The transfer window opened in early January, and speculation is heating up about potential deals. Check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here.
Pretty much any club in the world would want Kylian Mbappe and, with his Paris Saint-Germain contract coming to an end in 2022, the biggest sides will be lining up to make a move.
Late Football Club — a show on French channel Canal+ — has claimed that both Real Madrid and Liverpool are showing an interest in the Frenchman.
Real Madrid have held a long-term interest and Mbappe himself has revealed his love for the club. However, according to the report, Liverpool are the frontrunners in their attempts to sign one of the best young players in the world.
There has been some talk around the possibility of Mohamed Salah leaving Liverpool, but signing Mbappe would surely make up for it if that were to happen.
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09.00 GMT: Real Madrid need to sell a collection of fringe players this summer if they want to compete with their rivals to sign Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe and Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, sources told ESPN’s Rodrigo Faez.
The pair have been linked with Real in the transfer rumour gossip columns for over a year but sources said the club’s priority is to bring in €60-70m in player sales this summer with Isco, Marcelo, Alvaro Odriozola and Luka Jovic among those that could leave. Europe’s elite football clubs are expected to miss out on over €2bn ($2.43bn) in revenue by the end of the 2020-21 season due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and Madrid’s aim is to balance their books through player sales before focusing on arrivals.
Last summer, the club did not make a signing for the first time since 1980 and instead recouped €100m in player departures, including Sergio Reguilon, Achraf Hakimi and Oscar Rodriguez. They also reduced their wage bill by €40m after James Rodriguez‘s free transfer to Everton and Gareth Bale‘s season-long loan to Tottenham.
Mbappe and Haaland both remain on Madrid’s radar but aside from looking to fund a move for one or both of them, the club are also focusing on contract renewals for key players.
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PAPER TALK (by Danny Lewis)
Barcelona call urgent meeting about Garcia
Barcelona have held an urgent meeting regarding the signing of Manchester City defender Eric Garcia, reports Sport.
Barca managing committee chair Carles Tusquets called a meeting with presidential candidates Joan Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Freixa, as well as sporting director Ramon Planes, which was held at 7 p.m. on Friday.
They had previously decided to wait until the summer to sign the Spaniard for free, but there are now suggestions the club might move in the coming days.
Barca might have to pay City as little as €300,000 of the €3m plus add-ons straight away, while Garcia is ready to play for free until the end of the season to help his chances of getting into Luis Enrique’s Euro 2020 squad.
Reynolds heading to Italy
FC Dallas right-back Bryan Reynolds will fly to Italy on Saturday to finalise his move to AS Roma, reports Fabrizio Romano.
There has been plenty of talk about Reynolds and a move to Europe, with Juventus having also been interested in signing him.
However, it seems as though the 19-year-old will now be signing for the Giallorossi before the January deadline.
The Serie A outfit are also expected to bring in free agent Stephan El Shaarawy, who has undergone a medical.
Tap-ins
– Atalanta are in advanced talks to sign Shakhtar Donetsk attacking midfielder Viktor Kovalenko, says Fabrizio Romano. Personal terms have already been agreed and the journalist suggests negotiations are in the final stage. This comes after Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez was allowed to leave to join Sevilla after falling out with manager Gian Piero Gasperini.
– TalkSPORT has suggested that Danny Rose‘s time out in the cold at Tottenham Hotspur could finally be coming to an end. That news comes with Turkish club Trabzonspor believing that they have struck a deal to sign him. Rose has been offered a three-and-a-half-year contract that would see him join the same club that former England teammate Daniel Sturridge played for before being released in March 2020.
