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LIVE Transfer Talk: PSG's Mbappe intrigued by Liverpool move ahead of Real, Barcelona

The coronavirus pandemic made the summer transfer market unlike any before it, but there were still plenty of deals done and you can check out the major ones here. The window may be closed across the top leagues in Europe, but here are the best rumours from around the globe.

TOP STORY: Mbappe interested in Liverpool move

Kylian Mbappe looks set to leave Paris Saint-Germain next summer and, after Monday's reports linking the 21-year-old with a "dream" move to Real Madrid, French news outlet Le Parisien reports that he could be tempted by a move to Liverpool.

The striker reportedly admires Liverpool and their style of play, not to mention their recent successes both domestically and in Europe. He is also impressed by Reds manager Jurgen Klopp, who is said to be in regular contact with Mbappe.

Mbappe has hinted that he's not prepared to extend his deal, which ends in 2022, and should that be the case, the Frenchman knows he'll likely be allowed to leave next summer.

Le Parisien believes that Real Madrid and Liverpool are the front-runners, but that Chelsea, Barcelona and Juventus are also keen. Realistically, Mbappe will be able to pick his next destination, though with a valuation around €200m it could be more a case of who can afford him.

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LIVE BLOG

22.00 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!

21.07 BST: Another day, another Saudi raid of MLS?

Brazilian reporter Raisa Simplicio claims that Al-Hilal have made an offer for Seattle Sounders and Uruguay midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro. MLS has already lost "Gonzalo Pity" Martinez, Alexandru Mitrita and Saphir Taider to Saudi Arabia this window, following Sebastian Giovinco's move to Al-Hilal in 2019.

Lodeiro, 31, has made 60 appearances for Uruguay and has won two MLS Cups since signing for the Sounders from Boca Juniors in 2016.

20.33 BST: Everton were unable to offload Turkish forward Cenk Tosun this summer and we might have an answer as to why.

Turkish outlet Fotospor reports that Everton offered Tosun to his former club Besiktas, as well as arch-rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. This reportedly angered Besiktas, with the Turkish club electing to pull out of negotiations.

Rivalry runs deep we guess!

19.45 BST: Midfielder Glen Kamara was one of the stars of Rangers' 2-0 Old Firm win over Celtic at the weekend and manager Steven Gerrard has subsequently urged the club to lock up the 24-year-old to a new contract.

Bought for just £50,000 from Dundee United in 2019, Kamara has become an integral figure for both Rangers and the Finland national team. Kamara is currently under contract through 2023 but Gerrard wants the club to hand the midfield general improved terms:

I've made my feelings known to Ross (Wilson, sporting director) and the board on that situation.Glen has been fantastic for me since day one. He's grown and he's evolved. He's improved and he's listened."

Gerrard added: 'There were different areas of his game that we felt we could shape and help him become a better player.

"But he is the one who has really gone out and worked on his game both in and out of possession.

"He's in a fantastic place and is playing with confidence.

"He was superb at the weekend but for me he has been really consistent for much longer than that.

"We want Glen around us for as long as possible and everyone knows my feelings on that situation."

19.03 BST: Brighton centre-back Ben White has been rumoured as a potential replacement for the injured Virgil van Dijk but what would the 23-year-old cost Liverpool?

The Sun suggests that Brighton have slapped a £50 million price tag on the young centre-half, who last season while on loan was one of Leeds' star men in the run to promotion. The Reds reportedly enquired about White this past summer -- as did Leeds -- but now are more desperate.

Will they meet Brighton's terms come January? That likely depends on how Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Fabinho fare over the next few months...

18.11 BST: Tottenham have begun discussions with Benfica about cutting short the loan of midfielder Gedson Fernandes, according to Portuguese outlet Record.

The 21-year-old arrived in January initially on an 18-month loan but has only made seven Premier League appearances (zero starts) to date. Tottenham have an option to purchase the Portugal international for £46 million after the loan but now it looks as if Fernandes won't even see out the term of his temporary move to London.

Fernandes is now arguably seventh choice at Spurs, with new signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Harry Winks, Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, Dele Alli and Moussa Sissoko all currently ahead of him in Jose Mourinho's pecking order.

17.00 BST: Liverpool take on Ajax tonight, but they'll have to do it without Virgil van Dijk.

16.04 BST: Leicester City defender Jonny Evans says he wants to extend his contract.

Evans, 32, helped Leicester to fifth in the Premier League last season having joined from West Brom for £3.5m in June 2018.

