The 2022 January transfer window is open (find out when it closes here), and there's plenty of gossip swirling about who's moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings and goings and, of course, done deals!
TOP STORY: Vlahovic seen as Aubameyang replacement
Arsenal want to offload Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona before moving to sign Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic as his replacement, according to a report from The Daily Star.
The Catalan giants have a long-held interest in Aubameyang, but due to their financial issues, the Blaugrana would need to offload players before being able to bring in new big-name signings.
It has been suggested that Aubameyang could also be loaned to Newcastle United, as the Magpies would be able to pay the bulk of Aubameyang £300,000-per-week wages.
However, it is felt that the Gabon international may not want to stay in the Premier League after being stripped of the club captaincy by Mikel Arteta.
Meanwhile, Arteta wants to sign a natural target man to bring out the best in his creative midfielders and deems Vlahovic to be the perfect fit.
It will certainly help that the Serbia international has scored 19 goals in 23 matches across all competitions for Fiorentina this term.
The 21-year-old's current contract with I Viola runs out in the summer of 2023, which should also help Arsenal in their negotiations. But the power is in Vlahovic's hands to sit it out and take his pick of the clubs, if he so wishes.
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LIVE BLOG
22.13 GMT: Aston Villa defender Kortney Hause is interested in rejoining his childhood club, West Ham, now that the club has opened talks with him about a move, according to Football Insider. Both the Hammers and Watford have reportedly made offers for Hause.
Hause's contract with Villa is reportedly set to expire at the end of the season, but Villa have a one-year extension option they can exercise.
The 26-year-old London native got his start at West Ham as a youth prospect, before moving on and eventually starting his professional career at Wycombe Wanderers.
21.40 GMT: Romain Faivre, midfielder for Ligue 1 side Brest, has revealed that he has been in talks with Paris Saint-Germain. Speaking to Canal+, he said he was keen on the idea, saying: "There have been contacts with my agents. It's a dream, it's my hometown, my family and friends are there," according to RMC Sport.
The Frenchman joined Brest in 2020 for a reported €650,000. More recently, he has been linked with a potential move to Milan -- but it's clear where Faivre will go if given the choice.
20.29 GMT: Valencia have their eye on Roma midfielder Amadou Diawara and they plan to reach out with an offer soon, per TUTTOmercatoWEB.
Diawara has struggled to get into the good graces of coach Jose Mourinho this season and has made just four Serie A appearances, a total of 168 minutes, making a move from Roma appear likely.
19.44 GMT: New Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick is apparently not pleased with the state of his player roster. The Mirror reports that Rangnick is frustrated over the lack of transfers as the club has been reluctant to pay for all the moves he wants.
With Rangnick only in charge for six months before taking a consultancy role with the club, he is reportedly concerned about what his role at Manchester United will look like if the club won't back him now as Richard Arnold, who will replace Ed Woodward as chief executive next month, and football director John Murtough take the lead.
"We had some talks about transfers last week, with John Murtough, Ed and Richard," Rangnick said Sunday. "We spoke about it, but I am not involved in that directly."
18.41 GMT: Spanish club Sevilla are interested in Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton Diaz, according to the Sun, but they aren't about to throw money Blackburn's way. According to the report, Sevilla are keen to wait for his deal to be up so they can hire him on the cheap.
Although his deal was expected to be up this summer, the report says Rovers can exercise a one-year option in the striker's contract to keep him around longer. If so, Sevilla is reportedly willing to wait.
Brereton Diaz has been in a good run of form for Blackburn this season, tallying 20 goals in 26 games, the second-highest in the Championship. Since joining Rovers in 2019, he has 29 goals in 89 appearances.
17.56 GMT: Inter are reportedly interested in Sampdoria midfielder Morten Thorsby, according to Calciomercato. The club has reportedly had its eye on Thorsby for a while and are ready to try to secure his signature this month.
Thorsby has been with Sampdoria since 2019. Before that, the Norwegian spent five years in the Dutch Eredivisie.
17.31 GMT: The San Diego Wave in the National Women's Soccer League have signed Swedish forward Sofia Jakobsson, the club has announced. Wave FC, a new expansion club debuting this season in the NWSL, acquired Jakobsson on a transfer from Bayern Munich.
Jakobsson spent most of the 2020-21 season on loan with Real Madrid, scoring eight goals in 33 appearances.
16.59 GMT: L'Equipe reports that Marseille have been given a two-window transfer ban over the signing of Pape Gueye, who himself has been banned from all football for four months.
Watford signed Gueye on a Bosman free transfer on July 1, 2020 -- but the player refused to honour the contract and instead signed for Marseille. It says Watford have been awarded €2.5m in compensation -- though the Premier League club demanded €10m.
