The winter transfer window is closed, but now it's time to look ahead to the summer! Here are the new rumours floating around Europe's big leagues and beyond.
TOP STORY: Liverpool target three players in search of Lovren replacement
Jurgen Klopp is looking to strengthen his squad for next season, and AS are suggesting the German boss has lined up three possible replacements for centre-back Dejan Lovren: Atletico Madrid's Jose Maria Gimenez, Inter Milan's Alessandro Bastoni and RB Leipzig's Dayot Upamecano.
Lovren is out of contract in 2021 but is expected to target first-team football elsewhere this summer, and Klopp wants a player who is as comfortable as Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez in the air and on the ball.
Gimenez is the perfect fit, though his contract runs out in 2023 and has a buy-out clause of €120 million. However, the Uruguay international has had an injury-hit season and has played only 16 times, including a cameo role at Anfield when Atletico stunned the Champions League holders. Gimenez might consider his options if he continues to struggle for first-team football.
Eagle-eyed readers will have seen Upamecano's name on these pages linked with several clubs across Europe, while 20-year-old Bastoni has impressed so much at Inter that he has replaced Diego Godin at the San Siro.
Meanwhile, with Lovren looking likely to leave, he could have his pick of Lazio, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in the summer, with the Italian side joining the north London rivals in the hunt for his signature.
The Croatian's contract expires in 2021, but with Liverpool on the hunt for a new centre-back, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Lovren won't struggle for options when the 2019-20 season finally comes to an end.
Lazio enquired about Lovren's services in January but were unwilling to pay the €20m asking price. The Italian club are expecting the price to have dropped, however, as he continues to play second fiddle to Van Dijk and Gomez and as Liverpool grow increasingly eager to sell.
The 32-year-old is said to be keen for a new experience before he hangs up his boots, which suggests he might favour a move away from England.
LIVE BLOG
22.55 GMT: In addition to adding a centre-back this summer, Barcelona are also keen to strengthen their left side, and Sport writes that Porto's Alex Telles -- also on Chelsea's radar - is one name who could potentially move to Catalonia to supplement Jordi Alba at left-back.
21.38 GMT: Liverpool, Arsenal, Inter, AC Milan, Valencia and Sevilla are all monitoring Eintracht Frankfurt's France U21 centre-back Evan Ndicka, Sky Sports reports.
20.21 GMT: Manchester United will be willing to listen to offers for playmakers Jesse Lingard and Andreas Pereira this summer, according to the Sun, with the pair struggling to make an impact for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side this season.
19.04 GMT: "Chelsea are growing increasingly confident" in signing Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell, Goal writes. The sticking point will be negotiating a price for the 22-year-old England international, who the Foxes are said to value similarly to Harry Maguire, whose sale earned them £80m from Manchester United last summer. Porto's Alex Telles and Marc Cucurella -- on loan at Getafe from Barcelona - would be the Blues' backup options should they be priced out of a move for Chilwell.
17.47 GMT: Barcelona are said to be interested in adding a centre-back this summer, and Mundo Deportivo reports that the Catalan outfit have identified Manchester City's Aymeric Laporte as their No. 1 target and hope to take advantage of the reigning Premier League champions' pending UEFA ban in returning the 25-year-old former Athletic Bilbao stalwart to Spain.
16.30 GMT: There have been a host of Premier League clubs credited with interest in Philippe Coutinho, but Catalan outlet Sport reports that Chelsea are the only club whose intent Barcelona is aware of. The Blaugrana would like €90m for the 27-year-old playmaker on loan at Bayern Munich, but it's a price the club accept is not realistic at this moment in time, and would acquiesce to the West London club's desire for a loan deal - so long as there is an obligation to buy.
15.13 GMT: Barcelona are on the hunt for a central defender and Mundo Deportivo are reporting that Manchester City's Aymeric Laporte could be the player to fill the role.
The France international has attracted attention at Camp Nou and the club are said to be hopeful that the 25-year-old will be keen to leave Manchester before City's Champions League ban is imposed.
Laporte joined City from Athletic Bilbao for a club record deal in January, 2018.
The 23-year-old signed a contract until 2023 after the Premier League leaders paid his €65m (£57m) release clause in full.
This isn't the first time Barcelona have been interested in the defender who caught their eye back when he played for Athletic Bilbao.
14.17 GMT: Arsenal's Henrikh Mkhitaryan could be one of several players to permanently leave the club this summer, with Roma reportedly opening talks with the North London club to keep the midfielder.
Corriere dello Sport are reporting that the Serie A club have offered Arsenal €17m for the Armenia international who has been on loan to Roma since September.
Arsenal are said to have put a value of €24m on Mkhitaryan but both teams are apparently keen to come to an agreement.
It's unsurprising Roma want to hold onto him as he's scored six goals and secured four assists in 20 appearances across all competitions at the club this season.
13.26 GMT: Tottenham striker Harry Kane hasn't played since New Year's Day, and was expected to miss the remainder of the season before it was suspended, but he has still been linked with some of Europe's top clubs. ESPN FC's Gab Marcotti looks at why he thinks the Bernabeu could be where he moves.
12.41 GMT: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is considering letting as many as five senior players leave this summer in order to fun an overhaul of his squad, according to football.london.
The report claims that the Gunners will look to cash in on on-loan midfield duo Mohamed Elneny and Henrikh Mkhitaryan as well as defenders Sead Kolasinac, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi.
