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LIVE Transfer Talk: Bayern eye Koulibaly to set up dream duo with Upamecano

The January transfer window may seem like a distant memory, but that doesn't mean the rumour mill has shut down! Speculation over summer moves is heating up so check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here.

TOP STORY: Bayern keen for Koulibaly to set up dream duo

Bayern Munich are looking to assemble a dream defensive duo by pairing Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly alongside recent signing Dayot Upamecano, says Tuttosport.

Koulibaly, like Upamecano, has been one of the most sought-after defenders in recent seasons. The Senegal international has been tracked by both Manchester United and Manchester City, and has featured in the Serie A team of the season for four years in a row.

Tuttosport reports that Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentis and Koulibaly's representative Fali Ramadani have met to discuss a €45 million offer from Bayern. That fee is less than the €80m Napoli are seeking, but they could be forced to let the 29-year-old defender move given the financial ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bayern confirmed the signing of Upamecano from RB Leipzig in February for €42.5m, with the 22-year-old set to join the club in July.

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LIVE BLOG

22.00 GMT: 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!

21.10 GMT: Marseille have officially terminated the contract of manager Andres Villas-Boas.

The Portuguese boss has been suspended since Feb. 2 for voicing his displeasure at the signing of Olivier Ntcham from Celtic. Former Chile and Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli will takeover for Villas-Boas, who accumulated a record of 29 wins, 13 draws and 18 defeats in 60 games with the French side.

20.33 GMT: We discussed striker options from West Ham earlier in the blog but here's a new name to add to the list: Besiktas' Cyle Larin.

The Canada international and former Orlando City star is having a breakout season in Turkey with 16 goals in 30 games and Turkish newspaper Sabah claims West Ham bid €10 million for him in January. The report states that Larin will be made available again come the summer and that a modest €15 million could be enough to get a deal over the line.

Still just 25, Larin was also reportedly a player of interest for West Brom during the winter window.

19.48 GMT: Everton are reportedly interested in making loanee Josh King's stay at Goodison Park permanent, according to Football Insider.

The 29-year-old is on a six-month loan deal at Everton and has yet to make much of an impact in five substitute appearances since arriving on loan from Bournemouth in January. Everton reportedly see similarities between King and star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and are reluctant to lose the Norway international due to that reason.

19.01 GMT: RB Leipzig are still looking for a striker to emerge to replace Timo Werner, and Calciomercato claims an Austrian starlet could be targeted to do that long-term.

Stuttgart's Sasa Kalajdzic is the man linked with the second-place Bundesliga side, the 23-year-old having impressed in the Bundesliga this season with 11 goals and four assists. Twice-capped by Austria, the six-foot-seven Kalajdzic is starting to garner attention from clubs around Europe.

18.09 GMT: Leeds continue to monitor Torino defender and soon-to-be free agent Nicolas NKoulou, according to Tuttosport.

The outlet claims that Marcelo Bielsa is hell-bent on adding the central defender for next season, although there will be competition from Man United for the Cameroon international. Capped 75 times by Cameroon, the two-time World Cup veteran previously played under Bielsa at Marseille during the 2014-15 season.

17.31 GMT: Minnesota United have signed free agent veteran MLS and United States forward Juan Agudelo.

The 28-year-old, who scored three goals in 15 appearances last season for Inter Miami CF, joins his fifth MLS franchise, having previously played for New York Red Bulls, Chivas USA, the New England Revolution and Inter Miami. Agudelo has 28 caps for the USMNT, scoring three goals, and became the youngster American to score for the senior team when, at 17, he scored on his debut against South Africa in 2010.

"The crazy thing about Juan [Agudelo] is, you forget he's just 28. He seems to have been around for years and I go back to Juan, all the way back to the beginning of Orlando," said Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath. "He was going to go to England, Stoke City, and he was trying to get the paperwork through. He came in and asked if he could train for a week.

