The summer transfer window is closed for the top leagues in Europe! After a summer full of international football, countless clubs waited until the last minute to pull off their transfers. See all the major deals here and check out how we graded the biggest signings. But just because the window is shut until January, that doesn't mean the rumours won't keep coming.
TOP STORY: Man City join Mbappe race
It has long been presumed that Kylian Mbappe will join Real Madrid if he leaves Paris Saint-Germain, but could Manchester City have something to say about that?
According to the The Transfer Window podcast, City owner Sheikh Mansour has issued a mandate to make the 22-year-old their latest signing "at any cost."
The Frenchman will be a free agent when his contract runs out at the end of season, and while Los Blancos tried to sign him for €200 million this summer, Man City are willing to swoop in for the World Cup winner.
City's unsuccessful pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur talisman Harry Kane during the summer was well documented, but it seems attention has now turned to Mbappe.
It has been felt that City are missing a true striker in the absence of Sergio Aguero, who left the club to join Barcelona on a free transfer. Manager Pep Guardiola has said that he's happy with his squad despite the lack of an Aguero replacement, though it now seems that City will still be pushing for a big signing in January.
Real Madrid are also desperate to sign Mbappe, as they dream of recruiting both the Frenchman and Borussia Dortmund frontman Erling Haaland.
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22.00 BST: A couple of Serie A sides are interested in Atletico Madrid midfielder Hector Herrera, according to Calciomercato.
AC Milan and Roma are looking at the Mexico stalwart, whose contract at Atleti ends in June.
Herrera's title-winning experiences with Atleti and Porto would lend well to any side looking to boost their midfield rotation. The potential transfer price? A bargain €3.5 million.
21.09 BST: After struggling for game time with Juventus this season, Aaron Ramsey could return to the Premier League this January, the Sun is reporting.
West Ham, Everton and Newcastle are said to be interested in the 30-year-old.
Ramsey joined Serie A side Juventus in 2019 and has just 68 appearances across all competitions.
He has played twice for the club in the league this season and only once in the Champions League.
His contract is until 2023 but Juventus are said to be happy to let him go before then.
20.03 BST: Mundo Deportivo are reporting that Barcelona midfielder Pedri could sign a new contract with the club in October.
The 18-year-old's agents have met with Barca and he is happy with the idea of an extension with the club.
Pedri's contract keeps him at the Camp Nou until 2022 and Barca do have the option of extending this for a further two years but would prefer to negotiate a new deal with him.
19.12 BST: Kayserispor president Berna Gozbasi has said Emre Demir's transfer to Barcelona from the Turkish side could be brought up to this January.
Barcelona announced they had signed Demir this week and that the 17-year-old midfielder would join them next summer.
However, Gozbasi said on Radyospor that he could make the swap as early as January should the LaLiga side be willing to pay an extra €500,000.
18.05 BST: Juventus have joined AC Milan and Tottenham in monitoring Sampdoria's Mikkel Damsgaard, according to Tuttosport.
The 21-year-old Denmark international has attracted a range of attention from both within Serie A and abroad.
He joined Sampdoria from Nordsjaelland last summer and Juventus will be able to scope him out when they meet them on Sunday in the league.
Damsgaard scored twice during Euro 2020, once against England and then against Russia.
17.00 BST: Bild reports that Chelsea forward Timo Werner wanted to join his "favourite" side Manchester United before joining Chelsea last year.
Werner, 25, signed from RB Leipzig for €53m after netting 34 goals in the 2019-20 season.
The Germany international hasn't really settled at Chelsea but the report claims that United made him an offer in 2019 and the player told agent Murat Lokurlu that he wanted to move, before ending up in London instead.
16.10 BST: Gabriel Jesus was signed by Man City for €33m in 2017, while Chelsea spent €115m on Romelu Lukaku this summer.
In the battle of the No. 9's (despite Jesus playing on the right wing for most of the game), City came out on top with a 1-0 win, writes Mark Ogden.
"Gabriel is one person or player who deserves the very best," said City boss Pep Guardiola after the game. "He's a guy who runs and works for everyone, and every time he scores I'm happiest man. He can play up front in all three positions and he does them all very well.
