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's the latest gossip and speculation.
TOP STORY: Barca interested in Pulisic, Rudiger, Azpilicueta
Barcelona are looking to the reigning Champions League victors Chelsea for their latest signings, according to Mundo Deportivo.
There are three specific names mentioned as being of particular interest in the report: Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Christian Pulisic.
The Blaugrana will hope to bring in the first two of these names in the summer when their respective contracts with the Blues come to an end, while the latter is somebody they would like to sign on loan in January.
Sergino Dest's USMNT teammate has struggled with injuries this season, which has impacted his prominence in a Chelsea team boasting the likes of Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech.
This means Pulisic is open to an exit, with Barca looking at him as well as Manchester City's Ferran Torres.
With Azpilicueta also facing competition at both right wing-back and right centre-back in Thomas Tuchel's system, it is felt that the Spanish player could be open to a departure from Stamford Bridge -- especially with a place in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup for Spain potentially at stake.
Things are different in the case of Rudiger, who is a certain starter in the Blues' backline, while his also is seen as the most complicated deal to complete.
The Germany international is demanding wages that Barcelona would not be able to afford, with some of Europe's biggest clubs vying to sign him.
Barcelona also would be interested in Andreas Christensen, but they feel the Denmark international will sign an extension with Chelsea.
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21.00 GMT: While Antonio Rudiger has been in discussions with Chelsea about a contract extension for months, an agreement is still "far from being reached", says Fabrizio Romano.
Real Madrid want to sign the Germany international as a free agent next summer and, as mentioned earlier on this very page, Barcelona are keen, but Bayern Munich don't plan on meeting the centre-back's wage demands and Tottenham are not in the running.
20.30 GMT: Filippo Ranocchia has impressed so much during his loan from Juventus to Serie B strugglers Vicenza that he could be recalled and temporarily sent out again, according to Calciomercato.
Sampdoria and Genoa are keen to bring the 20-year-old midfielder to Serie A for the rest of the season, while Pisa and Monza are also looking on in the second tier.
20.00 GMT: Ahead of an expected Major League Soccer bow in 2022, Charlotte FC have confirmed the signing of Brazilian forward Vinicius Mello from Internacional.
He has signed a contract that runs until 2025, with the club having the option of another year. The 19-year-old becomes Charlotte's first U-22 initiative player.
19.30 GMT: West Ham United have made an approach to sign Sparta Prague striker Adam Hlozek, according to Football Insider, as David Moyes looks for an alternative to Michail Antonio in attack.
The Hammers, whose squad includes Hlozek's Czech international teammates Tomas Soucek, Vladimír Coufal and Alex Kral, want to get ahead of the competition and bring in the 19-year-old; Sparta's valuation for a January deal is £16-20m.
19.00 GMT: Borussia Dortmund are holding talks with RB Salzburg regarding the final details of a Karim Adeyemi transfer, as reported by Ekrem Konur.
There has been interest from across Germany and the rest of Europe in the 19-year-old, who has scored 18 goals in all competitions this season, with Bayern Munich, Barcelona and RB Leipzig among the clubs linked.
18.30 GMT: Brentford have made contact with Braga regarding the signing of 22-year-old left-back Francisco Moura, according to The Sun.
The former Portugal youth international was set to join Barcelona before suffering an injury in November, and the Bees are confident that a deal can be done for less than his £25m release clause.
18.00 GMT: Juventus hope to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Mauro Icardi on a six-month loan with the option to make it permanent, reports Tuttosport. PSG are open to the move, given the Argentine's struggle for meaningful minutes.
In their search for added forward firepower, Juventus have also been looking at the likes of Fiorentina's Dusan Vlahovic, Sassuolo's Gianluca Scamacca and Manchester United's Edinson Cavani.
17.30 GMT: In a bid to stave off the threat of relegation, Newcastle United are hoping to sign Lille centre-back Sven Botman in January, as reported by Fabrizio Romano.
Newcastle are waiting to hear the French club's position, while AC Milan are also keeping an eye on the Dutch U-21 international, who moved to Lille in 2020 and won Ligue 1 in his first season with the club.
17.00 GMT: Steven Bergwijn, Dele Alli and Tanguy Ndombele could all leave Tottenham Hotspur during the January transfer window, according to Nicolo Schira.
