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: PSG, Atleti want Inter's Barella as contract talks stall
Inter Milan could face a fight to keep hold of midfielder Nicolo Barella, with the player's representatives struggling to find a middle ground on wage demands in a new deal, as revealed by Corriere dello Sport.
It is reported that the player wants a salary of €6 million a year, but so far has only received an offer worth €4m annually. The struggle to make any progress on a new deal has alerted clubs across Europe, with both Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain keen on the transfer of the Italy international.
The 24-year-old's existing contract keeps him at the San Siro until 2024, but the Serie A club could be prepared to part with the player if it means maximising the transfer fee for one of the standout performers at Euro 2020.
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21.26 BST: Manuel Neuer is planning to finish his career at Bayern Munich, according to Sport1, with talks over his contract at the club set to kick off in the near future.
All parties are said to be relaxed over the goalkeeper's situation, with his current deal lasting until 2023. He has spent ten years at the club since joining from Schalke in 2011, going on to become No. 1 for both club and country.
20.49 BST: Borussia Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels has warned Erling Haaland about the danger of moving away from the Bundesliga club in an interview with Sport Bild.
"I can fully understand him if he wants to stay," Hummels is quoted as saying. "Because it's great in Dortmund, because he knows what he's got here. I haven't given up hope that he'll stay for a long time.
"The grass on the other hand is not always greener. You really should be aware of that in football.
"It's worth a lot if you have a good environment, and you feel comfortable with the boys, too. You have to appreciate that. That is not the case in every club. So we have a lot to offer Erling, it is not like that."
20.12 BST: Lille defender Sven Botman was linked with several moves to Premier League and Serie A clubs over the summer but stayed in Ligue 1.
"The club [made the decision], but I didn't think that was a bad idea in the end," the 21-year-old is quoted as saying by Nos. "I have a starting place and play in the Champions League so it is certainly not wrong to stay. In football sometimes things go quickly, but I believe that in the end everything will fall into place."
19.35 BST: Manchester United may reduce their valuation of midfielder Jesse Lingard if the player doesn't sign a new contract with the club.
According to the Sun, United could consider offers including a transfer fee of £15m in January if the 28-year-old refuses a new deal with his existing terms expiring next summer. The England international has only made three Premier League appearances from the bench this season, scoring twice.
18.58 BST: Atletico Madrid are eyeing a move for Paul Onuachu, according to Marca. Diego Simeone is reportedly interested in adding the forward from Genk either in January or next summer, and Los Rojiblancos have already made contact over a potential deal for the 27-year-old involving a transfer fee of more than €20m.
18.21 BST: Centre-back Samuel Umtiti could leave Barcelona on a free transfer at the end of the season, despite being contracted until 2023, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The report claims that in the regulations on the satus and transfer of FIFA players, specifically in article 18.3, a professional player who plays less than 10% of the club's can terminate the contract by arguing justified sporting cause. However, this claim can only come from the footballer and not the club, but it could allow the former France international to leave the Catalan capital in 2022.
17.44 BST: After leaving Arsenal on loan, Hector Bellerin has hinted he may make his move to Real Betis permanent come the summer, when he will have just one year left on his Gunners contract.
"If I didn't want to be here next year, I wouldn't have come from the beginning," Bellerin is quoted as saying by El Desmarque. "There are many things to be decided but what I want to do is enjoy this year that I am here. And what has to happen will happen."
17.07 BST: Tottenham Hotspur and Internazionale have been linked with a summer move for Napoli winger Lorenzo Insigne, according to Calciomercato.
The 30-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and is yet to agree a new deal, despite being the club captain. He was a key figure in the Italy side that won Euro 2020 last summer, and with more than 100 goals and 88 assists in over 400 appearances for the Serie A side, there could be more competition to follow.
16.30 BST: More rumours from Newcastle (which will be a running theme from now on after their takeover.)
Sky Sports says the club are looking for a new sporting director and have targeted former Lille and Monaco chief Luis Campos.
Campos is a former manager, turned scout and now football director. He was responsible for helping those French clubs win the Ligue 1 title while competing with the stellar names of PSG and is considered a transfer guru after signing in the likes of James Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao, Fabinho and Bernardo Silva among others for Monaco.
His work at Lille also saw the likes of Renato Sanches, Jonathan Ikone, Zeki Celik and Nicolas Pepe shine. And he has recouped around £500m from player departures during his time at his clubs, although Newcastle will likely be looking to him to bring through the next Kylian Mbappe rather than needing to raise funds.
