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: Barcelona stars may be moved on
Incoming Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez is set to let Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba move on as he looks to free up both wages and spaces in his squad for the next generation, reports El Nacional.
The report claims that Xavi is looking to make some big changes with those four senior members targeted to potentially leave.
Alba, 32, has reportedly been offered the chance to move to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer. Former teammate Lionel Messi is said to be keen to link up with the left-back again, with the pair getting the best out of each other during their time at Camp Nou.
Although the operation has been kickstarted by Messi, the Ligue 1 side are open to a potential move as it would add depth to the left flank along with summer loanee Nuno Mendes.
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21.00 GMT: Sky Sports claim there has been no contact between Chelsea and Antonio Rudiger's representatives over a new deal in the past month.
The defender's current deal expires in the summer and he is free to sign a pre-contractual agreement with a foreign club abroad from Jan. 1. The report claims the German defender is committed to Chelsea, but Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich are monitoring his situation.
20.33 GMT: Serie A side Venezia could trigger the permanent signing of centre-back Mattia Caldara after his loan spell from AC Milan, says Calciomercato.
A deal for the services of the 27-year-old, who signed with the Rossoneri in 2018 in a €35m deal, could go through for €4m. Caldara's Milan contract expires in 2023.
19.57 GMT: Juventus are interested in a move for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel, reports SportBILD.
The 32-year-old could leave BVB when his contract expires in the summer and the Serie A side, who have signed the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Aaron Ramsey and Emre Can as free agents in the past, are said to be weighing up a move for the Belgium international.
19.28 GMT: Thirteen clubs are said to be weighing up a move for Manchester United's Phil Jones, the central defender who has not played first-team football for nearly two years.
According to The Sun, Newcastle and Watford are said to be potential Premier League suitors for the 29-year-old, with Wayne Rooney's Derby County among a host of Championship clubs also interested.
19.00 GMT: New Barcelona boss Xavi is hoping for the contract renewal of forward Ousmane Dembele, with the 24-year-old's current deal expiring next summer.
Speaking in his first press conference as the club's new manager, Xavi said: "I know very well that Dembele must continue with Barcelona. As a winger he can become the best in the world and we have to help him. He is a player who can make a difference and his renewal is a priority."
18.32 GMT: Tottenham and Barcelona could be set to battle over the signing of Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina.
That's according to El Nacional, which reports that the two sides are eyeing a move for the 21-year-old, who has scored eight goals in Serie A this season, but refused a new deal with the Florence club.
18.01 GMT: Real Madrid are willing to let playmaker Marco Asensio leave the club in January, reports El Nacional, if a €40m valuation is met.
Los Blancos are looking to move the 25-year-old due to his lack of game time and a contract that expires in 2023. Arsenal are one side said to be interested in a potential move.
17.29 GMT: Inter Miami are preparing an offer for Palmeiras playmaker Raphael Veiga, according to journalist Ekrem Konur.
Konur claims that the MLS side, whose season finished yesterday after missing the playoffs, is ready to offer €11m to sign the 26-year-old. New York City FC and Orlando City are also said to be interested.
16.45 GMT: Are Manchester United's issues down to the manager?
16.06 GMT: Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey could be available sooner than expected, as Calciomercato claims the club are looking to terminate his contract in January.
Ramsey, 30, left Arsenal on a free transfer to move to Turin in 2019 but injury has hampered his impact and Juve are now willing to let him go.
Newcastle have shown an interest in bringing the Wales international back to the Premier League.
15.47 GMT: Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah isn't getting much game time and will likely move on, with his contract ending this summer.
Nketiah, 22, has made just two appearances for the club in the EFL Cup this season, scoring twice, and wants to depart if he's not going to be a regular.
The Sun claims that German Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach are interested in signing him.
15.03 GMT: Newcastle United have named former Bournemouth coach Eddie Howe as the club's new manager, it was announced on Monday.
Howe's arrival marks the first appointment at the club following the £305-million take over by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund on Oct. 7. He has signed a contract until 2024.
Howe said: "It is a great honour to become head coach of a club with the stature and history of Newcastle United. It is a very proud day for me and my family. This is a wonderful opportunity, but there is also a lot of work ahead of us and I am eager to get onto the training ground to start working with the players.
"I would like to thank the club's owners for this opportunity and thank the club's supporters for the incredible welcome they have already given me. I am very excited to begin our journey together."
