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Transfer Talk: Chelsea chase Chilwell to strengthen fragile defence

The Premier League transfer window has closed, but the rest of Europe remains open for business. Plus, it's never too late to look forward to January! Click here to view the latest transfers and keep up to date with the latest gossip below.

- Premier League transfer wrap: Who won and who lost? 

TOP STORY: Chelsea chase Chilwell

On the day Chelsea's defence was dismantled by Manchester United in a 4-0 defeat, the Sun reports that Frank Lampard has identified Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell as the man to improve the Blues' back line.

Marcos Alonso considering his future and Emerson the club's only other senior left-back, the left side of defence appears an obvious position for the club to strengthen.

Of course, there's the small matter of the transfer embargo that hinders the West London club from registering any new players until next summer, but should they be able to successfully appeal, they could be players in the January market.

Whenever Chelsea are free to add new players again, they'll have to send £70 million to Leicester for the 22-year-old England international.

LIVE BLOG

22.20 BST: We'll close Monday's live edition of Transfer Talk with a done deal! Valencia have confirmed they have reached an agreement with free-agent centre-back Eliaquim Mangala, who'd spent the 2016-17 season on loan at the Mestalla, to sign a two-year contract with the La Liga side.

21.13 BST: Liverpool are willing to sell Dejan Lovren to AC Milan or Roma for €20m, according to the Liverpool Echo, despite having just Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip as senior centre-backs. That's because of the confidence the club has in 17-year-olds Sepp van den Berg and Ki-Jana Hoever being able to step up and handle first-team responsibilities should they be called upon.

20.06 BST: U.S. Under-20 youth international Chris Gloster has signed a three-year contract with the Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. Read the full story.

18.59 BST: David De Gea's contract situation has been a drama that has dragged on at Old Trafford for months now, but has former Manchester United captain Gary Neville revealed that the Spain No. 1 has already committed his future to the Red Devils? "You'd hope with De Gea now signed," the Express quotes him as saying after United's 4-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday, amid a discussion of the club's summer transfer business.

"You could never let De Gea, [Paul] Pogba, [Romelu] Lukaku leave all at once. They're three of the top five players at the club. ... I think De Gea is settled, I think he's completely different. He's signed his contract."

17.52 BST: Show of hands: Who's ready for another Neymar update? Yes, it's the saga that isn't likely to ever end, and Sport cites French outlet Le10Sport as writing the latest chapter of the drama. The report suggests that Paris Saint-Germain have rejected an offer from Real Madrid that would send James Rodriguez and €120m to the French capital in exchange for the Brazilian. PSG did reportedly counter with a couple of names they would be interested in: Isco -- who they have apparently been told is not for sale -- and Keylor Navas.

16.45 BST: What do Alisson Becker, Caoimhin Kelleher and Vitezslav Jaros all have in common? Yes, they're all Liverpool goalkeepers, but they're also all injured.

That leaves Jurgen Klopp with an issue. Luckily backup Adrian is fit, meaning he'll be starting for the foreseeable future but Klopp wants a more experienced stopper to help plug the gaps.

Step forward 35-year-old Andy Lonergan, who is set to sign a one-year deal according to the Liverpool Echo, and could be on the bench for Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup match against Chelsea.

The former Leeds, Bolton, Fulham and Wolves stopper is a free agent, so no need to worry about the Premier League transfer window being closed.

16.03 BST: Hirving Lozano's agent Mino Raiola has reportedly met with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

A €42m deal is close to take the Mexico winger from PSV, though image rights are evidently still a problem.

15.41 BST: PSG striker Edinson Cavani has a contract which ends in summer 2020, and that means the 32-year-old could be set to move on.

David Beckham's Inter Miami FC franchise are reportedly keen to bring the Uruguay striker to MLS next season, says according to Fox Deportes analyst Alvaro Izquierdo. He would be the club's first big signing and would surely rival Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Carlos Vela for the golden boot award.