15.37 BST: Marca reports that Monaco want €60m to let star midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni leave.
Tchouameni, 21, is on the radar of Man United, Chelsea and Real Madrid, among others, but the France international won't be allowed to go on the cheap.
15.00 BST: Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz's performances have gathered plenty of attention across Europe recently. The 18-year-old is clearly destined for the top and has been linked with all the big clubs in Europe including Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
The Germany international will get a chance to showcase his skills when second-placed Leverkusen host Bundesliga leaders Bayern this Sunday (stream live on ESPN+ at 9.30 ET), but what can his club and country expect from the midfielder? Our resident scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains.
With five goals from six competitive games for Leverkusen so far this season, it's certainly Wirtz's goal scoring exploits which have attracted most attention recently. But while his ability in front of goal has improved (he's already just one goal behind last season's Bundesliga tally of five), the general quality and precision of the way he executes his attacking moves is what makes him special.
His short and medium-range passing is more often than not perfectly weighted with the right angles, pace and power. His excellent first touch and well-developed ability to assess the attacking movement before he receives the ball wins him precious seconds. He's also refreshingly practical in his way of playing football; there's purpose behind everything he does and he's unselfish enough to understand the value of moving the ball on instead of dribbling just for the sake of it.
14.23 BST: Juventus are keen to make a move for Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva in January, says Calciomercato.
Silva, 27, wants to leave City and Juve want to make a loan move with an option to sign him permanently next summer. However, with four years remaining on his contract City are under no pressure to let him go and would want over €60m to do so.
Juventus are in seventh place in Serie A after winning just three of their opening seven matches and are looking to reduce their wage bill to bring in new players, so may let Aaron Ramsey and Weston McKennie leave to raise funds.
14.05 BST: Arsenal duo Sead Kolasinac and Mohamed Elneny are of interest to Turkish clubs.
Elneny, 29, spent time on loan at Besiktas but Galatasaray are in talks to sign the Egypt midfielder according to Fanatik.
And 28-year-old left-back Kolasinac is being tracked by Fenerbahce, says Yeni Asir.
Neither player has a future at Arsenal and could be allowed to depart for nothing in January.
13.14 BST: Fabrizio Romano reports that Barcelona have reached an agreement with Pedri to extend his contract until June 2026.
The 18-year-old midfielder has lit up LaLiga, as well as Euro 2020 with Spain, and his terms expire in the summer.
The new deal will have an incredible €1 billion release clause. Let's see PSG try and pay that! (Reminder: Neymar's world-record move was worth €222m.)
12.29 BST: Man City forward Phil Foden is close to signing a new contract, says The Athletic.
Foden, 21, has a deal which expires in 2024 but has become one of the club's first names on the teamsheet this year.
11.46 BST: Voetbal24 says Arsenal are very interested in signing Club Brugge forward Noa Lang.
Lang, 22, only moved to Belgium from Ajax in 2020 for around €6m but has impressed so much that his new side want €40m from any interested clubs.
Arsenal are reportedly ready to make a €30m offer to land the Dutchman ahead of their rivals in January.
11.15 BST: Will Barcelona be able to call on their new signing for the biggest game of LaLiga?
10.41 BST: Barcelona have been approached by several investment funds who want to help finance a deal for Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland, according to Diario Sport.
Barca president Joan Laporta met with Haaland's agent, Mino Raiola, and the striker's father, Alf-Inge, earlier this year to discuss a potential transfer. However, the Catalan club's financial problems complicate any possible deal.
Still, Sport report that the club have been approached by investment funds who could support a move for the Norway international, who is likely to be a €75m target for many of Europe's biggest clubs when his release clause activates next summer.
Whether Barca, whose gross debt is touching €1.4 billion and wage bill still needs to be reduced, would accept that sort of help is another matter, though.
Speaking in a news conference last week, CEO Ferran Reverter criticised the previous board for spending money they didn't have, including taking out similar funding to be able to sign Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for €120m.
10.09 BST: Andre Onana, Paul Pogba, Antonio Rudiger and Franck Kessie are among the free agents Barcelona are targeting next summer, says Mundo Deportivo.
Barca's financial problems have forced them to target out-of-contract players, with Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia all signed on free transfers this year.
Mundo Deportivo says the club will follow a similar line until their cash crisis has eased, with Ajax goalkeeper Onana, Manchester United midfielder Pogba, Chelsea defender Rudiger and Milan midfielder Kessie all being considered.