"Six weeks later he was still training for us, so we have got a little bit of a connection there. We just think he's going to be another really valuable squad player for what's going to be another really hectic year with the condensed program schedule, and for us to bring somebody in who we know can play in the MLS, play three or four positions, he can play through the middle, he can play wide right, wide left.

"Nothing is going to faze him. He had a really good impact last year when he played for Inter Miami. I think it's a really good pick up for us."

16.53 GMT: Football.London reports that striker Alexandre Lacazette could be set to leave Arsenal this summer.

Lacazette, 29, has been linked with Atletico Madrid, Roma and Monaco and, with his contract expiring in 2022, he is unlikely to sign a new deal like friend and strike partner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The France international has 10 goals in 29 appearances this season for Arsenal and the report reads: "Lacazette looks set to depart Arsenal this summer with the Gunners happy to let him go if the right offer comes in."

15.48 GMT: Eintracht Frankfurt striker Andre Silva says he doesn't spend too much time thinking about rumours about a move to another club.

Silva, 25, has scored 19 goals in 21 Bundesliga appearances this season with Atletico Madrid and Manchester United both reported to be watching him.

"I've heard rumours, but that is it," he told O Jogo. ""Rumours are rumours. At the end of this season, it's something that gives me more motivation to work, it's a sign that what I have accomplished has borne fruit and the path has been good."

15.30 GMT: If Chelsea isn't the place for Christian Pulisic, which clubs and/or managers could make sense in terms of best-fit options?

We asked four of our writers.

James Olley: This isn't an area worthy of too much speculation at this stage. Pulisic wants to make a success of himself in England and is a long way from being ready to give up on his Chelsea career. Should Lampard emerge at another top club -- although it's difficult to see that straight away in England, not least because of his strong affiliation to Chelsea -- then Pulisic could become a target given he was arguably the Blues' best player during Project Restart. Any side that utilises conventional wingers would benefit from a fully-fit and firing Pulisic. His task now is to prove himself an adaptable footballer capable of thriving in a different tactical framework, assuming Tuchel perseveres with his current approach.

Jeff Carlisle: I'm basing on need and style of the manager, which in my view pretty much eliminates the likes of Manchester City or Bayern Munich. Liverpool would seem to be a good fit given Pulisic's previous relationship with Jurgen Klopp at Dortmund. The likes of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah are either 30 or rapidly approaching that age, a reality that could give Pulisic a way in.

If you're looking for an upwardly mobile side, there's Leicester City, who have a manager in Brendan Rodgers who has always aimed to play expansive football and loves to have his teams create via the wings. Whether Leicester could afford Pulisic or not would be an issue, but at this stage it's unlikely that Chelsea would get all of its $73m back on a transfer. If the American can be had at a bit of a discount, it might work.

Bill Connelly: We already know that Pulisic has got the quality and aggression to thrive for any number of top German teams (Bayern aside, since they've already got about 114 quality wingers and attacking midfielders). If Borussia Dortmund fail to make the Champions League and end up having to sell either Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho or both, he'd be a worthy replacement and no-brainer pick to thrive in Marco Rose's gorgeous attacking system. Installing him into the Red Bull engine at Leipzig would be fun, too, whether Julian Nagelsmann is still coaching there or not. He'd be super interesting with Adi Hütter and Eintracht Frankfurt, too, if they reach the Champions League and want to shell out some money.

If we're talking only about the more financially high-upside clubs, however, his passing and energy levels could add a much-needed dynamic at Juventus, where the bulk of their creation has come from either the fullbacks or Alvaro Morata (and they're still using Aaron Ramsey a lot on the left). And if Nagelsmann were to land a job like Tottenham Hotspur, he could assist pretty well in the identity shift that such a move would bring about. (That's doubly true if Spurs lose either Son or Kane in the process.)