Raising money from the sales of those players would help Arteta fund big signings such as a new centre-back and a playmaker to replace Mesut Ozil.
11.58 GMT: Barcelona are working on a new deal for defender Clement Lenglet, according to a report in Catalan newspaper Diario Sport. Lenglet, 24, has lost his place in the side since Quique Setien took over at Camp Nou, with Samuel Umtiti preferred alongside Gerard Pique. Setien has said choosing between the two has been his toughest decision so far and often keeps him up at night.
However, while Umtiti is winning the battle at the moment, Sport say Lenglet will win the war in the long-term. Umtiti's persistent knee problems and dip in performances since the 2018 World Cup could see him pushed out the door this summer. Lenglet, meanwhile, is said to be in line for a new deal. His current terms, signed when he joined Barca from Sevilla in 2018, run until 2023.
11.16 GMT: With just three goals scored for Real Madrid all season, Gareth Bale's future at the Bernabeu remains as uncertain as ever.
ESPN FC's Ale Moreno thinks the Wales international's time is up at the Bernabeu.
10.33 GMT: Ousmane Dembele could be handed a stay of execution at Barcelona this summer despite suffering multiple injuries since he joined the club from Borussia Dortmund for €105 million in 2017. Dembele was ruled out for six months in February after tearing his hamstring in training. It's the ninth injury he's suffered since moving to Camp Nou, where he's been unable to produce the form he showed in Germany.
That's led to a number of reports that Barca will finally look to cut their losses and move him on at the end of the season. However, Diario Sport says the club will hand the French international one last chance. There's still a belief that Dembele can offer something different in the final third, namely pace and the ability to beat a man, and that he deserves one more chance to make a go of it in La Liga.
10.04 GMT: The coronavirus crisis could keep Liverpool target Timo Werner at RB Leipzig, the club's sporting director Markus Krosche has told Sport1.
Germany attacker Werner is under contract at Leipzig until 2023, but has a release clause worth in the region of €55m which allows him to leave the Bundesliga side this summer. Last month the 24-year-old dropped strong hints that he could leave for Liverpool as it would "be a good fit."
Sport 1 claimed that Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City were all prepared to trigger Werner's release clause, but Krosche now believes that "everything is possible."
"We can't say how the transfer market will develop. We are starring into a very foggy crystal ball. We don't know how our resources will be and what options other clubs might have," Krosche said.
However, Krosche said he believes financial constraints will not only be of concern to German clubs.
"England has similar problems like us. To bank on clocks running differently there just because they have investors is wrong," he said.
"Investors also have economic constraints. The crisis does not only hit our branch but has a worldwide impact. Today, we are not able to gauge if the current numbers [transfer fees] are sustainable in six months from now."
09.25 GMT: After the Daily Mirror's report at the weekend that four Premier League clubs -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham -- are interested in signing Philippe Coutinho, Sid Lowe explains why the Brazilian attacker doesn't fit into Barcelona's plans.
08.42 GMT: Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has warned that "this summer will be unpleasant" amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
The German club have strongly been linked with players such as Birmingham City midfielder Jude Bellingham and Paris Saint-Germain wing-back Thomas Meunier. But Zorc told kicker that "there is a lot of uncertainty in all clubs," and added: "We first must manage the crisis situation."
Dortmund in January brought in midfielder Emre Can from Juventus and Norwegian wunderkind Erling Haaland and, with no income over the next few weeks or even months, BVB have, for now, put all transfer activity on hold.
"We don't even know when we'll be able to play again," Zorc said and warned: "This summer will be unpleasant."
08.00 GMT: Barcelona tried, and failed, to get Neymar back last summer. Yet sources have told ESPN that the Spanish champions have a bold plan to reunite the Brazilian star with Lionel Messi at Camp Nou this summer.
Sam Marsden, Moises Llorens and Eduardo Fernandez-Abascal tell the story of how FIFA article 17 works, how it's been used in the past and how Barcelona hope to use it to their advantage for one of the most stunning transfer heists the sport would ever see.
- Inside Barcelona's audacious plan to get Neymar back
PAPER TALK (by Nick Judd): Smalling to ignore Arsenal, stay at Roma
Chris Smalling is so keen to stay in Rome that he's willing to ignore overtures from Arsenal and take a pay cut, reports Sky Sports Italia.
Smalling has impressed in the Italian capital following his loan switch from Manchester United, and both the player and his family are settled off the pitch, which means he's prepared to lower his wages to stay where he is.
The 30-year-old is due back in Manchester when his loan deal finishes in June, but the Reds will sell if Roma are prepared to part with £32m.
Arsenal are also monitoring the situation as they continue their search for a centre-back.
Smalling has spent 10 years at Old Trafford and has amassed 323 appearances in that time.
Tap-ins
- Manchester United are interested in signing 34-year-old defender Diego Godin this summer, according to Corriere dello Sport. Godin has been pushed out of the Inter Milan first team by Bastoni, and the Uruguayan looks set to be on the move just one year after joining Inter from Atletico.
- Juventus, Manchester and Barcelona are all tracking Paris Saint-Germain's highly rated youngster Edouard Michut, according to Calciomercato. The midfielder has been dubbed "the new Marco Verratti" thanks to his technical ability in a deep-lying role. The 17-year-old is yet to sign professional forms at PSG, and Barcelona have already sent scouts to watch him. Juventus could lead the pack, though, thanks to their positive relationship with PSG.