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LIVE Transfer Talk: Manchester United to beat Barcelona for Chelsea's Werner

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: Man Utd to beat Barca for Werner

Manchester United are the favourites to sign Chelsea forward Timo Werner ahead of Barcelona, as reported by El Nacional.

The Germany international hasn't had been able to find his goal-scoring form since joining Chelsea in 2020, and has one Premier League goal to his name this term.

Despite this, the Blaugrana have been linked with the 25-year-old after attempting to sign him while he was still at RB Leipzig.

The plan was to move for him in January -- with Chelsea willing to negotiate -- on an initial loan with the option to make the deal permanent for around €40 million.

However, Ralf Rangnick's arrival at Old Trafford has seen the Red Devils enter the conversation, as he hopes to reunite with Werner having worked with him at Leipzig.

This doesn't change things in the mind of Roman Abramovich, as the Chelsea owner would rather see Werner join Barcelona than strengthen a Premier League competitor.

Werner would prefer to team up with Rangnick again and move to Manchester, even if there is more competition, potentially making it tougher for him to get the minutes he wants.

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LIVE BLOG

22.31 GMT: That will do for another day's edition of Transfer Talk. Come back to ESPN FC in the morning for a fresh, rolling live blog with all the day's rumours, whispers and news.

21.28 GMT: Newcastle United are firmly battling relegation, which means this January will see a number of acquisitions as they look to quickly add quantity and quality to a squad in need. Will the first name on their list be Man United's out-of-favour midfielder Jesse Lingard?

The Times reports that the Magpies and their new owners are willing to offer him a substantial wage packet in order to intrigue the 28-year-old to move north.

20.47 GMT: It's not a transfer involving a player, but are Arsenal trying to make a move for someone at their rivals, Tottenham?

The Mirror reports that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is interested in bringing Yaya Toure to the Emirates so he can get some coaching experience, all while the former Ivory Coast and Manchester City star is volunteering this season at Spurs. At present, Toure is still working towards his official certifications, having spent time as an assistant for Olimpik Donetsk in Ukraine and at Akhmat Grozny in Russia. Arteta seems to think his club would be a better fit.

Said Arteta, "He has my number because we spent some years together. He's a player I appreciate a lot and he has my number and can ask me the question.

"[Toure] certainly has the experience, the expertise and won a lot in the game to add value to the game for sure."

19.32 GMT: Are Chelsea planning their winter moves already? Football.London reports that they've been interested in Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni for some time, but a number of other big clubs -- including Juventus, Manchester United and Real Madrid -- are also monitoring the 21-year-old, who's having a superb season so far in Ligue 1.

It's believed the Blues think he needs another season in France before coming to the Premier League; will their hesitation cost them a shot at signing the star-in-the-making?

18.41 GMT: A whisper or two involving the Scottish Premiership giants Celtic up next, as German outlet Bild reports they are one of several clubs scouting Borussia Monchengladbach playmaker Hannes Wolf ahead of the January window.

Wolf, 22, hasn't featured too much for the Bundesliga side this season under coach Adi Hutter, making just 8 appearances (all competitions) amounting to 393 minutes ofo playing time despite arriving from RB Leipzig in the summer. Trabzonspor and Rapid Vienna are also keeping tabs on the Austrian.

17.20 GMT: New Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has said he wants Hugo Lloris to stay at the club, with the goalkeeper's contract expiring in the summer. 

"I've just arrived. Only one month. In this moment, for sure, we have many situations to solve," Conte said. "Hugo is the captain of this team, captain of France, we're talking about a top goalkeeper.

"He's very focused now and he knows very well that now we're trying to do our best. Me as a coach, Hugo as a goalkeeper and every player has to perform at a high level, but for sure we'll have time to speak about him and I consider him an important player for Tottenham, for his experience.

"He's a good goalkeeper first of all and many years at this club, he has showed always great commitment for this club."

Lloris, 34, will have been at Tottenham for 10 years when his current deal expires, having joined from Lyon in the summer of 2012.  

16.36 GMT: Everton manager Rafael Benitez has played down reports that players could be sold in January, with striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin reportedly being tracked by Arsenal.

"If we don't want to sell players, we don't need to," Benitez said. "If we sell players, it is because we want to sell players.

"I think the players appreciate we are trying to improve and that is what we will do until the end. We have been working on January and talking about options. Our market is clear: there are players you can get and players you cannot -- that's the reality.

"We need to know these players want to come. In terms of our players, they cannot go if we don't want [them] to."

15.48 GMT: Foot Mercato reports that Paris Saint-Germain are looking to offload seven players in the January transfer window to trim their bloated squad. 

Sergio Rico, Thilo Kehrer, Abdou Diallo, Layvin Kurzawa, Leandro Paredes, Rafinha and Mauro Icardi have all been made available. But will anyone be able to match their bumper wages?

15.00 GMT: Real Madrid were close to signing Barcelona target Ferran Torres when he was a youngster, Mundo Deportivo reports, but the Manchester City winger was unconvinced at suggestions that he should play at full-back.

Valencia youth product Torres was chased by both LaLiga giants before signing for City last year. He's since become a key player for the Spain national team, scoring eight goals for them in 2021.

