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: Newcastle set sights on Barcelona's Ter Stegen
Newcastle United have made Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen a transfer priority, reports El Nacional.
While Barca president Joan Laporta views the Germany international as a key figure at Camp Nou, the report claims that he doesn't rule out a potential move away from the club.
A transfer fee of €55 million is set to be offered by the Magpies, which would be tough for the LaLiga outfit to turn down given their financial difficulties. They are also said to be in the process of looking at potential successors for Ter Stegen, as he has not been at his best in recent years.
However, the stumbling block for the new Saudi-backed owners of Newcastle may be less about Barcelona accepting a proposal and more on the goalkeeper himself. The 29-year-old is said to be happy in Catalonia and only willing to leave if it meant a return to his native Germany. That won't stop the Magpies' hierarchy from trying to tempt him to make the switch, though.
The Barcelona No. 1 was a key part of his side's 1-0 victory Tuesday over Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League, in which they picked up back-to-back victories against the Ukrainian side.
Ter Stegen made some important saves, but the report claims that Barca don't think he's been the same player since he injured a knee and underwent surgery earlier this year, and a potential change could be on the horizon.
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20.10 GMT: PSG are planning to activate their option of a permanent deal for left-back Nuno Mendes, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The 19-year-old joined the Ligue 1 club on loan in the summer, with an option of a permanent deal for €40m in June 2022. The Portugal international has already made six Ligue 1 appearances and four Champions League appearances since joining.
19.20 GMT: Fulham wonderkid Fabio Carvalho has rejected a new contract at the club with Real Madrid reportedly interested in the player.
The Sun says that the 19-year-old looks set to depart the London club, with his current deal expiring in the summer. A host of other clubs have also been linked with a move.
Juventus are looking to move on two midfielders in January in an attempt to free up space in the wage budget.
19.00 GMT: Xavi is hoping to land Kingsley Coman as his first transfer target once he is named the new manager at Barcelona, according to Sport.
The outlet claims that the former midfielder has a "weakness" for the Bayern Munich winger, who is set to leave the club on a free in the future.
The Bundesliga club are looking to move him on before then, with Barcelona hoping to find solutions for the absence of Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Aguero.
18.15 GMT: Four clubs have turned down the chance to sign Eden Hazard but Serie A side Juventus are interested in the winger. according to El Nacional.
The report claims that Manchester United, Newcastle United, Bayern Munich and PSG have all nixed the opportunity to bring in the former Chelsea man, however the Old Lady are eyeing a move to cover the departed Cristiano Ronaldo.
17.30 GMT: Jose Mourinho is eyeing a move for Harry Winks and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in January, reports Corriere Dello Sport.
The AS Roma boss is hoping to bolster his squad, who have struggled to keep pace with the top of the Serie A pack so far this season. The side are looking to add to their midfield, with the two English midfielders viewed as potential options.
16.15 GMT: Paul Pogba has eight months left on his Manchester United contract but The Daily Mail explains how he wanted to renew in 2019 before being rebuffed.
Pogba, 28, turned down the offer of a new contract this summer with Juventus, PSG and Real Madrid interested in signing the midfielder on a free transfer.
The report reads: "Sources have indicated that Pogba made it known to United chiefs that he would be open to signing a new contract in the 2019. A number of Europe's top clubs were courting Pogba, who the previous summer was one of the players of the tournament as he led France to World Cup glory, at the time. The former Juventus star, however, chose to ignore the rival interest and made signing a new deal at Old Trafford a priority...
"The club, however, decided against offering him a new deal, instead opting to trigger a 12-month option on his existing contract in 2020. Since then United have made one formal extension offer to Pogba, which was made earlier this summer."
Sources have told ESPN that United factored in the likelihood of Pogba leaving as a free agent at the end of his contract when they agreed his £89.3m transfer fee and wages five years ago.
Although the club could raise funds by offloading him in the January transfer window, sources have said that United's owners, the Glazer family, are relaxed about the possibility of missing out on a transfer fee, having decided that the benefits of having Pogba available for the final six months of the season outweigh the potential financial boost of moving him on in January.
15.37 GMT: Italy midfielder Nicolo Barella has extended his contract with Inter Milan until June 2026.
✍️ | RINNOVO
— Inter 🏆🇮🇹 (@Inter) November 5, 2021
L'Inter e #Barella insieme fino al 2026 ⚫🔵👉 https://t.co/rTmXVKBtzg #Barella2026 pic.twitter.com/l2BixLT2zY
15.22 GMT: Xavi and Barca will seemingly each pay half of his €5m release clause (€2.5m each) so he can return to the club from Al Sadd.
Via Sam Marsden: Barcelona's outlay on coaches since January 2020 (not including wages), per El Periodico. Payoffs to Ernesto Valverde (€11m), Quique Setien (€4m*) and Ronald Koeman (€12m*) plus €5m to Dutch FA to hire Koeman and now €5m to Al Sadd for Xavi. A cool €37m.
*Still being negotiated/in court.
14.51 GMT: Arsenal have reached an agreement to sign Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic in January, says Gianluca Di Marzio.
Vlahovic, 21, is one of the best young strikers in Europe and Fiorentina will only let him go for around €80m, despite the Serbia international claiming he won't sign an extension to his contract which expires in 2023.
With every top club in Europe on Vlahovic's trail, Arsenal want to do a deal in January to land him. But while they may have an agreement with Fiorentina, they have yet to persuade the player to join and he reportedly wants to wait to see what other options he has.
