<
>

LIVE Transfer Talk: Man United could move for Leicester's Fofana

The January transfer window might seem like a distant memory, but that doesn't mean the rumour mill has shut down! Speculation over summer moves is heating up, so check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here.

TOP STORY: Man United could move for Leicester's Fofana

Manchester United have been linked with various centre-backs in previous months, with Real Madrid's Raphael Varane and Fiorentina's Nikola Milenkovic among them.

And now, Foot Mercato has added Wesley Fofana to the mix for United, even though the 20-year-old Frenchman only joined Leicester City for around £30 million in October.

Despite his age, Fofana has been a mainstay in Brendan Rodgers' defence, playing 29 games across all competitions as they sit third in the Premier League and await their FA Cup semifinal against Southampton on Sunday (stream live at 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in the U.S.).

Having spent £80m to bring Harry Maguire in from Leicester in 2019, the report suggests that United would have to pay a similarly hefty fee in order to land Fofana this term.

While United have spending power, using that sort of sum on another centre-back might not be something they choose to do because of the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their position will also be hindered further if Leicester are able to hang on to the Champions League place they currently hold.

- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
- ESPN+ viewer's guide: Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, FA Cup and more

LIVE BLOG

21.04 BST: LAFC and 35-year-old goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer, who arrived from Feyenoord just last year, have announced that they have mutually agreed to terminate the former Netherlands international's contract.

19.17 BST: Twenty-eight-year-old Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico was routinely linked with a move to Chelsea and Leicester City last summer, but the Mirror reports that he could land at a different English destination, with Leeds United said to be interested in signing the Argentina international.

17.30 BST: There's an obvious choice for Bayern to make to replace Hansi Flick as manager.

16.02 BST: Fabrizio Romano reports that Leicester City are keen on signing Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham this summer.

Abraham, 23, has scored 12 goals in 30 games this season but has fallen out of favour under new manager Thomas Tuchel and could move on.

Eurosport claims that West Ham are interested as well, though they are also keen on Sparta Prague striker Adam Hlozek.

15.05 BST: Barcelona/Real Betis defender Emerson is on the radar of Tottenham, says Mundo Deportivo.

The Brazilian's contract situation is a bit confusing as Barca co-own the rights to the 20-year-old full-back, having done the deal with Betis to bring him to Europe from Atletico Mineiro for €12.7m in January 2019.

Barca have an option to sign him fully for €6m in 2021 but may opt to move him on if there's interest from elsewhere. Arsenal are also reportedly keen as they seek a replacement for Hector Bellerin.

14.38 BST: Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is set to leave the club this summer, says TEAMtalk.

Loftus-Cheek, 25, has three years left on his contract but has spent the season on loan at Fulham and doesn't seem to have a future at Stamford Bridge.

Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are both interested in signing the England international.

14.07 BST: Zinedine Zidane has again refused to commit his future to Real Madrid despite winning the Clasico against Barcelona and knocking Liverpool out of the Champions League in a week.

Zidane, who has a contract at the Bernabeu until 2022, has faced repeated questioning about his future plans after an up-and-down season which has seen Madrid recover from multiple setbacks to find themselves second in La Liga, a point off leaders Atletico Madrid, and in the Champions League semifinals.

"I don't know what will happen," Zidane said in a news conference on Saturday when asked if newly re-elected president Florentino Perez would like to renew his deal. "You can have a four or five-year contract and leave tomorrow. Or the opposite, your contract finishes but you end up staying. It doesn't mean anything. I'm happy."

The 48-year-old previously walked away from the Madrid job in 2018, after winning three consecutive Champions Leagues, only to return nine months later.

13.45 BST: Major League Soccer has said that Inter Miami's signing of World Cup-winning midfielder Blaise Matuidi was not in compliance with its roster and budget rules and that the club could face sanctions.

The side co-owned by David Beckham recruited Matuidi on a free transfer after he left Italian champions Juventus in August. The league said last month it would launch a formal review of the deal.

"The league has concluded that Inter Miami was not in compliance with the Roster and Budget Rules during 2020," MLS said in a statement on Friday.

It said Matuidi was categorised as a Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) player but his pay was above the limit for TAM players so he should have been classified as a Designated Player. Teams can have up to three such players.

"As a result, Inter Miami violated the Designated Player Limit as the team had three Designated Players in addition to Matuidi during 2020," the statement added.

MLS also confirmed it was finalising its investigation and would announce the outcome and any sanctions soon. Miami said when the investigation began that they would fully engage with the process.

13.02 BST: Would Tottenham fans resent Harry Kane leaving the club?

12.26 BST: Inter Milan signed Real Madrid full-back Achraf Hakimi for around €40m in the summer, but he has been linked with a move away already as the club are suffering financial woes.

Hakimi, 22, has impressed in Serie A but Arsenal are interested as ESPN sources have been told that right-back Hector Bellerin is likely to leave.

