championship this season, playing a vital role in their push for promotion -- and now, the Clarets are hoping to put forward an offer during the upcoming summer window.

- Sky Germany is reporting that midfielder Julian Draxler will no longer be making the jump over to Hertha Berlin. The Paris Saint-Germain star, who joined the French champions back in 2017, is said to be looking for a way out of the club during the summer. Unfortunately, the high fee that would be involved in making the transfer happen has thrown Hertha off the scent.

- Bristol City still view Rangers boss Steven Gerrard as their No. 1 target to succeed Lee Johnson, Bristol Live reports. It had initially been reported that the former Liverpool midfielder categorically turned down the chance to become the Robins' new manager, but as it turns out, CEO Mark Ashton is holding out hope that they can get a deal done.

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