Cavani has played in Europe since 2006, when he moved from Uruguay to play his first season in Serie A Palermo. He played for Napoli before joining Paris Saint-Germain.

15.04 BST: Former Real Madrid and Brighton youngster Jack Harper signed for Getafe earlier this summer. Now the Scottish striker has been moved out on loan to AD Alcorcon.

14.40 BST: Real Madrid players have been talking to Neymar to persuade the Paris Saint-Germain star to join them at the Bernabeu, sources have told ESPN FC.

PSG sporting director Leonardo has confirmed that his club would sell the Brazil forward for the right price this summer, and officials at both Madrid and Barcelona are trying to negotiate a deal.

A return to Barca appeared to be Neymar's most likely move earlier in the summer, but Madrid are increasingly confident they can take advantage of a strained relationship between the Barca and PSG hierarchies, following the 27-year-old's controversial switch to Paris two summers ago.

It is also unlikely Madrid can match the world record €222 million fee paid by PSG two years ago, but sources say that Madrid are now "going hard" to try and sign Neymar before Spain's summer market closes on Sept. 2, and squad members have also been calling the Brazilian directly to tell him that he would be welcome at the Bernabeu.

13.55 BST: Today is honourary Bayern Munich day in the blog, evidently. News below of moves for Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Perisic, but Sport1 claims that Gareth Bale is back on the agenda.

Unwanted at Real Madrid, Bale needs to move on if the club want to make a deal with PSG for Neymar. And Bayern could do with another wide player. 

13.26 BST: We should have seen this one coming really when the words "free" and "transfer" were involved.

Juventus are weighing up a move for Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen next year once his contract runs out, according to the Daily Mail.

Emre Can, Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot are just some of the latest arrivals for NOTHING (if you don't count their massive wages and signing on fees) so will Eriksen be next?

12.47 BST: Unwanted Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz remains in limbo ahead of the La Liga season, a source has told ESPN FC.

Former Castilla youth product Mariano has barely been involved in Madrid's preseason, with coach Zinedine Zidane again leaving the Dominican Republic international completely out of his squad for Sunday's 2-2 draw at Roma.

Monaco had made an enquiry about signing the 26-year-old, who scored 21 goals in 48 games while at Lyon during 2017-18, however they instead are moving for Sevilla's Wissam Ben Yedder, a source told ESPN FC.

Media reports suggesting that Madrid might also try and include Mariano in any player-plus-cash deal to sign Paris Saint Germain's Neymar were also dismissed by the source.

11.59 BST: While we're talking about Bayern, Mundo Deportivo claims the German club are also sniffing around Barcelona's Philippe Coutinho now that the Premier League interest has come to nothing.

If they could land him on loan, that would be quite the coup.

11.34 BST: Bayern Munich need a winger or two quickly, given Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery have left. 

Inter Milan's Ivan Perisic seems to be their main target, now Man City's Leroy Sane is injured, and the player himself is in Munich ahead of a possible loan move, says Bild.

11.11 BST: L'Equipe reports that PSG are searching for a new No. 1 to replace Alphonse Areola and have checked out Gianluigi Donnarumma, Keylor Navas and Thibaut Courtois' positions.

You would imagine that Courtois is pretty happy as No. 1 at Real, even though David De Gea has yet to confirm his new contract at Man United and could still move, while Navas would be the easiest option as he's keen to play.

Donnarumma is reportedly the No. 1 target though and that means a fee of €60m at least to prize him from AC Milan.

10.38 BST: Prepare to ride the Neymar train all the way to Sept. 2 but here's the latest.

Marca reports that Real Madrid are optimistic about signing the Brazilian. However, Los Blancos must first offload Gareth Bale, Mariano and James Rodriguez

According to the paper, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has authorised Neymar's agent Pini Zahavi to start negotiations with Real Madrid. But the Spanish club know they will need to come up with around €200m to sign Neymar from PSG.