Tor-Kristian Karlsen: He could theoretically play for any of the top sides in the Premier League -- and I'm sure Klopp or Guardiola would welcome him with open arms, though he'd be subjected to the same rotation regime there, too -- but I don't see any reason why he should be in a hurry to move.

14.02 GMT: Borussia Dortmund have agreed a deal to sign Paris Saint-Germain defender Soumaila Coulibaly on a free transfer in the summer, sources have told ESPN's Stephan Uersfeld.

Coulibaly, 17, is set to become the first arrival for current Borussia Monchengladbach head coach Marco Rose -- who makes the move to Dortmund in a few months -- and will pen a four-year contract.

Dortmund have become well known for scouting England's academies in recent seasons as they identified teenage midfielders Jadon Sancho (Manchester City) and Jude Bellingham (Birmingham City) before landing them for a small fee.

However, with Brexit putting a stop to transfer of young players into the European Union, Dortmund have now shifted their attention back to France.

Coulibaly has been on the Dortmund radar for some time and the transfer will go through despite the centre-back suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in late February.

Once he returns to full fitness, Coulibaly will bolster the centre of defence at a club where only Mats Hummels, Manuel Akanji and Dan-Axel Zagadou are under contract in that position.

Zagadou, 21, had also been the last player to join Dortmund from PSG's academy back in 2017. He has so far played in 69 competitive matches for BVB, with injuries preventing him adding more to his tally.

13.25 GMT: Atletico Madrid need their €126m forward Joao Felix to up his game.

12.44 GMT: West Ham failed to sign a striker to replace Seb Haller in January and are being linked with a host of English strikers now.

The Daily Star says the club will go for Tammy Abraham, 23, from Chelsea in the summer, with Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah, 21, and Brentford's Ivan Toney, 24, also on their shortlist.

If Abraham were to leave Chelsea, it could open the door for the Blues to make a big-money move for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.

12.00 GMT: With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting football clubs' finances around the world, Europe's top teams are looking to their youth teams rather than to transfers for ways to freshen up.

Our resident scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen reports on some hot prospects under the age of 19 -- already first-team regulars, or making an impact in their B/U21 teams -- that could have a breakout year in 2021. Including:

ARSENAL: Miguel Azeez, 18, DM
BARCELONA: Ilaix Moriba, 18, CM
DORTMUND: Youssoufa Moukoko, 16, ST
JUVENTUS: Matias Soule, 17, AM
MAN UNITED: Shola Shoretire, 17, AM
PSG: Kays Ruiz-Atil, 18, CM

11.01 GMT: Barcelona spent €120m to sign Antoine Griezmann in 2019.

10.07 GMT: Eintracht Frankfurt sporting executive Fredi Bobic is set to leave the club after five years.

One of the architects of Frankfurt's renaissance in recent years, the 49-year-old former Germany attacker had been flirting with an exit for the past few months amid interest from Hertha Berlin.

On Monday evening, Sky Germany broke the news that Bobic has informed the club he wants out of his contract, which expires in 2023. While Frankfurt did not confirm the reports, the initial statement by Georg Holzer, the club's head of the supervisory board, did not need much interpretation.

"Fredi Bobic is under contract at Frankfurt until 2023. We are in talks over the future direction of the so-far highly successful partnership," Holzer was quoted as saying by several outlets including Frankfurter Rundschau.

Over the past few years the partnership has proven to be very fruitful with the club reaching two consecutive cup finals in 2017 and 2018, winning the latter against Bayern Munich in what was Niko Kovac's last game as Eintracht's head coach before joining the German giants.

Under new boss, Adi Hutter, Frankfurt made a deep run in the 2019 Europa League and are now challenging for a place in the 2021-2022 Champions League.

Players such as Ante Rebic, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Kevin Trapp, Luka Jovic, Sebastian Haller and Andre Silva were all lured to the Riederwald by Bobic, who could now head to Hertha Berlin and re-unite with his family who are living the German capital.