L'Equipe says the Ligue 1 club have now been punished by FIFA, with the ban coming into force from the summer window. The report says that Marseille are likely to appeal.
16.14 GMT: The Sunday Mirror reckons that Chelsea are interested in signing Croatia international Ivan Perisic.
Perisic, 32, is back at Inter Milan after spending the 2020-21 season on loan at Bayern Munich.
The winger has less than six months remaining on his contract, and Inter are prepared to do a deal to avoid him leaving for free in the summer.
The report says that Chelsea are looking for a player who operate as a left wing-back with Ben Chilwell out for the season, and Perisic fits the bill.
15.31 GMT: Newcastle United have failed in a bit to sign Donny van de Beek from Manchester United, reports the Sunday Telegraph.
Van de Beek, 24, has failed to shine at Old Trafford since moving to the club from Ajax 18 months ago, but he does not want to join Newcastle's relegation scrap.
The report says that Newcastle, who have won only one game all season, approached representatives of the Netherlands international but he was not interested in a loan switch until the end of the season.
It adds that Newcastle were also rebuffed when attempting a similar move for ex-Magpie Georginio Wijnaldum, who is now at Paris Saint-Germain.
However, Newcastle could complete a deal for Sevilla's Diego Carlos this week. He is a 28-year-old Brazilian defender.
14.44 GMT: The Sunday Mirror says that Mohamed Salah is not prepared to negotiate on his demands for a £400-000 a week contract at Liverpool.
Salah, 29, has just 18 months remaining on his deal at Anfield, and it's been slow progress over negotiations for an extension.
The report says Salah's agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, wants a deal to match that of Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne, who also earns £400,000 each week.
14.03 GMT: It seems only a matter of time before Hatem Ben Arfa is back in football, with L'Equipe reporting that he has passed his medical ahead of signing for Lille.
Ben Arfa, 34, has been without a club since leaving Bordeaux at the end of last season.
Lille president Olivier Letang has confirmed the club's interest in Ben Arfa, who is set to sign once the deal to take Yusuf Yazici to CSKA Moscow is confirmed
"There are still discussions ongoing with CSKA Moscow but we still don't have an agreement as we speak," Letang told RMC Sport. "Indeed, in the event of a departure for Yusuf, we want to replace him. Ben Arfa is an available player, he has quality, he's one of the players potentially of interest to us.
"The first step, which is an agreement with the Moscow club for the departure of Yusuf, hasn't been completed, so I can't tell you anymore. Until things are finalized, anything can happen."
Lille would become the seventh French club of Ben Arfa's career. He has also played for Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris Saint-Germain and Rennes.
Attendu à Lille si le prêt de Yusuf Yazici se confirme, Hatem Ben Arfa découvrirait à bientôt 35 ans son septième club français. Avec des fortunes diverses https://t.co/F11hBSLT7N pic.twitter.com/morSocmrk5
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) January 16, 2022
13.18 GMT: Phil Jones emerged from the shadows earlier this month, ended two years of hell by playing in Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to Wolves.
However, his future lies away from Old Trafford, but the club want a big transfer fee. The Daily Star reports that any club wanting to add Jones to their squad will have to pay £15m.
The 29-year-old, who has 18 months left on his contract, is wanted by Burnley but the price is too high and they won't match his £100,000-a-week salary at United.
Newcastle are also said to be considering a move, who might find the deal more financially palatable.
12.33 GMT: Paulo Dybala's future is up in the air, with his contract expiring at the end of the season and reports that Juventus are, so far, not prepared to match his wage demands.
Dybala appeared to glare at Juve's directors in the stand instead of celebrating after scoring in the 2-0 Serie A win over Udinese on Saturday, which sent the Turin club level with fourth-placed Atalanta.
Recent Italian media reports suggested he was unhappy with the club's stance in talks, and the 28-year-old appeared to send a message to the Juve hierarchy when he reacted to firing home the opening goal in the 19th minute.
When asked about it after the game, Dybala had a different story.
"I invited a friend and couldn't find him, there were a lot of people," he told Sky Italia.
Asked if that explanation should be believed, Dybala replied: "I don't know, that is up to you."
On his future, he told DAZN: "I have nothing to prove to anyone. The club decided that we will talk in February or March, I am available to the coach."
The attacking midfielder has been linked with free transfer moves to either Inter Milan or Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.
11.50 GMT: Alexandre Pato will be staying at Orlando City SC after agreeing a new contract for the 2022 MLS season.
"Pato's ability is proven and we know the untapped potential in what he can bring to our team," said Luiz Muzzi, general manager of soccer operations. "He's been working hard to return to top form and we're looking forward to him having an impactful year for the Club. We're excited for him to return and play an important role both on the field and in the locker room this season."