Madrid are hoping to reach an agreement with PSG before the start of La Liga but have until Sept. 2, when the transfer window closes in Spain, to complete the deal.

10.02 BST: Real Sociedad have announced they have allowed Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli to travel to France to undergo a medical on Monday with a view to joining Montpellier on loan this season.

09.40 BST: Valencia-based sports paper Superdeporte report that Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala will join Valencia on a season long-loan, subject to a medical.

Mangala, 28, already played for Los Che in the 2016-17 campaign on loan from City and will join Valencia for free, while he has also agreed a pay cut in order to return to the Mestalla stadium. 

The French centre-back is looking for a fresh start after a long spell in which he was sidelined by injuries. Mangala's last competitive game was in February 2018 during a loan spell with Everton before a knee injury cut short his season.

Valencia have been looking to strengthen their defensive line ahead of the start of the La Liga season. They are also on the verge of reaching an agreement with Villarreal to acquire Jaume Costa on loan for the 2019-20 campaign. The 31-year-old left-back made 21 league appearances for Villarreal last season.

08.30 BST: Inaki Williams was being linked with a move to Manchester United on deadline day but he's committed his future to Athletic Bilbao. FOR NINE YEARS!!!

It's a long deal but with a new, improved buyout clause at €135m, clubs know what they have to pay to get him now.

PAPER TALK

Barca, PSG close in on Neymar-Coutinho swap

The Premier League window is closed, but the barking world of football continues to turn. And -- surprise, surprise -- it's the future of Neymar that's occupying the back pages of newspapers across Europe. Marca cites French outlet RMC Sport as reporting that Barcelona have accelerated talks to bring the Brazilian star back to the Camp Nou.

At the same time, Paris Saint-Germain are in talks to brings Philippe Coutinho to the French capital, ending his fairly miserable stay in Catalonia.

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Neymar left the Spanish giants in the summer of 2017, but his time in Paris has hardly been an unmitigated success. Injuries and a succession of off-field issues have shrouded his time in Ligue 1 and led to never-ending speculation over his return.

RMC reports that directors from both clubs met at the end of last week and that "significant" progress had been made towards a deal being signed, sealed and delivered. Ending months and months and months of uncertainty.

Dybala's transfer farce continues

The future of Paulo Dybala has been the source of incessant speculation for the majority of the summer, and now Calciomercato cites Rai Sport as reporting that the player's agent was spotted in Paris on Sunday, further fuelling rumours that the player could soon be off to PSG after a summer that saw him heavily linked with moves to Tottenham and Manchester United.

On Sunday, Le10Sport reported that Dybala's options were stark and now limited to two clubs, with the Argentinian left to choose between Inter and PSG. The latter would, it was claimed, have to offload Neymar before they can entertain the idea of bringing him to the French capital. Inter, meanwhile, could offer Mauro Icardi in exchange for a player who has won Serie A for the past four seasons in Turin.

Rai Sport's report that Dybala's agent was spotted in the French capital could be a huge hint that the player is finally on the brink of leaving Juve. Alternatively, it might just be the latest stage in a seemingly never-ending saga that has run and run -- and could be about to run and run some more.

Tap-ins

- AC Milan are eyeing up a move for Dani Olmo, the young Spanish star at Dinamo Zagreb, Calciomercato cites Corriere Dello Sport as reporting. The Rossoneri believe Olmo would represent a sound, long-term investment, but the Italian giants are unlikely to have things all their own way. The Italian outlet reports that competition for his signature is likely to be fierce before the European transfer window shuts at the start of September.

- Aston Villa were definitely in for Jack Butland during the summer transfer window but were in no mood to pay the extortionate sums being demanded by Stoke. Villa ended up bringing in Tom Heaton from Burnley for a tiny portion of the £32m that Stoke were looking for. The Birmingham Mail reports that Villa's intransigence may see Butland leave the Potteries for whichever European club is willing to pay the money that the Premier League new boys have baulked at.

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