The summer transfer window was unlike any other; see all the major deals and check out how we graded the biggest signings. And just because the window is shut until January, that doesn’t mean the rumours won’t keep coming. Here is the latest gossip and speculation.
TOP STORY: Barca put Dembele on deadline
The Barcelona hierarchy are giving winger Ousmane Dembele a month to decide over his contract situation, according to Calciomercato.
The 24-year-old is out-of-contract in the summer and is asking for a rise in his salary from €12 million to €20m.
The report claims that the France international could decide on a move away from the club, with the Premier League cited as a probable option. Dembele has previously been linked with a move to Manchester United and Liverpool once his deal expires.
The hierarchy’s decision comes just a day after they relieved manager Ronald Koeman of his duties. The club currently sit in ninth, with sources telling ESPN that former Camp Nou legend Xavi Hernandez is the favourite to take over the vacancy.
Dembele moved to the Catalan club from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth over €140m in 2017. However, he has struggled since with a string of injuries plaguing him, including a hamstring that has limited his season.
Since the switch from the Bundesliga, Dembele has only managed 81 league appearances with 18 goals and 14 assists. He has won trophies in that time though, winning two LaLiga titles, two Copa del Rey medals and a Spanish Super Cup. He also managed to break into the France national team, winning the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
The clock is now ticking for the winger, with Barcelona set to potentially lose another highly rated player on a free transfer in the summer.
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LIVE BLOG
08.52 BST: Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers is a potential replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United manager, sources told ESPN’s Mark Ogden, with the club prepared to recruit a new manager from within the Premier League if the former Molde and Cardiff City coach is unable to inspire an immediate upturn in results.
Solskjaer will take charge of United against Tottenham on Saturday, and almost certainly Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday, after the Old Trafford hierarchy resisted pressure to dismiss the 48-year-old in the wake of last Sunday’s 5-0 home defeat against Liverpool. Although he remains in his job, sources told ESPN that United are assessing alternative options in the event of the Norwegian being unable to halt a disastrous run of form. The club have suffered five defeats in the last nine games in all competitions, including just one point from their last 12 in the Premier League.
The determination within United to retain the approach of promoting youth and playing with an attractive style has led to a focus on possible domestic targets, and ESPN has been told that Leicester manager Rodgers has impressed senior figures at Old Trafford with his work at the King Power Stadium, where he won the FA Cup last season, as well his success at Celtic and previously at Liverpool, where he transformed the team and almost won the Premier League title in 2014.
Rodgers, 48, signed a long-term contract in December 2019 committing him to Leicester until 2025, raising the prospect of a costly compensation bill should United attempt to negotiate his release from the Foxes. The club have appointed a succession of foreign coaches — Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Solskjaer — since sacking David Moyes less than a year into his six-year contract in 2014, but sources said that the failure of that appointment has not deterred the club from hiring a British coach again.
08.00 BST: Several Premier League clubs have been sounded out over their interest in signing Real Madrid’s Eden Hazard in January, sources have told ESPN’s James Olley.
Chelsea and Newcastle United are among a number of clubs to have been alerted to the possibility, although it is unclear at this stage what level of interest there is in Hazard, 30, or if the player himself is ready to call time on his career at the Bernabeu.
Hazard was left on the bench for last weekend’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona in El Clasico (stream the replay on ESPN+ in the U.S.), after which manager Carlo Ancelotti said “the problem [Hazard] has right now is he has a coach who prefers another player.” Although he went on to praise Hazard’s work ethic, it was a damning assessment of a player signed from Chelsea in 2019 for a deal worth an initial €100 million with a series of performance-based add-ons.
Hazard has started just 25 games in LaLiga and has five goals from 52 appearances across all competitions after suffering with a various injury problems since arriving in Spain.
Madrid are looking to raise funds to pursue Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland next summer in addition to Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, who will potentially be available on a free transfer once his contract expires but is still likely to command a huge signing-on fee and wage package.
PAPER GOSSIP (by Luke Thrower)
– Real Madrid and Liverpool are considering a move for Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, according to journalist Ekrem Konur. The report claims that Los Blancos want to start contract negotiations with the France international in January, eyeing a move for him at the end of his deal.
– Barcelona are looking to move on striker Luuk de Jong just months after joining the team. According to Sport, the club are hoping to transfer the 31-year-old in the January market as he is unlikely to get more minutes.
– Intern Milan are looking to offer a new deal to left-back Federico Dimarco, according to Calciomercato. The 23-year-old will get an upgraded contract that is expected to run until 2026, with a pay rise that would reach €1.5m-a-year.
– Newcastle United are interested in Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse, according to Football Insider. The 26-year-old signed a new contract with the Saints, but that has reportedly not stopped the Magpies’ new ownership group from pursuing the player with a transfer valuation of £40m.
– Tottenham Hotspur are willing to move on midfielder Dele Alli, according to The Athletic. The England international is said not be in Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo’s plans, with Newcastle said to be a realistic option. Paris Saint-Germain were interested in 2020 but Spurs chairman Daniel Levy wasn’t willing to sanction a move at the time. That stance appears to have changed now.