Howe replaces Steve Bruce, who left Newcastle by mutual consent two weeks after the takeover.
14.53 GMT: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer expects to survive the international break and remain in charge for Manchester United's next game against Watford, sources told ESPN's Rob Dawson.
The Norwegian has spoken to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward since the demoralising 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday but has so far been given no indication he is set for the sack.
Sources close to Solskjaer, 48, accept that he is vulnerable after a run of six defeats in 12 games but insist he has been told to begin preparations for the trip to Vicarage Road on Nov. 20 and that he remains confident of turning the situation around.
14.30 GMT: El Nacional says that Manchester City could ask for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong as part of a deal for winger Raheem Sterling.
Sterling, 26, is growing frustrated with his lack of game time at City and Barca need to improve their wide options.
But City will play hardball and could demand that the 24-year-old De Jong is included in any deal.
13.35 GMT: Alexandre Lacazette's career at Arsenal is still unclear, despite the striker getting more minutes this month.
Lacazette, 30, has yet to pen a new contract as his terms expire at the end of the season. The Frenchman is wanted by Atletico Madrid, who see him as a cheaper option than FC Salzburg starlet Karim Adeyemi, according to La Razon.
Atletico are keen to do a deal, while Lacazette is also happy to move to LaLiga as he doesn't believe he has a future at the Emirates.
13.23 GMT: New Barcelona coach Xavi: "Extending Ousmane Dembele's contract is one of our priorities, yes! He could be the best player in the world in his position."
Xavi quickly laying out his cards on Dembele. Urges Laporta to renew his contract and says, if coached well, he will be one of the best in the world in his position. 'Un crack mundial'
— Samuel Marsden (@samuelmarsden) November 8, 2021
13.04 GMT: Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Manchester United legend Gary Neville says he told the club about Joao Cancelo five years ago.
Neville was sacked by Valencia in March 2016 after a short spell as manager, but Cancelo caught his eye before the Portugal full-back made a €40m move to Juventus in 2018 and then Manchester City a year later for €35m plus Danilo.
"I had him as a very young player at Valencia but you could just see exceptional talent," Neville told his Sky Sports podcast. "I made calls back to England, you could imagine which club I'm talking about [Manchester United], saying 'if you'd ever take a young player, he's one you'd take.' Him and Andre Gomes I felt were exceptional talents that could come and grace the Premier League."
For what it's worth, Andre Gomes moved to Barcelona for €35m in 2016 and then to Everton, but has struggled with injury over the past few years.
12.29 GMT: Will Antonio Conte get the best out of Tottenham?
11.55 GMT: Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has insisted he's not concerned about Eden Hazard's situation at Real Madrid.
Hazard, 30, has been getting limited minutes at Madrid so far this season -- with Vinicius Jr. excelling in his favoured left-wing spot -- and has been linked with a move back to the Premier League in January.
"It is an unusual situation. We did not expect it to turn out like this, but that's football," Martinez told Belgium's HLN. "He's medically in order, he's completely fit... We know he puts in extra work to stay as fit as possible.
"This international break is a great opportunity to play. Am I worried? It's not an ideal situation. But we don't worry until Eden stops enjoying football. Now, that is still the case."
Hazard has made four starts and six substitute appearances in LaLiga this season, with his latest being an anonymous 10-minute cameo against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
11.11 GMT: Roma have been in touch with Real Madrid over possible January transfer business according to Corriere dello Sport, with the futures of Borja Mayoral, Lucas Vazquez, Nacho Fernandez and Dani Ceballos all on the agenda.
Jose Mourinho's team have struggled so far this season -- sitting sixth in the Serie A table after a 3-2 defeat to Venezia this weekend -- leading the coach to demand an overhaul of his squad, the newspaper reports.
Mayoral, who scored 17 goals for Roma last season and is on loan again this campaign but hasn't convinced Mourinho, who is keen instead on Vazquez, centre-back Nacho and midfielder Ceballos, who is recovering from a serious ankle injury.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti would be willing to let Vazquez go, Corriere dello Sport says, but would prefer to hang onto Ceballos.
10.40 GMT: Barcelona are having a clearout, as you can read above, but so are Real Madrid.
AS reports that if the club moves on Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard, Isco and Marcelo then they can save €108m overall.