"We know from the past how aggressive Chelsea are in the duels. But you have to handle that, at this level. And Gabriel, he went down, but he got up -- and got up to try again. And that's why he's one of the best signings we have made in this period together at City."
15.13 BST: Real Madrid's Karim Benzema is getting better and making a case to be the best in the world, writes Sid Lowe.
He's always been good, all right. Former Ballon d'Or winner Jean-Pierre Papin once said: "He has the power of Ronaldo, the speed of Ronaldinho, the class of [Thierry] Henry, the instinct of [David] Trezeguet." Benzema was 19 then; he is 33 now. But while he has always been a great player, different too, it isn't true that he has always been this player -- a timely reminder that football, as the phrase goes, is played in the head even if the ball is played by the feet -- that everyone plays within a context.
Benzema creates that context, constructs it. And that has shifted, which says much about him but which shouldn't just say that it, that he is the same as ever. And now things are different. Now, he is better. Yeah, now maybe we are, too.
13.02 BST: Barcelona have a new player... well, sort of. Forward Ansu Fati is in line to make his return to action this weekend after over 10 months out with a serious knee injury.
Ansu, 18, has not played since injuring the meniscus in his left knee in a 5-2 win over Real Betis last November. Several operations have been required to fix the problem, but the Spain international returned to full training earlier in September and he has been included in the squad for Sunday's LaLiga game against Levante.
Coach Ronald Koeman said that Ansu, who recently inherited the No.10 shirt from Lionel Messi, is only ready for a "maximum of 15 minutes" and warned that it could take a while for him to return to top form.
12.32 BST: Cristiano Ronaldo can dominate the agenda, but Manchester United have other players too.
11.45 BST: Arsenal were willing to pay €40m to sign Marco Asensio this summer, according to Cadena SER radio, while Tottenham and AC Milan also made enquiries about the Real Madrid forward.
Asensio scored a hat trick in Madrid's 6-1 LaLiga win over Real Mallorca on Wednesday in his first start of the season.
The 25-year-old's agent Horacio Gaggioli subsequently revealed that there had been discussions about Asensio leaving the Bernabeu this summer, and doubts had persisted until a chat with manager Carlo Ancelotti this week.
The coach has said he will pick Asensio in an advanced central midfield role this season -- rather than out on the wing, where he's spent much of his Real Madrid career -- saying "it's a position where he can do lot of damage, between the lines."
11.04 BST: Achraf Hakimi has said that Zinedine Zidane wasn't responsible for his departure from Real Madrid in 2020 -- suggesting the club's decision to let him move was made for financial, not sporting reasons.
The 22-year-old Madrid youth product left the Bernabeu for Inter in a €43m deal last year before joining Paris Saint-Germain for €60m this July, and is now rated as one of the best right-backs in world football.
"What happened in 2020 didn't have anything to do with [Zidane]," Hakimi told L'Equipe in an interview published on Friday. "There are other aspects, related to COVID in particular and Real Madrid, which made me leave. At that time I had a conversation with him that will stay between us. He thought differently."
10.36 BST: Brazil defender Dani Alves has decided not to join any club until the end of the year, the 38-year-old said after terminating his contract with Sao Paulo following a dispute over unpaid salaries.
Sao Paulo said this month Alves would no longer play for them after he refused to return to training and told the club he wanted to be paid. Neither Alves nor the club cited a figure, but Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported that the club owed him around 11 million reais ($2m).
After his exit from Sao Paulo, Alves had been linked in local media with a host of leading Brazilian clubs, including Fluminense and Flamengo.
The defender, who joined Sao Paulo in 2019 after a glittering 17 years in Europe with Sevilla, Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, said in a post on Instagram that he would be back, adding the hashtag "it's not over."
10.18 BST: Calciomercato claims that Juventus have made an improved contract offer to Paulo Dybala.
Dybala wants terms on par with Matthijs de Ligt at €12m per year, and has been in talks for months over the agreement.
The report says that Juve are willing to offer the Argentina international €10m per year plus bonuses.
