The summer transfer window is closed for the major leagues in Europe. However, with an eye on January, there's plenty of gossip swirling about who's moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!
TOP STORY: Chelsea in for Dortmund star Bellingham
Chelsea are interested in signing Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, according to Bild journalist Christian Falk.
The 19-year-old has earned attention from just about every one of the world's top clubs -- including Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Liverpool.
Bellingham has been a key man for Dortmund this term, captaining them twice, while scoring five goals and providing two assists across the campaign. He has scored in every one of their four Champions League matches so far.
Manchester City have certainly benefited from signing Bellingham's former Dortmund teammate Erling Haaland, who has 20 goals and three assists from just 13 matches under Pep Guardiola.
Meanwhile, there have been plenty of questions asked about Liverpool's midfield and it is felt that Bellingham would help solve their issues.
As for Chelsea, there has recently been talk that Jorginho and N'Golo Kante could both leave on free transfers in the summer -- while Bellingham's transfer wouldn't come cheap, at around €120 million, he would certainly help make up for the quality departing.
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21.45 BST: AC Milan have offered forward Rafael Leao a new contract that will more than triple his current salary and include a €10m signing bonus, reports Gazzetta dello Sport. With talks ongoing since the summer, reports indicate that the Rossoneri are doing everything they can to keep the 23-year-old Portugal international at the club amid interest from Chelsea.
21.12 BST: River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo will leave the Argentinian giants when his contract ends in December after more than eight years at the club, he told reporters at a news conference on Thursday. Read the full story.
20.39 BST: The race for the signature of Spezia centre-back Jakub Kiwior is heating up, with Juventus looking to challenge AS Roma and AC Milan for the Poland international's transfer, according to Calciomercato. The 22-year-old's standout performances this season are set to spark a bidding war when the January transfer window opens.
20.06 BST: Bayern Munich assistant manager Dino Toppmoller intends to stay with the Bundesliga champions this season, according to Sky Sport Deutschland's Florian Plettenberg. The 41-year-old is reported to be on the radar of VfB Stuttgart, who are looking to appoint a head coach after parting ways with Pellegrino Matarazzo, but it looks as though they may now need to look elsewhere.
19.33 BST: After an impressive performance against Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, Robin Gosens is hopeful that he can begin to garner regular minutes for Inter Milan, reports Gazzetta dello Sport. The 28-year-old wing-back has played in just 339 of 1,170 minutes for the Nerazzurri this season, and has been linked with a return to Germany with Bayer Leverkusen.
19.00 BST: Stade Rennais attacker Desire Doue is set to be rewarded for his performances after reaching full agreement over a new contract with the Ligue 1 club, reports Foot Mercato. After the 17-year-old scored three times in his past seven matches, Paris Saint-Germain were credited with interest, but this report suggests that he will now sign a new three-year deal with Les Rennais.
18.27 BST: Vasco da Gama midfielder Andrey Santos has been linked with a number of clubs of late, but the Brazilian side could demand a transfer fee in excess of €30m, according to Fabrizio Romano. It is reported that there is an open race for the 18-year-old Brazil youth international, with Newcastle United hopeful of utilising their relationship with his representatives to persuade him to make the switch to St. James' Park.
17.54 BST: Sevilla will request a transfer fee in the region of €4m if they are to sanction the departure of midfielder Thomas Delaney in January, writes Marca. The 31-year-old Denmark international has recently been linked with a return to FC Copenhagen, having made just two LaLiga starts for the Andalusian club this season, but it is said that he is currently focused on the World Cup set to begin next month.
17.21 BST: Real Madrid and Barcelona are both keeping an eye on Rayo Vallecano midfielder Pablo Munoz, according to Sport. The Blaugrana are reported to have already made an approach to sign the 19-year-old last season, but after he renewed his contract with Rayo, it looks as though they will join Carlo Ancelotti's side as they make a second attempt to secure his signature.