09.35 GMT: Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim, Prince of Malaysian state Johor, has expressed interest in purchasing Spanish club Valencia from his friend, Singapore businessman Peter Lim.

The 36-year-old has posted information on Instagram about Valencia, including a page that places the club's value at €408m. However, Lim has not indicated he is interested in selling the club.

Owner of Malaysia Super League club JDTFC, Prince Johor says that money doesn't motivate him but "glory and creating history" does. He went on to showcase his achievements in soccer.

"I'm not new in football," he wrote. "I've created a Club (JDTFC) from every year fighting relegation to a Dominating champion. I've won 16 titles in 8 years. We are the biggest in South east Asia and one of the biggest in Asia."

08.42 GMT: Barcelona centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo wants to remain at French side Nice beyond this summer.

Todibo joined Nice in January after a disappointing loan spell at Benfica from Barcelona, and Todibo has found regular playing time at the Ligue 1 side. Nice can exercise an €8.5m option to sign him permanently at the end of the season. The 21-year-old, who has a contract with Barcelona until June 2023, is hoping that will be the case. 

"I don't know if that has been organised for next season but that is my ambition, I hope that happens," Todibo said when asked about the possibility that he could remain at Nice after this season. "My individual performances will determine whether I stay or not." 

08.00 GMT: Tottenham Hotspur are set to be offered the chance to sign Gareth Bale from real Madrid on a permanent deal, the Daily Express reports.

After struggling for form and fitness for most of his time on loan at Spurs this season, Bale has looked back to his best in recent weeks with four goals and two assists in his last four matches.

Bale's £600,000-a-week contract at the Bernabeu is due to expire at the end of next season, and the Express reports that the Spanish giants will look to capitalise on the Wales international's burst of form by aiming to strike a deal with Tottenham for a permanent rtransfer.

PAPER TALK (by Nick Judd)

Man United want Varane in the summer

Manchester United are eyeing a move for long-term defensive target Raphael Varane in the summer, according to the Daily Express.

The Frenchman's contract at Real Madrid runs out in 2022, which means United's best chance of signing him comes at the end of this season, when Madrid would receive a fee for the central defender.

Varane could be available for £50m, although Madrid may feel they can hold out for £70m given the dearth of top -- and available -- defenders in Europe. The 27-year-old has won every trophy available to him in Spain and may feel it's time to try his luck somewhere new.

Varane has come close to joining United before, but Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has hinted he would like the player to stay at the Bernabeu, particularly given there is uncertainty over the future of Sergio Ramos.

Pep hints at Garcia exit for Barca

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has seemingly admitted that centre-back Eric Garcia will move to Barcelona on a free transfer in the summer.

Garcia's contract is due to expire at the end of the season and Barcelona have made it no secret that they would like to re-sign the player who left them to join City in 2017.

Speaking to reporters, Guardiola explained Garcia is "like a son" to him and added "I think he's going to play in Barcelona and he is a top player."

The 20-year-old impressed for City last term, which Guardiola admits has made it hard leaving him out this season.

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman urged the club to sign Garcia in January, but they were unable to secure the finances for him amid their financial crisis and lack of a president.

Tap-ins

- Newcastle United midfielder Kyle Scott has travelled to the U.S. to try and earn a move with FC Cincinnati, reports the Sun. The 23-year-old joined Newcastle from Chelsea on a two-year deal at the start of the 2019-20 season, but he is yet to make an appearance for the Magpies. Cincinnati boss Jaap Stam is keen to take a look at the youngster with a view to signing him ahead of the new season. 

- Reading defender Omar Richards will join Bayern Munich in the summer, reports the Daily Mail. The left-back has already passed a medical and will sign on a four-year deal. Richards is out of contract at the end of the season and now, after having completed his medical in the UK because of COVID restrictions, he'll move to Germany in the summer. Bayern are also keen on Norwich City right-back Max Aarons.

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