The 32-year-old only played five times for Orlando in the 2021 season after being injured in the first game of the season.
The former Brazil international has also played for AC Milan, Chelsea Corinthians and Sao Paulo.
🦆 🐻 💜 @Pato | @JrUrso | #VamosOrlando pic.twitter.com/hDSJYDKqYB
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) January 15, 2022
11.03 GMT: The Times reports that Christian Eriksen could be set for a sensational return to football -- and the Premier League.
The report says that the 29-year-old has had approaches from several clubs in England to resume his career.
Eriksen has not played since suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during Denmark's Euro 2020 game against Finland at Copenhagen's Parken stadium. His contract with Inter Milan was cancelled as players fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device are not permitted to play in Italy.
He has been training in Switzerland with third-division club FC Chiasso.
"My dream is to rejoin the national team and play at Parken again and prove that it was a one-timer and that it won't happen again," Eriksen told Danish broadcaster DR1 recently. "Again, it's up to the manager to assess my level. But my heart is not an obstacle."
10.17 GMT: Sky Italia is reporting that Newcastle United are hoping to sign Atalanta wing-back Robin Gosens.
Gosens, 27, is said to have agreed personal terms over a contract, worth £3m a season, through to the summer of 2025 and is ready to make the move to the Premier League.
But the Germany international, who made his name in Dutch football with Heracles Almelo before moving to Atalanta, has been out injured for almost four months and is not expected to be fit until the middle of next month. Can Newcastle take the risk with their Premier League future in doubt?
09.30 GMT: Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has said forward Anthony Martial "did not want" to be part of the squad to face Aston Villa on Saturday, forcing United to leave a bench spot vacant.
Rangnick did not fill his quota of substitutes for the 2-2 draw at Villa Park despite also including goalkeepers Dean Henderson and Tom Heaton on the bench.
Martial has not featured since the 3-2 win over Arsenal on Dec. 2. and has told the club he wants to leave in January. Rangnick said he was keen to include the striker for the trip to Villa, but Martial turned down the opportunity.
"He didn't want to be in the squad," Rangnick said. "He would have been in the squad normally, but he didn't want to. That is the reason why he was not travelling with us yesterday."
Martial later posted on his Instagram: "I will never refuse to play for Man United. I've been here for 7 years and I never disrespected and will never disrespect the club and fans."
Martial is yet to be named in a matchday squad by Rangnick and has been the subject of a loan bid from Sevilla that was rejected by United.
PAPER GOSSIP
- Real Madrid are ready to go all in to sign Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe and Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland ahead of the 2022-23 season, writes AS. The deals will cost a combined €350 million, which will include the Norwegian's €75m release clause and fees to be paid to agent Mino Raiola. While Mbappe signing a new contract at PSG would likely scupper this plan, they are confident that the Frenchman wants to play for Los Blancos.
- Barcelona are growing impatient with Ousmane Dembele, as they aim to convince the Frenchman to sign a contract extension ahead of the expiration of his current deal in the summer, reports Foot Mercato. Xavi Hernandez believes the winger is taking too long to respond to the Blaugrana's latest offer, and has told Dembele that he won't play unless he accepts the terms that have been offered.
- Barcelona are monitoring 15-year-old Palmeiras striker Endrick, as reported by Diario Sport. Despite his age, there is already a whole host of interest from around the world, with Manchester City, Liverpool and Sevilla among the other clubs who have sent scouts out to watch him. However, Endrick would not be allowed to officially move to Barca until the age of 18 under FIFA regulations.
- West Ham United and Newcastle United are both looking to sign Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard, reports The Daily Star. The Magpies are willing to offer £3m to sign Lingard now, with his contract coming to an end in the summer. While the Hammers also want to bring the England international back to London Stadium, where he spent the second half of last season on loan, they don't want to get into a financial battle with Newcastle following their recent takeover.
- Arsenal will continue to push to sign Juventus midfielder Arthur, according to Fabrizio Romano, which comes despite a loan departure not yet being approved by Massimiliano Allegri. There haven't been any agreements yet, while Juventus have also not opened talks with Chelsea regarding the possibility of Ruben Loftus-Cheek replacing the Brazilian.
- Aleksei Miranchuk is very close to joining Genoa but only after Atalanta take on Inter Milan on Sunday evening, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport. Gian Piero Gasperini wanted him for Atalanta's vital match at the top end of Serie A due to Duvan Zapata's absence. However, he will then be able to have his medical after weeks of negotiations.