16.48 BST: Sport Bild has the latest on Chelsea's quest to recruit the brightest young talents in the Bundesliga, beginning with RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku. It's said that the 24-year-old France international will sign a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge before the World Cup begins in November, and will move to west London next summer.
But wait, there's more. It's been reported previously that the Blues will pay a premium on top of Nkunku's €60m release clause to secure his signing ahead of next summer, but Bild's story suggests that 20-year-old Croatia centre-back Josko Gvardiol will follow his Leipzig teammate to the Premier League for an additional €90m.
As detailed above, Borussia Dortmund prodigy Jude Bellingham is high on Chelsea's list of priorities, and Todd Boehly & Co. are prepared to outbid their rivals to secure the 19-year-old England midfielder's signature. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich right-back/centre-back Benjamin Pavard remains of interest.
16.15 BST: Never count out Cristiano Ronaldo.
15.17 BST: Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel would be open to the England national team job if Gareth Southgate decides to leave after the 2022 World Cup, says The Daily Telegraph.
Southgate's future could hinge on England's progress in Qatar, though the report says it's unclear whether the FA would be keen to hire an overseas successor.
Tuchel, who won the Champions League in 2021, was sacked by Chelsea last month. Former Tottenham and PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino has also been linked with the position, though the FA has not made contact with anyone over the position.
14.24 BST: Chelsea wanted to sign Napoli midfielder Stanislav Lobotka this summer, says Tuttomercatoweb.
Lobotka, 27, moved to the Serie A club in 2020 from Celta Vigo and has developed into a fine player with 11 starts in all competitions this season.
The Slovakia international was reportedly the subject of a €25m offer from the Blues over the summer, which was rejected, but is now set to sign a new deal with Napoli until 2027.
13.38 BST: Lyon right-back Malo Gusto has a host of top teams on his trail, according to 90min.
Gusto, 19, has been in fine form this season and has a contract until 2024. But with Premier League teams Tottenham, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all watching him, as well as Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus from Europe, the Frenchman has plenty of options.
12.47 BST: Manchester City are among clubs across Europe chasing Atalanta defender Giorgio Scalvini, says La Repubblica.
Scalvini, 18, made the breakthrough into the first team last season and has played as a centre-back and defensive midfielder this term.
City are watching the Italy international, but so are AS Roma, Juventus and Inter Milan. Atalanta reportedly want around €20m for his services, but that is expected to go up with every good performance.
12.00 BST: Why does Kylian Mbappe want to leave PSG now?
11.07 BST: Lazio president Claudio Lotito has been speaking about the future of midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Milinkovic-Savic, 27, has been one of the best players in Serie A for several years and has seen transfer links to Juventus and Man United spring up recently.
The Serbia midfielder has scored three goals and provided seven assists this season but, despite his contract expiring in 2024, Lotito insists that any interested club must pay a large transfer fee.
Speaking to Il Messaggero, Lotito said: "I have no agreement with his agent [Mateja] Kezman to sell him to Juventus or anyone else in the winter. On the contrary, he is now worth €120m, not €100m. Every month the price goes up."
10.23 BST: Bayern Munich want to sign a striker for next summer, with Tottenham's Harry Kane reportedly their first choice.
However, TZ reports that Borussia Monchengladbach's Marcus Thuram would be a cheaper option if they can't persuade Kane to come for €100m-plus.
Thuram, 25, has a contract which expires at the end of the season so Bayern could land him on a free transfer.
09.44 BST: Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo is convinced Joao Felix will "triumph" at the club amid reports the forward wants to leave in January in search of regular playing time, according to COPE.
Felix, 22, began the season alongside Alvaro Morata in the Rojiblancos' attack but has seen his playing time limited in recent weeks. He played the last 15 minutes of Atletico's 2-1 LaLiga win over Girona at the weekend but did not feature in the 0-0 draw against Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Asked about Felix, who was signed for €126m from Benfica in 2019, Cerezo said: "We are very calm. He is a magnificent player, and he still has to prove who he is and with time, he will do so. He is an Atletico player and has a long-term contract with us. We are delighted with him. Some players adapt immediately, and others take longer. Unfortunately, he is not going through a good spell but I believe he will triumph here because of the quality and class he has as a player."