09.48 BST: Barcelona will ask Samuel Umtiti, Philippe Coutinho and Neto to take pay cuts as they continue to seek ways to reduce their wage bill, according to Esport3.
Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto have already accepted reductions to their salaries to help Barca fight their financial problems.
Umtiti and Coutinho are among the biggest earners at Camp Nou following the departures of Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Miralem Pjanic in the summer. Neto, meanwhile, shares the same agent as Coutinho, Kia Joorabchian.
President Joan Laporta explained earlier in September that the club's wage bill accounts for 80% of its revenue. To comply with LaLiga's spending limits, it needs to be at around 70%.
Laporta had previously revealed that, before Messi, Griezmann and Pjanic left, spending, which includes amortisation payments on previous transfers, stood at 110% of the club's income.
Barca's gross debt stands at close to €1.4 billion. Vice president Eduard Romeu asked supporters for "two years of patience" earlier this week as the club attempt to get back on a sound financial footing.
09.24 BST: Eduardo Camavinga left replica Real Madrid shirts for every member of the Rennes backroom staff following his move to the Bernabeu, sources told ESPN's Julien Laurens.
The midfielder exited the Ligue 1 club in a €30m deal in the transfer window, as he had one year remaining on his contract. Rather than leave as a free agent, he wanted to ensure the club received a transfer fee, out of respect for the opportunity they handed him as a 10-year-old.
In addition, Camavinga sent a shirt with his name on the back to 166 people working at Rennes, sources told ESPN, with the club touched by his gesture.
09.00 BST: Manchester United's scouts have been instructed to identify alternative options to Declan Rice in the club's search for a defensive midfielder next summer, sources told ESPN's Mark Ogden, amid concerns over West Ham's valuation of the player and contrasting opinions within Old Trafford over his ability to significantly improve the team.
Rice, 22, emerged from England's Euro 2020 campaign as one of the key figures in Gareth Southgate's team as the Three Lions reached their first major tournament final since the 1966 World Cup. His performances for England have been followed by an impressive start to this season for David Moyes' team, who have faced United in their last two senior fixtures in the Premier League and Carabao Cup.
Though United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains an admirer of Rice, sources told ESPN the club's recruitment team is yet to be convinced the former Republic of Ireland youth international possesses the qualities to take the team to another level.
PAPER GOSSIP (by Danny Lewis)
- Theo Hernandez is ready to commit his long-term future to AC Milan, as he feels it is the best place for him to keep growing, reports AS. The France left-back's deal runs until 2024 and, while negotiations haven't started yet, there is expected to be an offer of a new contract coming soon -- something he will be more than happy to receive.
- In an interview with De Telegraaf, 25-year-old goalkeeper Andre Onana has suggested that he could still sign a contract extension with Ajax Amsterdam, as his deal ends in the summer of 2022. This comes despite speculation that the Cameroon international would leave, after the Eredivisie champions signed Remko Pasveer. Onana has been linked with a move to Internazionale, Arsenal, Nice, and Lyon.
- Having already signed James Rodriguez from Everton, Qatari side Al-Rayyan are now set to move for AS Roma midfielder Steven N'Zonzi, reports Calciomercato. This is their third attempt to sign the Frenchman, who could now agree to a move ahead of their deadline of Sept. 30. This comes after he turned down a three-year contract at Benfica.
- Rangers attacking midfielder Ianis Hagi has dismissed reports linking him with a January move to Roma, as reported by Sky Sports. When asked about his future, the Romania international replied: "After five days there is another game. I am fully concentrated on Rangers. I don't think right now is the moment to talk about transfers. The transfer window just ended so there is no point talking about transfers."
- As reported by The Chronicle, Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce admitted that Sean Longstaff's future rests in the hands of those above him, as the midfielder's contract comes to an end in the summer amid interest from Everton. When asked about the academy graduate, Bruce said: "There's nothing I can do with anybody that gets linked. Sean is playing very well at the moment. I have been very, very pleased with him. So as far as I am aware, the contract details, we understand, that is for other people to sort out."