"I have really enjoyed my time here," he said in quotes reported by the BBC. "There's been nothing formal in terms of contract talks but if we can come to an agreement I'm sure it won't be a problem and it will be sorted soon.

"Possibly that's something my agent and the club will do in the near future. If that option becomes available I'm sure it's one I would take."

15.30 BST: Ruben Dias could fix Manchester City's defensive woes despite being young for a central defender, writes Tor-Kristian Karlsen.

The new Manchester City recruit's most striking feature is his composure; he never seems in a hurry. When in possession he's calm and measured on the ball, often taking time to look up and assess his passing options behind the lines in front of him. It's rare that he goes for the easy option of sliding the ball out to the full-back or his central defensive partner. He also has a fine touch on the ball, both when it comes to controlling it (even under pressure) and when hitting a well-weighted pass, often at the most convenient spot for a teammate to receive it.

Defensively, he's equally calm without the ball. In one-on-one situations he reads the opponents and tends to stay on his feet, preferring to wait out the situation by using his body to brush off the opposing player or nicking the ball with a well-timed interception rather than throwing himself into a risky tackle.

14.55 BST: Manchester United and Chelsea have been linked with Denis Zakaria before, but Bild reports that Bayern Munich are also following him.

Zakaria, 23, has yet to play for Borussia Monchengladbach this season due to injury. However, the Switzerland defensive midfielder is highly rated and his contract expires in 2022.

Bayern signed Espanyol's Marc Roca for €15m and brought in Benfica teenager Tiago Dantas on loan this summer (to play in the second team), but are evidently keen on adding Zakaria in the future too.

14.02 BST: AreaNapoli reports that Liverpool are ready to make a €75m move to sign Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly in January,

Koulibaly, 28, had been linked with Manchester City but they signed Ruben Dias from Benfica instead for €68m.

The Senegal international could now be viewed as the perfect replacement for Virgil van Dijk, who suffered a serious knee injury last weekend.

13.10 BST: Ross Barkley has impressed on loan at Aston Villa from Chelsea this season, but Villa boss Dean Smith says that no talks have taken place yet over making the midfielder's move permanent.

"It's nothing that has been talked about, our discussions were only for the end of the season," he told Sky Sports.

"He has made a big impact, even just in the dressing room. That fact that we have been able to entice that calibre of player into the club has gone down well in the dressing room, with our staff and fans as well.

"He is a top player who has been in and amongst the Champions League in the last three or four years and has been a regular starter for England. His job now is to do well with Villa."

12.38 BST: Mesut Ozil has had something to say about his exclusion from the Arsenal first team.

The 32-year-old was left out of both the Europa League and domestic lists, which means he will not be available until at least January and has likely played his last match for the club.

The divide between club and player is stark. Off-field issues influential. It is a shame there's no sign of a detente during the final year of his contract. Player won't be forced out, club won't pay up salary. Off the bench, Ozil could offer something. The standoff helps no-one. -- James Olley

12.17 BST: Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has said the club are having to "carefully manage resources" because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as the club's latest financial results showed net debt has increased by 133% to £474.1m.

As well as the huge increase in debt, United's fourth quarter and full financial year results also showed a revenue drop of 19% to £509m and a loss of £23.2m compared to a £18.9m profit made last year -- all largely because of effect of COVID-19.

11.34 BST: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wants to leave the club, but he looked a lot happier in their 5-1 win over Ferencvaros.

10.49 BST: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has clashed with former player Jamie Carragher over the club's transfer business this summer.

Club legend Carragher questioned whether Liverpool should have signed more defensive cover after Virgil van Dijk suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the 2-2 draw at Everton on Saturday.

The next day, Klopp responded to the comments in a news conference ahead of Liverpool's Champions League at Ajax on Wednesday.

"We went into the season with three centre backs plus Fabinho as cover and some youngsters," Klopp said. "It's hard to have four world-class centre halves. If anyone wants to tell us we made a mistake -- I think Carragher mentioned already -- there are a few reasons why they don't do this job."

Carragher replied to Klopp's criticism on social media and wrote: "Not once this season have I said it was a mistake for Klopp not to buy a CB for the exact reason he states."

10.03 BST: Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland does not plan on leaving the club in the summer of 2021, German outlet Sport Bild claims.

Manchester United and Real Madrid are both reportedly chasing the 20-year-old, who has impressed for Dortmund since joining from FC Salzburg in January and has scored 22 goals and set up a further six in 25 competitive appearances for the Bundesliga side.

