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LIVE Transfer Talk: Chelsea ready to step up interest in Inter striker Lukaku

With most of the major European seasons now complete, the rumour mill has been sent into overdrive as clubs ponder their moves ahead of what will be a busy transfer window. Check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here.

TOP STORY: Chelsea ready to step up interest in Lukaku

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has a striker at the top of his wanted list this summer, and the Daily Mail reports that the Blues are ready to make a move for Belgium international Romelu Lukaku.

The Champions League winners originally brought Lukaku to English football from Anderlecht in 2011, but he didn't score a single goal for the club in 15 appearances across all competitions. Instead he was loaned out to West Bromwich Albion and Everton, where his prolific form led to a permanent move to Goodison Park. After two years at Manchester United he moved to Serie A with Inter Milan, where he won the title this season.

Inter's owners are desperate to cut costs despite their Scudetto success, and coach Antonio Conte has already left the club in protest at plans to offload £80m-worth of players.

Chelsea are hoping to take advantage of the situation by bringing the 28-year-old back to Stamford Bridge, after he scored 64 goals in just 95 games across two seasons at the San Siro.

The club signed Timo Werner from RB Leipzig last season to score the goals needed for a title challenge, but he contributed just six in 35 Premier League appearances and was guilty of missing a catalogue of gilt-edged chances.

Chelsea have also been linked with Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland and England captain Harry Kane.

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22.00 BST: Valencia are closing in on the signing of Georgia's U21 goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, according to his agent. The FC Locomotive Tbilisi player becomes a free agent in December but is expected to sign a new deal before arriving at Valencia.

"It's almost completed, we are giving the final touches," Super Deporte quotes Mamardashvili's agent Levan Seturidze as saying. The 20-year-old is expected to join Los Che on season-long loan with Valencia having an option to make his stay permanent once his loan deal expires.

21.27 BST: If Marseille fail with their bid to bring 24-year-old Flamengo midfielder Gerson to the Orange Velodrome, they'll turn to 30-year-old Francis Coquelin of Villarreal, Le10 Sport reports. The club want two midfielders in this summer, so in addition to one of Gerson and Coquelin, OM are also working to bring in 22-year-old Matteo Guendouzi from Arsenal.

20.54 BST: Australia international Emily van Egmond has attracted interest from AS Roma and Paris Saint-Germain but is interested in a return to the NWSL, sources have told ESPN's Kathleen McNamee.

Van Egmond was loaned to West Ham United from Orlando Pride at the start of the 2020-21 season. After scoring five goals in 12 appearances the deal was made permanent in January 2021.

However, West Ham announced she would leave the club at the end of the season despite being offered another contract. The Matildas star impressed during her stint in the Women's Super League with interest across both Europe and the United States.

20.21 BST: It's difficult to see how Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne will return to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona next summer. Amid the economic difficulties experienced amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Partenopei are looking to trim their wage bill, and Insigne is one player who's been asked to take a pay cut.

The 29-year-old Italy attacker earns €4.6m a year on his contract, which expires next summer; but according to Gazzetta dello Sport, the club are proposing a new five-year deal worth €3.5m annually and Insigne is seeking a raise to €5m a season from his next contract. If a deal can't be reached, Napoli will have little choice but to find their talisman a new club for next season rather than lose him on a free transfer next summer.

19.48 BST: Despite owing Real Madrid €45m by June 30 for last summer's transfer of Achraf Hakimi, Internazionale are holding out for a transfer fee of €80m in the face of a €60m-plus-bonuses offer from Paris Saint-Germain for the 22-year-old right-back, Corriere dello Sport writes. The report suggests that Inter are hopeful that Bayern Munich and Chelsea will join the race for the Morocco international in the next month, driving up the price before they have to pay off Los Blancos.

19.15 BST: The Northern Echo reports that Newcastle United have registered their interest in agreeing loan deals with Chelsea duo Tammy Abraham and Billy Gilmour. A temporary switch for 23-year-old Abraham is unlikely, with the west London club preferring a permanent transfer for the striker, but Gilmour could be primed for such an opportunity as the 19-year-old midfielder reaches the time in his development when first-team minutes are essential but scarce at Stamford Bridge.

18.42 BST: Juventus and Barcelona have been at the forefront of potential destinations for pending free agent goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, but according to Le Parisien, Paris Saint-Germain are one club interested in the 22-year-old AC Milan No. 1. Keylor Navas has a contract that runs until 2024, so PSG are said to be considering signing Donnarumma and then sending him out on loan until Navas' contract expires or the 34-year-old is amenable to a backup role.