None of the trio have started a Premier League game since Antonio Conte replaced Nuno Espirito Santo as manager.
16.12 GMT: Chelsea are monitoring the situation regarding young striker Khayon Edwards at their London and Premier League rivals Arsenal, the Daily Mail reports.
Arsenal are hopeful of signing the 18-year-old to his first professional deal, but so far the two parties have not been able to agree terms.
That has led to Chelsea, Leeds, Southampton, Brighton and Newcastle all hoping they can convince him to stay in the Premier League by joining them while Bundesliga sides Hertha Berlin, RB Leipzig, Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen all keen to take him to Germany.
Edwards has scored 14 goals and set up six more this season at youth level for Arsenal, and has trained with the Gunner's first-team squad.
15.15 GMT: Bayern Munich midfielder Marc Roca wants to remain with the German giants and fight for more playing time.
Roca is in his second season with Bayern since joining the club from Spanish side Espanyol.
The 25-year-old, who is under contract with Bayern until June 2025, has played only 53 minutes in all competitions this season. He has been linked with interest from Sevilla and Real Betis.
"I have been here for a little over a year, as I arrived in October 2020," he said. "It is true that I may not have had the minutes I wanted and had in mind, but I have grown a lot physically and mentally. I am working daily with the best and I feel more prepared, better too. For this reason, I have a very positive assessment of my time in Munich. I want to continue learning and working; I hope I can change the situation and have more minutes."
14.21 GMT: LAFC is in the final stages of negotiating a deal that will transfer midfielder Eduard Atuesta to Brazilian Serie A side Palmeiras, sources have told ESPN's Jeff Carlisle and Kyle Bonagura.
The initial transfer fee is expected to be around $4 million with incentives possibly taking the final cost to around $7m.
Atuesta has been a mainstay in LAFC's midfield since arriving on loan from Independiente Medellin ahead of the 2018 season.
After impressing during that campaign, LAFC acquired Atuesta on a transfer, and the Colombian has made a total of 109 league, cup and playoff appearances with nine goals and 23 assists.
During that time led LAFC to the Supporters Shield in 2019, and made the league's Best XI that same year. He was also named an MLS All-Star in 202
13.30 GMT: Interim Manchester United coach Ralf Rangnick has said forward Anthony Martial should have the courage to submit a formal transfer request if he wants to leave the club January.
Martial's agent, Philippe Lamboley, said on Friday that the 26-year-old wants to leave Old Trafford in the next transfer window.
But the news came as a surprise to Rangnick, who insists Martial has not approached him or the club about his plans.
"I don't communicate with agents via the media and press," Rangnick said. "The player hasn't spoken with me or us about it.
"To be honest, what his agent says via the media is not of that much interest to me. It should be the player. If he really has the wish to go to another club it should be the player who informs either the board or myself. I have never spoken about a player via the media and via agents."
12.28 GMT: Juventus are considering taking Argentine forward Mauro Icardi on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in the winter transfer window, according to Corriere Dello Sport.
Juve are looking for a striker with the Bianconeri having found the back of the net 23 times in 17 league games.
Icardi has scored three goals in 18 appearances for PSG this season. The arrival of Lionel Messi to the club has seen Icardi's minutes at PSG limited.
The 28-year-old, who has experience in Serie A having played for Sampdoria and Inter Milan, would be an ideal candidate. Hehas a contract with PSG until June 2024, but is considering leaving in search of more playing time in the hope he can revive his chances of representing Argentina at the 2022 World Cup.
Icardi is not the one forward Juve are considering. According to Gazzetta Dello Sport, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has requested his club consider signing Sassuolo forward Gianluca Scamacca once the transfer window opens.
Scamacca, 22, has attracted the attention of several top clubs in Italy with solid performances. He has scored five goals in 17 league appearances for Sassuolo. The Italian has a contract with Sassuolo until June 2025.
11.32 GMT: Bayern Munich will consider a move for Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele if they cannot agree a new contract with his fellow France international Kingsley Coman, according to Bild journalist Christian Falk.
Coman, 25, has a deal with Bayern that runs until the end of next season, but talks over extending his stay at the Allianz Arena have reportedly reached an impasse over the 2020 Champions League final winner's wage demands.
Dembele, 24, spent a year in the Bundesliga at Borussia Dortmund, where he scored 10 goals in the 2016-17 season before joining Barcelona for a transfer fee that could rise to €145m following the departure of Neymar from Camp Nou.