Luka Jovic and Jesus Vallejo are also spoken about, with Madrid looking to raise money for the signings of Kylian Mbappe from PSG and Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
10.03 GMT: Sergio Ramos is not looking to quit PSG, despite having yet to make his debut for his new club.
Ramos, 35, moved to PSG on a free transfer this summer from Real Madrid and has struggled with injury. Speculation has mounted that the defender may end his career but his brother and agent Rene has quashed such talk.
"Sergio Ramos is not planning to retire or break his contract," he told El Mundo. "There is no doubt about Sergio. It's a physical problem, he will play when he can."
09.28 GMT: The coach of Spanish third division club Extremadura was sent off during Sunday's 2-1 defeat to DUX Internacional for shaking one of his players vigorously on the bench while telling him: "Start looking for a team" before being separated by the rest of the coaching staff.
In the 90th minute, the referee showed Manuel Mosquera a straight red after being made aware of the incident with Gambian striker Musa Drammeh on Extremadura's bench.
Musa, 19, had reportedly refused to enter the game in the 90th minute much to Mosquera's disappointment.
"I didn't like the attitude that Musa has had," Mosquera said after the game. "The referee sent me off because he thought I insulted the player. I didn't insult him, though I showed an aggressive attitude. I saw that Musa wasn't keen on playing.
"I think one has to enter the pitch with a different attitude. He has to learn. It's abnormal for me to have done it like that, but things have to be seen. I don't regret what happened with Musa, I could have done it a different way, but I don't regret it."
08.52 GMT: Wolves coach Bruno Lage has dismissed talk of Adama Traore's recent spell out of the first team is not related to his contract situation.
Traore's contract expires at the end of next season, with Sky reporting that there has been no breakthrough in talks over a new deal.
The 25-year-old Spain international winger is yet to score a goals or register an assist this season, leading him to be moved to the bench for both of Wolve's games over the past week.
When asked about Traore, Lage told reporters: "That is the question every time. When you look for the starting team we want, every time we have to take decisions.
"We play with Adama also against Leeds and we don't have the chances to go in the transition. OK, I understand your question and for sure we think about it.
"We try to understand the game and to find spaces to play with Rayan [Ait-Nouri] and Nelsen [Semedo] because they are in good positions. We try to see, especially from the back, if our midfielders come with the pressure or not and to also find Hwang Hee-Chan and Francisco Trincao between the lines.
"After that, we go and attack the defensive line but for that, we need to have good decisions from the back and to find the spaces, so that is why when I look at the game, it wasn't a good performance."
08.00 GMT: Aston Villa are considering approaches for Steven Gerrard and Ralph Hasenhuttl to replace Dean Smith as manager, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Smith was sacked by Villa on Sunday on the back of a run of five successive Premier League defeats, with Friday's 1-0 loss at Southampton Smith's final game in charge. Smith's last victory was on Sept. 25, when Villa beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford.
According to the Telegraph, Rangers manager Gerrard is a candidate after leading the Glasgow club back to the Scottish title last season, and the former Liverpool captain has a connection with Villa chief executive Christian Purslow from his time at Anfield.
PAPER GOSSIP (by Luke Thrower)
- Manchester City are eyeing up a move for Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt, says El Nacional. The 22-year-old is reportedly ready to leave the Serie A side with agent Mino Raiola tasked with finding a new destination for him. Barcelona were interested but their financial issues have opened an opportunity for Pep Guardiola to land the Netherlands international, though it may take his €150m release clause to do so.
- Real Madrid and Newcastle United are interested in Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, according to Calciomercato. The Egypt international is out of contract in 2023 and with no agreement set over a new deal, clubs are said to be weighing up a move.
- Internazionale are interested in Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos, according to SportMediaSet. The 25-year-old has suffered with an ankle injury since the summer but is unlikely to feature for Los Blancos in the future, with the midfielder looking to move on for more game time.
- Juan Cuadrado is nearing a contract renewal at Juventus, reports Calciomercato. The former Chelsea man is out of contract in the summer but the Old Lady are hoping to keep him on for a little longer. The deal contains a clause that has the option of another year, seeing the 33-year-old potentially stay until 2024.
- Internazionale midfielder Marcelo Brozovic is hoping to stay at the club and has laid out the terms for his renewal, says Calciomercato. The Croatia international has been linked with many clubs due to his contract expiring at the end of the season. The report claims he is looking for €6m-a-year to stay with the Serie A side.