18.09 BST: While Everton wait on Paris Saint-Germain to determine if they can make Moise Kean's loan move permanent, Gazzetta dello Sport writes that the 21-year-old forward returning to Juventus cannot be discounted. With Massimilliano Allegri returning to the club, and Cristiano Ronaldo potentially departing, there is likely to be change throughout the team, and Kean would relish the opportunity to return to the club he spent nine years at.

17.36 BST: Barcelona have been linked with a move for 30-year-old Liverpool midfielder and pending free agent Georginio Wijnaldum for a year now, but in recent weeks the likes of Bayern Munich had reportedly advanced in their talks with the Netherlands international. The Guardian, however, reports that the Catalan club have reached an agreement for Wijanldum to join once his contract at Anfield expires on June 30.

17.03 BST: Manchester City are preparing to shake things up this summer, according to the Athletic. Such a thought was in the works long before their Champions League final heartbreak at the hands of Chelsea, but that will do nothing but reinforce the club's decision to make changes.

The article notes the difficulty of finding potential suitors in a depressed transfer market, especially considering the wages of many of their players, but City will encourage offers for the likes of Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, Aymeric Laporte and Gabriel Jesus. Not all will be moved on, of course, but the club will seek to ship out two or three from that list.

Several players are reportedly growing tired of their heavy rotation in Pep Guardiola's squad, and so a reshuffle will help keep things fresh and spirits up in the dressing room, but there's an ulterior motive: raising funds. City want to recruit 25-year-old Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish and 27-year-old Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, but are unlikely to be able to afford either deal without clearing out multiple high earners from their team.

16.30 BST: Eden Hazard has ruled out a return to the Premier League this summer despite enduring a difficult spell at Real Madrid. The Belgium international has struggled to find his best form since moving to Spain from Chelsea in 2019 for a record fee.

The forward had been linked with a move away from the Spanish giants but he has played down the rumours, and said he is determined to succeed at the Bernabeu.

"I have three years left at Real Madrid and I'm not thinking in a return to England," Hazard told a news conference ahead of Belgium's friendly against Greece on Thursday. "I've been through an unfortunate season. I know that I'm very close to reaching my best level and I hope not to get injured again.

"Everybody knows that my two first seasons at Madrid were not good and I want to prove myself."

15.47 BST: Remember Philippe Coutinho? It's fair to say the Brazil international's move to Barcelona three years ago has failed to work out. After spending the 2019-20 season on loan at Bayern Munich, he found himself nothing more than a bit-part at Camp Now last season and he made only 14 appearances across all competitions. 

Coutinho, 28, cost Barca an initial £105m (with a further in £37m in add-ons) when he moved from Liverpool in January 2018, and the Catalan giants are eager to cut their losses.   

Barca still owe Liverpool £50m from the original deal, and now AS reports that Barca are so desperate to get the midfielder off their books they will give him back to Liverpool if the Reds cancel the outstanding bill.  

15.00 BST: Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Sergio Aguero on a free transfer, and the striker will move to the Camp Nou from Manchester City when his contract expires at the end of next month.

Aguero, 32, has agreed a two-year deal with Barca after announcing earlier this season that he would end his 10-year association with City.

14.27 BST: Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has fuelled transfer speculation linking Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe with a move to the Bernabeu. 

Mbappe, 22, has one year left on his PSG contract and as yet there is no sign he will join Neymar in signing an extension. 

"Mbappe at Real? We'll see what happens, but in any case he is welcome in Madrid," Benzema told M6. "He has all the qualities to be a Real Madrid player, one day I hope."

13.44 BST: L'Equipe reports that Serge Aurier wants to leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer, and a return to Paris Saint-Germain has not been ruled out. Aurier, 28, has one year remaining on his contract in North London and he is not interested in signing an extension. Spurs also want to bring in funds in the summer window, rather than lose him for free in a year's time. 

"I've reached the end of a cycle and it's time to look elsewhere," Aurier said. "The two parties, Tottenham's board and my agents, have agreed upon the conditions. We'll see after that.

"I've never hidden my desire to return to PSG one day. It's the club of my heart, the one that I support and I feel free to speak about it. But I don't want people to think that I'm stuck on them and I'm not closing the door on anyone.

"But if the club were to make an offer this summer, it's sure that PSG would be my first choice."

13.00 BST: The Sun reports that Arsenal's hopes of signing Tiago Tomas from Sporting CP could be over after they failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 25 years.

Tomas, 18, was thought to be available for around £20m as Sporting look to bring in funds to get through the coronavirus pandemic. But with the club winning the Portuguese title for the first time in 19 years, and guaranteeing riches from Champions League group-stage football, they have a much stronger hand in keeping their star players. And the player himself may decide to stay and play in Europe, rather than move to the Emirates. 

The forward does have a release clause of £52m, but that is unlikely to be met in the current financial climate, but Arsenal may not find the funds necessary to force Sporting to part with the exciting young player.   