With Atletico coach Diego Simeone expected to remain at the helm next season, Felix is reportedly considering his options.
The Portugal international has played 11 games for Atletico this season and set up three goals, but has yet to find the back of the net. However, it's not the first time that talk of Felix leaving the Madrid outfit has surfaced. He first wanted out in December 2021, while Atletico reportedly turned down an offer of €130m from Manchester United over the summer.
09.06 BST: Inter Milan CEO Giuseppe Marotta is hopeful that Slovakia defender Milan Skriniar will remain at the club beyond next summer.
The 27-year-old is under contract with Inter until June 2023 and has yet to sign a new deal, with PSG linked with a move.
"Skriniar is an excellent professional, a great player who deserves to be captain," Marotta said on Wednesday. "In our opinion he deserves to continue playing for Inter."
Skriniar, who is in his sixth season with the Nerazzurri, has made 13 appearances for Inter this season and is a key player for coach Simone Inzaghi.
"If his will is the same as ours, I believe there will be a point of understanding," Marotta added. "On our part there is the willingness to reach a logical conclusion with him from an economic point of view. Therefore, a negotiation that can lead to the conclusion of a deal, even a multi-year contract."
08.43 BST: Chelsea are close to appointing Joe Shields as their new director of recruitment, The Guardian reports.
Shields has been in a similar role at Southampton since July, when he moved to St Mary's after nine years working in scouting and recruitment at Manchester City's academy.
The move is part of Chelsea's drive to restructure their sporting operations under new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, wit sources telling ESPN's James Olley last week that they plan to appoint ex-RB Leipzig sporting director Christopher Vivell as technical director.
The club have also identified Norwich City's sporting director Stuart Webber as a candidate to fill that post at Stamford Bridge.
08.00 BST: With all the recent reports about Erling Haaland's release clause and Kylian Mbappe wanting out of Paris Saint-Germain, ESPN's Gab Marcotti looks at how the sport's youngest megastars are playing their hands when it comes to their futures:
"Mbappe and Haaland may already be the game's next great rivalry, as some of us foretold three years ago. (I'm not taking credit for that one: it was hardly rocket science). But already what seems to set them apart from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is a keen awareness of who they are and the leverage they hold.
"We had a reminder of this in the past week as speculation mounted over the futures of both Haaland and Mbappe, despite them inking new contracts in the past six months."
- Haaland, Mbappe using leverage in ways Messi, Ronaldo never did
PAPER GOSSIP (by Danny Lewis)
- Calciomercato reports that Paris Saint-Germain have joined Chelsea in trying to sign AC Milan winger Rafael Leao, who has a release clause of €150m. Milan do not want their talisman to leave and have held talks with his entourage in recent days as they aim to get him to sign a new contract.
- Gabriel Martinelli wants to extend his contract with Arsenal despite Chelsea having previously shown an interest in the Brazilian winger, according to Christian Falk. The 21-year-old has recorded four goals and two assists in the Premier League and currently has a contract that runs until the summer of 2024.
- Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that it is down to Toni Kroos whether or not the midfielder's contract will be extended past its current expiration in 2023, as reported by Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg. Kroos, 32, wants to end his playing career with Los Blancos but talk of whether he will play out a new one-year deal before doing so will come soon.
- Having previously reported on Barcelona's interest in Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez, Diario Sport has now stated that the Blaugrana watched the Argentine as he helped his side earn a 1-1 draw against PSG in Champions League on Tuesday. Barca's interest comes as reported target Martin Zubimendi likely to renew his contract with Real Sociedad. Liverpool are also looking at Fernandez.
- Juan Cuadrado and Alex Sandro both seem destined to leave Juventus at the end of the season, according to Calciomercato. The two South American full-backs have contracts that expire in the summer and the Bianconeri are willing to let them leave on free transfers rather than offering a renewal.