Onana came through the club's academy before leaving for Ajax in 2015. He would arrive as competition -- or potentially even as a replacement -- for Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Pogba and Kessie, meanwhile, have both been linked with moves to Camp Nou in the past, while Rudiger is drawing interest from across Europe thanks to his form at Stamford Bridge since the appointment of manager Thomas Tuchel in January.
09.50 BST: Newcastle are keen to sign Chelsea striker Timo Werner, says Bild.
Werner, 25, only joined Chelsea from RB Leipzig in 2020 for €53m but hasn't settled in London and has scored just 14 goals in 60 games.
Newcastle have money to spend after a Saudi Arabia-led takeover was completed last week, with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) buying the club in a deal worth just over £300m.
Werner's agency already has a client at Newcastle, Fabian Schar, so they have reportedly already been in contact over a move for the Germany forward.
09.13 BST: AS says that Real Madrid are back on the trail of Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.
Pogba, 28, has a contract which expires in 2022 and has yet to agree new terms. The France international has come close to leaving the club in recent years, with Juventus, PSG and Real Madrid all keen to land him next summer.
08.52 BST: The Times reports that agent Mino Raiola will hold talks to Manchester City over a move for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
Haaland, 21, is on the radar of every top club in Europe after scoring 68 goals in 67 games for the Dortmund and has a €75m release clause in his contract which comes into effect in 2022.
Raiola is keen to start negotiations in January for a move the following summer and City are frontrunners as Haaland's father, Alf-Inge, played for the club from 2000-2003.
After failing to land Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane in the last window, City boss Pep Guardiola wants a new central attacker to fill the void left by Sergio Aguero's departure to Barcelona.
08.30 BST: Diego Simeone has admitted that he wanted to bring Lionel Messi to Atletico Madrid this summer, saying he called Atletico striker Luis Suarez to ask if a deal was possible.
Messi became a free agent when his Barcelona contract expired on June 30, and planned to stay until the club announced that financial problems would prevent them from registering a new, agreed deal.
The 34-year-old eventually signed for Paris Saint-Germain on Aug. 10, signing a two-year contract with the option of a further year. But Simeone made a play to suss out the situation by talking to Suarez, who is best friends with Messi from their time together at Camp Nou.
"When what happened at Barcelona happened, we called Luis," Simeone told Argentinian newspaper Diario Ole on Tuesday. "I didn't call Leo. But I called Luis to say 'look, how is he? Would he be keen? Is there the slightest possibility... imagining that he could come to Atletico Madrid."
Simeone said that his hopes of landing Messi were short-lived, once it became apparent that talks with PSG had already progressed significantly.
"It lasted about three hours," he said. "Obviously Paris Saint-Germain were obsessed with that signing. The truth is that [coaching Messi] hasn't happened because he's been at Barcelona, we've been at Atletico, and while he's been with the national team I haven't been there."
He added, laughing: "It's like an aeroplane that you see in the sky and say 'there it goes...'"
PAPER GOSSIP
- Paris Saint-Germain could join the race for Fiorentina's Dusan Vlahovic, writes Le10 Sport. It is reported that PSG sporting director Leonardo sees the Serie A frontman as a potential replacement should Kylian Mbappe leave Parc des Princes on a free transfer for Real Madrid in the summer. The Ligue 1 club are the latest team to be interested in the Serbia international who continues to be linked with a move away from La Viola and his contract is valued at around €70m.
- Newcastle United's planned spending spree has found new ground with the club looking to benefit from the situation of a number of players in LaLiga. Pedro Almeida reveals that the club are monitoring Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele, Real Madrid's Isco and Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, with all players recently linked with exits from their respective clubs.
- Manchester United are considering a move for Aurelien Tchouameni, with the Daily Express revealing that the Premier League side see him as an ideal partner for Paul Pogba. The AS Monaco midfielder has seen Europe's top clubs form a queue for his signature, with Monday's blog revealing Real Madrid's growing interest in the 21-year-old who had already caught the eye of Chelsea and Juventus.
- Gianluca Di Marzio writes that AC Milan are moving for goalkeeper Antonio Mirante. With current No. 1 Mike Maignan facing some time on the sidelines with a wrist injury, the Rossoneri will sign free agent Mirante. The 38-year-old spent last season with AS Roma, making 13 appearances in Serie A.
- Alessio Romagnoli wants to stay at AC Milan despite new contract talks stalling, according to Tuttomercato. The Serie A club are looking to cut the player's salary by up to 50%, which has seen agent Mino Raiola refuse to cooperate at the San Siro. The Italian defender is reportedly one of the Rossoneri's highest earners, taking home around €6m a year, including bonuses.