12.11 BST: Massimiliano Allegri has just returned to Juventus following the decision to sack coach Andrea Pirlo after just one season, and Goal reports that one of his first jobs will be to secure the long-term future of Paulo Dybala.

The Argentine midfielder has been linked with a move away as Juve look to bring in some funds, but Allegri sees the 27-year-old as a crucial part of his plans. 

Dybala has only one season left on his Juventus contract so the club must extend the deal or cash in this summer, or risk him walking away on a free transfer. But he had a disappointing, injury-hit season so the Juve hierarchy may decide it's better to move the player on.  

11.33 BST: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the world of football and while the summer transfer window will open as normal across Europe (just like the January window), the summer's budgets for clubs are expected to be hit hard again.

Clubs spent nearly €1.5 billion less ($1.9bn) in summer 2020 than they did over the same period in 2019, according to FIFA, while Deloitte reported a 50% drop in activity across January 2021. However, there are still going to be plenty of loans, swaps, free transfers and even some permanent deals to keep an eye on.

We're grading every single major signing by the top European clubs as the window progresses. 

And we reckon Liverpool deserve an A for the deal to sign Ibrahima Konte from RB Leipzig for €41.5m. Check out all the grades so far.

10.53 BST: Real Madrid have received "no signs" from Sergio Ramos over a contract extension and "are starting to give up on the defende," Marca reports, with exactly a month left on their captain's deal.

According to the newspaper, Ramos -- who has spent 16 years at the Bernabeu -- has refused to accept the club's offer of a year-long deal with a 10% salary reduction.

Marca says Ramos believes it's "unfair" that Madrid's policy of only renewing over-30s year-by-year should apply in his case, while the club argue that "there's no reason to make an exception" for the 35-year-old.

Ramos missed much of the 2020-21 season with a series of injury problems and was left out of Spain's Euro 2020 squad by Luis Enrique after failing to prove his fitness ahead of the tournament.

10.06 BST: Cristiano Ronaldo's girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, has insisted that he will remain at Juventus next season. Georgina, who visited Spain at the weekend, was walking on the streets when she was asked in Spanish by a reporter about Ronaldo's future, and she turned around and said: "He is staying."

Ronaldo, 36, has one year left on his contract with Juventus. There has been speculation in Spain and Italy that Ronaldo will leave the Turin giants this summer and return to one of his former clubs: Sporting CP, Manchester United or Real Madrid).

09.21 BST: The Daily Mirror reports that Antonio Rudiger could leave Chelsea -- despite being a key player in Thomas Tuchel's Champions League-winning team. Rudiger, 28, barely got a look in under Frank Lampard in the first half of the season, but was brought back into the team by Tuchel. With just one year remaining on the central defender's deal it's reported that he could now be sold, with Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain linked.

08.30 BST: Manchester City are looking to offload youngster Lukas Nmecha to raise funds in an effort to sign Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane and Jack Grealish of Aston Villa this summer, according to the Daily Mail. The 22-year-old has impressed on loan for Vincent Kompany's Anderlecht this season, scoring 14 goals in 31 appearances in the league. Nmecha came through the Manchester City academy and has had several loans through his development.

PAPER GOSSIP

- Juventus are set to extend Alvaro Morata's loan this summer, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano. The 28-year-old joined from Atletico Madrid last summer, racking up 21 goal involvements in 32 appearances in Serie A. The extension will cost Juve and new boss Massimiliano Allegri €10m in loan fees, which was agreed as a clause when the Spain international joined last season.

- Jose Mourinho is interested in signing defender Jerome Boateng for AS Roma this summer. Gazzetta dello Sport reports that with the 32-year-old's contract expiring this summer, Roma is a likely destination. They also say that Mourinho was an admirer of the former Germany international and tried to sign him while in charge of Manchester United. A deal is said to be on the table for the player through intermediaries, with the hope of securing his signature ahead of the new season.

- Several Premier League clubs are eyeing a move for Espanyol's Adrian Embarba, according to AS. According to the outlet, West Ham United, Wolves, Norwich City and Watford are on the trail of the winger, who has had a good season with 23 goal involvements in 36 La Liga Segunda appearances. The 29-year-old wants to extend his stay at his current club despite interest from England as well as Levante and Real Betis in Spain.

- Internazionale are looking at Alessandro Florenzi and Emerson Royal as possible replacements for Achraf Hakimi should the 22-year-old leave this summer. Calciomercato reports that Florenzi is set to return to Roma following a loan stint at Paris Saint-Germain, despite an optional €9m fee to keep the full-back. Whilst Emerson Royal could be set to leave Barcelona in an effort to raise funds this summer following a period on loan at Real Betis. 

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