However, the Morocco international told La Repubblica: "The team that attracted me the most was Inter and I saw it as a growth project. I am honoured to be one of the testimonials for the new club logo. I like it, as it looks to the future, a future we can build together. I hope to stay at this club for a long time and I'm very happy."

11.41 BST: Negotiations for Manchester City defender Eric Garcia to join Barcelona this summer took a step back this week after the Catalan club reneged on their original offer, sources have told ESPN's Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens.

Barca first agreed on personal terms with Garcia, who's out of contract in the summer, last October. However, they failed to agree a fee with City. The same personal terms were offered again in January, but with no president at the helm, Barca were unable to complete the signing.

Since then, Joan Laporta has been elected as the club's new president and Garcia remains a target for next season. The Spain international is available for free and is keen to return to Barca, the club he left for City in 2017.

Following an internal audit on the club's financial situation, though, Laporta's board have changed the terms on offer to Garcia, lowering the base wage and including several performance-related add-ons to make up his salary.

Barca representatives met with Garcia's camp earlier this week to try and finalise a pre-contract agreement but there's some resentment that the terms have been changed. Despite that, Barca remain hopeful that a deal can be reached soon, although there are a number of other clubs monitoring the situation closely.

11.15 BST: Erling Haaland has been left in a tricky position by Borussia Dortmund's Champions League exit and poor Bundesliga form, according to Diario AS -- with the forward keen to join Real Madrid this summer, while the club are focused on "Operation Mbappe" instead.

The newspaper describes Haaland's situation as "a maze that's hard to find a way out of" with the 20-year-old likely to try to force a departure from Dortmund in search of Champions League football next season, even if that means having to pick a less preferable destination than his No. 1 choice: Madrid.

AS reports that Madrid's "ideal situation" would be to wait to land Haaland when his €75m release clause kicks in in 2022 after signing PSG star Kylian Mbappe this year -- if the Norway international can be persuaded to spend another year at Dortmund, and a season outside of Europe's premier club competition.

10.34 BST: Manchester United's Paul Pogba has hit out at former manager Jose Mourinho.

10.02 BST: The Daily Mirror claims that Manchester City are ready to open talks with Phil Foden over a new £100,000-a-week contract.

Foden, 20, has scored 13 goals this season and the England midfielder is quickly becoming one of the best players in the Premier League.

The report reads: "City are understood to be keen to reward Foden's impressive form with a contract extension to replace the last deal he signed in December 2018, which was worth £30,000-a-week."

09.41 BST: Borussia Dortmund only signed midfielder Jude Bellingham from Birmingham for around £25m over the summer but already they are facing a battle to keep hold of him.

Bellingham, 17, has impressed since getting a chance in the first XI and Eurosport claims that Chelsea are interested.

The England international's transfer could cost in the region of £100m but he is one of the stars of the future and has previously attracted interest from Man United.

09.00 BST: Barcelona president Joan Laporta is convinced Lionel Messi will stay at the club and said everything is progressing well, although sources have told ESPN he hasn't yet offered the forward a new contract.

Messi's existing deal expires in June and he will be free to leave the club if he doesn't sign new terms.

Laporta, who was elected for a second spell as Barca president in March, has always expressed his desire for Messi to stay at Camp Nou but is holding off on offering him a new contract until an internal audit on the club's finances has been carried out.

A report on Friday suggested a first offer had been made this week. Sources close to the Catalan club and the player denied that to ESPN, but Laporta demonstrated optimism ahead of this weekend's Copa del Rey final.

PAPER GOSSIP (by Danny Lewis)

- Arsenal have joined the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea in showing interest in Internazionale starlet Martin Satriano, as has been reported by The Daily Mail. The 20-year-old has been playing for Inter's Primavera side, contributing eight goals and six assists in 18 games this term. These numbers have made the striker highly sought after, with Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig also keeping an eye on him and Inter possibly having to let him leave due to their current financial situation.

-- West Ham United are the frontrunners to sign Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard, with Leicester City having second thoughts, according to Football Insider. The Foxes' lack of interest follows Kelechi Iheanacho's impressive recent form. The Hammers aren't the only interested party, though, as Arsenal are also keeping tabs on the 23-year-old Frenchman, who could leave Celtic for as little as £8m-£10m due to his contract coming to an end in the summer of 2022.

-- He scored the goal that got AS Roma through against Ajax in the Europa League, but Edin Dzeko's future in the Italian capital is uncertain, according to Sky Sports Italia. The report says that club and player are waiting until the end of the season to discuss the Bosnia & Herzegovina international's future, with his contract ending in 2022. If the veteran does leave, Roma are interested in bringing in Fiorentina's Dusan Vlahovic or Torino star Andrea Belotti in to replace him.

-- Wolfsburg are looking to sign 23-year-old Portimonense striker Beto, reports Kicker. The forward has a contract with the Portuguese outfit that has a €40m fixed release clause and lasts until 2023, but the expectation is that Wolfsburg will pay far less than that figure if they bring in the man with 10 Liga goals this term.