10.38 GMT: Leicester City, Everton and Newcastle United are all keen on signing Brentford defender Pontus Jansson, the Guardian reports.
Jansson, 30, has caught the attention of bigger Premier League clubs after his performances have helped give the newly promoted Bees hope of staying up this season. After 16 matches, Brentford are 10th in the table with a goal difference of -1, which is only bettered by one club outside of the top five.
The Sweden international is out of contract in the summer, meaning that Brentford may be forced to sanction a transfer in the January window or risk losing him for nothing at the end of the season.
09.43 GMT: Brazil international Gabriel 'Gabigol' Barbosa says he is keen to remain at Flamengo despite having offers from other clubs.
The former Inter Milan forward has enjoyed another strong season with Flamengo, scoring 29 goals and setting up nine more in 42 appearances in all competitions.
"I have offers but I have to analyse everything," he said. "I'm 25, I play for the best team in Brazil... It doesn't mean that tomorrow I can't leave. If it's something good for everyone, it can happen. But I am happy here. I don't see myself leaving. I found myself as a person.
"Flamengo's vibe is very good, it's hard to explain. I like to wear Flamengo's jersey, I like to go to Maracana, I like to live in Rio."
Gabigol joined Flamengo in January 2019 on loan from Inter Milan. After helping Flamengo win the Copa Libertadores title, the Brazilian club acquired the player on a permanent transfer in January 2020. Gabigol has a contract with Flamengo until December 2024.
08.51 GMT: Celtic are close to agreeing a deal to sign Kawasaki Frontale's Reo Hatate, according to Sky.
Hatate, a versatile left-sider who can play at full-back, on the wing or in midfield, is one of several player from the J League that Celtic boss Ange Postecoglu is targeting in the January transfer window.
The ex-Yokohama F Marinos coach also wants to sign forward Daizen Maeda from his former club, as well as Gamba Osaka midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi.
Postecoglu they will be be as susccessful as Kyogo Furuhashi, who has scored 14 goals for Celtic since joining them in the summer from Vissel Kobe.
08.00 GMT: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta dropped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Saturday's Premier League game against Southampton due to a "disciplinary breach."
The 31-year-old was not present at training on Friday and although the club have refused to specify the exact nature of the incident, a club source told ESPN it is "not COVID related."
Speaking before kick-off, Arteta said: "[Aubameyang is missing] unfortunately due to a disciplinary breach.
"I think we have been very consistent that we have certain non-negotiables in the team that we have set ourselves as a club, and he's not involved today."
Asked if it was a long-term punishment, Arteta added: "It starts today. Certainly it's not an easy situation, or a situation that we want to have our club captain in."
Aubameyang, Arsenal's club captain, has a contract at the club until the end of next season.
PAPER GOSSIP (by Danny Lewis)
- Arsenal are preparing an official bid for Juventus' Dejan Kulusevski in January, as has been reported by Nicolo Schira. The Italian giants are asking for between €30 million and €35 million for the Sweden international, who has managed just five Serie A starts this campaign.
- With the agents of Aaron Ramsey and Arthur working on moves away from Juventus -- the former having discussions with Everton -- the Turin side is looking to bring in another midfielder, reports Calciomercato. Borussia Monchengladbach pair Denis Zakaria and Kouadio Kone are the priorities, while they also are paying attention to Marseille's Boubacar Kamara and AS Roma's Gonzalo Villar. Meanwhile, Nicolo Rovella could return from his loan spell at Genoa early.
- Chelsea are preparing their new contract offer for veteran centre-back Thiago Silva, writes Fabrizio Romano. It is seen as a "matter of time" before the Brazilian signs his extension with the Blues, as he is loving life with Chelsea and wants to stay, while Thomas Tuchel is "super happy" with him.
- AC Milan are hoping to bring Yacine Adli back from his loan spell with Bordeaux early, reports Calciomercato, with the reason being a mixture of injuries and the upcoming African Cup of Nations limiting numbers in the middle.
When they signed Adli for close to €10 million, it was part of the deal that he would stay until June 2022. However, Milan play Roma, Juventus and Internazionale between Jan. 9 and Feb. 6, so aim to bring him back for what will be a key period for the Rossoneri's Scudetto hopes.