ESPN sources have reported that Barca held talks with City last week over a move for Torres, who is open to a return to LaLiga, but the finances involved would make a deal difficult.

14.07 GMT: Marseille defender Jordan Amavi has been told he can leave the club in January. The 27-year-old has struggled to get into Jorge Sampaoli's side this season and is now deemed surplus to requirements. 

"It's a special situation for him, he had a lot of injuries last season and we couldn't really assess him," Sampaoli told La Provence of the former Aston Villa player. "This season, he had some problems with our system, he's a full-back who goes back and forth and it didn't go very well for him when we tried him. Jordan, and others, have the right to find another way out." 

13.20 GMT: The father of Reinier Jesus -- the Real Madrid midfielder who's now in the second season of a two-year loan at Borussia Dortmund -- has criticised the Bundesliga club's handling of the player.

Reinier, 19, barely featured for the German giants last year, making just one league start and 13 substitute appearances, and hasn't fared much better this campaign.

"Borussia haven't looked after Reinier," Mauro Brasilia told AS. "If there's no affection, it's impossible ... He hasn't had chances. He's fighting against things that he doesn't understand."

The Brazil youth international had been keen to bring his time in Germany to a premature end last summer, his father said, only for Dortmund to refuse.

"Madrid are uncomfortable with the situation, but they can't do anything," he said. "We're trying to get Reinier back to Spain but Borussia didn't want to break the loan last year and I don't think they do now either. The ideal scenario is returning to Spain."

12.37 GMT: Tottenham and Arsenal have opened talks to sign Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus on loan with an option to make the move permanent, according to Calciomercato.

Kulusevski, 21, is out of favour at Juve and is looking to move on. The report says that a transfer fee in the region of €35m will seal a deal -- though the Serie A giants might have to settle for €25m.

The midfielder has started only five games for the Turin club this season.

11.50 GMT: Out-of-favour Isco is yet to receive any offers to leave Real Madrid in the January transfer window, according to Diario AS.

The 29-year-old playmaker was expected to get more opportunities under Carlo Ancelotti after falling out with predecessor Zinedine Zidane -- but this season he's found himself behind Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Fede Valverde and new signing Eduardo Camavinga in the pecking order at the Bernabeu.

With his contract due to expire next June, AS reports that Madrid might be willing to consider helping him move on in January by continuing to pay some of his wages.

11.03 GMT: Newcastle United now know the transfer fee needed to sign Romain Faivre -- confirmed by the player himself!

Faivre, 23, is a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Brest and is linked with a January move to Tyneside. 

He told Onze Mondial: "The price of my transfer? Between 15 and 20 million euros."

That's small change to Newcastle these days... 

The player was expected to sign for AC Milan in the summer but the deal fell through. 

10.22 GMT: The London Evening Standard reports that Arsenal have two striker transfer targets next summer, with Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin first choice.

Calvert-Lewin, 24, has been out injured for the last two months, during which time Everton have toiled. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wants to add more strength to his forward line and sees Calvert-Lewis as the perfect signing.

If the Gunners cannot sign Calvert-Lewin, the report says that Lille's Jonathan David is also being considered. The Canada international is the top scorer in Ligue 1 this season.

09.30 GMT: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has hinted that Nat Phillips could move on in January, with first team opportunities how limited at Anfield. 

"We cannot keep him forever, that's clear," Klopp said. "We needed him, just to be safe, for that half-year [due to injuries]. We will see what happens in the window. He was fine doing it because he's a great guy.

"His development is absolutely insane. You saw it last year, you would have said 'Nat Phillips, oh my god, he plays in the last line?'

"People love him because of his heading but with his feet he is unbelievable. He's a late starter, but his development is unbelievable. I would sign him for any club except Liverpool, because we have him."

PAPER GOSSIP

- Argentine club Velez Sarsfield have stated that they have reached an agreement for midfielder Thiago Almada to join Major League Soccer side Atlanta United FC for what could be a MLS-record $16m transfer. However, Atlanta said it is "not committed to acquiring the player at this time."

- Vinicius Junior's contract renewal was meant to be straight forward, as the Brazilian's current contract keeps him at Real Madrid until 2024. However, El Nacional reports that Los Blancos' pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe and Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland could complicate things. The 21-year-old Vincius could end up on the bench if those stars join, so he wants a big deal or will listen to offers from elsewhere.

- Sky Sports Deutschland are reporting that Borussia Dortmund are ahead of Barcelona in the race to sign FC Salzburg attacker Karim Adeyemi. The Blaugrana have contacted the Germany international personally and submitted a written offer to him, but Dortmund's offer is better.

- AC Milan are looking to take action in January following defender Simon Kjaer's season-ending knee surgery, with journalist Ekrem Konur suggesting that they want to bring in Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger, Bayern Munich's Niklas Sule or Internazionale's Marcelo Brozovic -- all of whom have contracts that run out in the summer. Diario Sport have added Barcelona's Samuel Umtiti to the list, with the Frenchman struggling for game time.

- National League side Wrexham are making an ambitious attempt to sign former Premier League midfielder Jack Wilshere, according to Football Insider. The club that is owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney currently sit seventh and will attempt to sign the free agent in an effort to improve that position.

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