Haaland knows he still needs to improve his game, Sport Bild says, adding that he feels he can do that at the Westfalenstadion where his playing time is guaranteed.

The paper added that Haaland's contract does not include a widely reported €75m release clause which kicks in next January or next summer. Whether that will put off the likes of Real Madrid or Manchester United, though, remains to be seen.

09.11 BST: Zinedine Zidane is "under pressure" ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk tonight, according to the front page of Diario AS, after their embarrassing loss to Cadiz at the weekend.

The coach has faced heavy criticism for the performance in the 1-0 home defeat to a newly-promoted side -- and a team selection which forced a quadruple half-time substitution after a shocking first-half display.

AS reports that Madrid retain full confidence in club legend Zidane, and his position isn't yet under threat, but a disappointing result against Shakhtar -- who are missing six first-choice players after their squad was hit hard by coronavirus -- would increase the scrutiny ahead of Saturday's Clasico against Barcelona at Camp Nou.

08.34 BST: Mesut Ozil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos could have played their last games for Arsenal after they were left out of the club's 25-man Premier League squad.

Both players are now not eligible to play for the Arsenal first team for the rest of the year.

Sokratis was in talks over a move to Napoli but that deal collapsed as the Italians did not sell Kalidou Koulibaly and so the deadline passed without an agreement. The 32-year-old is expected to secure a transfer away in January although his destination is as yet unknown.

See Paper Talk below for news of Ozil's future.

- Ozil at Arsenal: The highs and the lows

08.00 BST: Gerard Pique, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Clement Lenglet and Frenkie de Jong have all agreed to contract extensions with Barcelona, the Catalan club announced on Tuesday.

Barca say the agreements for the new deals have been reached "following weeks of negotiations" as the club seeks ways to reduce their wage bill in light of the financial problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Blaugrana announced losses of €97m for the 2019-20 season earlier this month and revealed that the club's debt had more than doubled to €488m, all while trying to manage a wage bill of around €500m.

Big earners Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic have all been moved on, but Barca still needed to find other ways to reduce costs.

"The new terms include a temporary salary adjustment due to the current circumstances brought about by the Covid-19 induced crisis," a club statement said.

- Barca ratings vs. Ferencvaros: Pique gets needless red but Messi, Fati seal win

PAPER TALK (by Nick Judd)

Ozil of interest to MLS club DC United

Mesut Ozil's career at Arsenal looks over after he was left out of the club's 25-man Premier League squad. The 32-year-old has not played a single minute for the Gunners since March 7 and was not registered with UEFA for their Europa League campaign which begins against Rapid Vienna on Thursday.

As a result, plenty of clubs are being linked with a move for the former Germany international and Arsenal are keen to let him go in January in order to get some kind of return on their £42.4m investment back in 2013.

Ozil was told he could leave this summer but the midfielder chose to stay and fight for his first-team place as he entered the final year of his £350,000-a-week contract.

Now the Daily Star claims that MLS club DC United (who had Wayne Rooney on their books from 2018-2020) are interested in bringing him to America. Turkish club Fenerbahce have also been linked, while Ozil has received huge offers from the Middle East.

Inter monitoring Milan's Calhanoglu

AC Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu's contract expires in 2021 and he is starting to attract interest from clubs, according to Calciomercato.

Calhanoglu, 26, has had a good start to the season as Milan top the Serie A table with four wins from four games.

However, with talks over an extension to his contract yet to bear any fruit, Milan's city rivals Inter are reportedly interested in signing him on a free transfer.

Tap-ins

Christian Eriksen's Internazionale nightmare continues, but the list of clubs seeking to check on his availability in January grows longer, with Manchester United and PSG both interested in his services, according to Todofichajes.

Eriksen is struggling for game time and simply doesn't appear to be in manager Antonio Conte's plans. He is predicted to leave the San Siro in January, and the Spanish outlet believes PSG are making him their priority in the January transfer window. PSG's sporting director Leonardo is even believed to have opened talks with Eriksen's agent; Manchester United are also interested, and Inter will listen to offers of more than £55m.

- AC Milan are hoping they can tempt Florian Thauvin away from Marseille, reports Le10sport. The Italians are watching Thauvin's contract situation closely as the winger approaches the end of his existing deal. Marseille's sporting director Pablo Longoria remains confident he can keep his club's talisman, but there is a feeling that any offer on the table won't live up to Thauvin's expectations. If so, the Rossoneri are ready to pounce. 

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