14.10 GMT: Sport reports that striker Luuk de Jong isn't part of Barcelona's plans under new manager Xavi.
The 31-year-old striker is on loan from Sevilla, but will be allowed to depart back to his parent club in January where he could then be sent out on loan to another team for the rest of the season.
13.26 GMT: Despite his recent injury issues, Sporting CP defender Pedro Porro could sign for the club permanently after his loan from Manchester City expires at the end of the season, says Record.
Porro, 22, has impressed in between his spells on the sidelines and Sporting are ready to pay his €8.5m release clause, though City reportedly want a €20m buyback clause included in any deal.
12.53 GMT: Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva has been speaking ahead of this weekend's derby with United.
Silva, 27, looked set to leave the club over the summer after making it clear he wanted a new challenge. But the Portugal international stayed and now he may not be thinking about an exit.
"I'm feeling happy right now. I love the club, I've always loved the club," he told Sky Sports. "I feel the love from the fans, from the staff and from my teammates and that was never the question."
12.15 GMT: Harry Kane has said Tottenham Hotspur have shown "great ambition" by appointing Antonio Conte as head coach and added that the Italian can make him a better player.
Conte replaced Nuno Espirito Santo earlier this week and guided Spurs to victory in his opening game on Thursday with a 3-2 Europa Conference League win over Vitesse Arnhem.
Kane was not on the scoresheet and has struggled to recapture his best form this season after attempting to force through a move to Manchester City only to be told to honour his £200,000-a-week contract, which has just over two-and-a-half years left to run.
The 28-year-old's motivation to continue at Tottenham has consequently been questioned but he hailed the significance of Conte's arrival while acknowledging a difficult run in which he has scored just once in nine Premier League games.
"It [Conte's appointment] shows great ambition to be honest," he said. "His resume speaks for itself, everyone knows how highly thought of he is and what he has done as a manager in the game.
"You have to respect that. He will work as hard as he can to improve us as players but it is about us as players, taking it in, learning, doing more on the pitch, doing more in training, doing more away from training -- whether it is recovery or anything like that. And making sure we give ourselves every opportunity to win. We have a manager and a club that believe in us and the appointment definitely shows that.
"I am a player that always believes in myself and always believes in my ability. I am 28 years old, I have still got a lot to learn, a lot to improve on. It's not been the start I wanted, the team wanted or the club wanted so we all know that. We all have to take responsibility for that as players.
"It is not something I am worried about, I will keep working and I am really excited about working with this manager, I am sure he can improve me and that is an exciting thing. When you have done what I have done in the game so far and still feel like there is more to come, that is definitely exciting so I am looking forward to it."
12.02 GMT: The Daily Star claims that Manchester City had agreed a £25m deal to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus this summer before he moved to Manchester United.
Ronaldo, 36, eventually moved back to United for an initial £12m, plus £5m in add-ons, and sources told ESPN that City were offered the chance to sign him, but although a move was considered they decided not to move forward.
The report claims: "City have since denied being interested in Ronaldo, but it's understood the champions had agreed a fee with Juventus, believed to be £25m, as well as personal terms with the striker. The paperwork had been drawn up."
A number of former United players, as well as ex-manager and mentor Sir Alex Ferguson, were reportedly involved in Ronaldo's decision not to sign for United's rivals.
11.14 GMT: Newcastle are set to hand former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe a contract until 2024, claims Fabrizio Romano.
Howe will replace Steve Bruce on Tyneside after the club's first-choice Unai Emery opted to stay at Villarreal.
11.00 GMT: Barcelona have appointed Xavi Hernandez as their new coach following the dismissal of Ronald Koeman, Al Sadd announced on Friday.
Xavi, 41, returns to the club after six years with Al Sadd, first as a player before taking over as manager in 2019.
Al Sadd released a statement confirming the move on Friday morning. Barcelona are yet to officially announce the deal but are expected to do so later in the day.
"The Al Sadd administration has agreed on Xavi's move to Barcelona after the payment of the release clause stipulated in the contract," an Al Sadd statement read. "We have agreed on cooperation with Barcelona in the future. Xavi is an important part of Al-Sadd's history and we wish him success. Xavi informed us a few days ago of his desire to go to Barcelona at this particular time, because of the critical stage his hometown club is going through, and we understand this and decided not to stand in his way."
Barca vicepresident Rafa Yuste and director of football Mateu Alemany travelled to Qatar this week to close the deal, with negotiations accelerating with Al Sadd after Wednesday's 3-3 draw with Al-Duhail.
Xavi said goodbye to the Al Sadd players after that game before imploring the two clubs to "come to an agreement" given his desire to return to Barca with the Catalan side paying their former midfielder's €5m release clause, sources told ESPN.
10.25 GMT: Xavi is set to become Barcelona boss in the coming hours.
09.55 GMT: Barcelona need to sign a new forward in the January transfer window, after Sergio Aguero's heart scare which will rule him out for three months.
The club also have Martin Braithwaite and winger Ousmane Dembele on the sidelines, and Sport claims that Barca have a four-man shortlist to help out.
Manchester United's Edinson Cavani and Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette are on the radar, given their contracts expire in the summer. Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling could be a loan option, while FC Salzburg's 19-year-old forward Karim Adeyemi is viewed as a player for the future after his 14 goals in 21 appearances this campaign.
09.22 GMT: Chelsea are tracking Fenerbahce defender Attila Szalai, according to The Sun.
Szalai, 23, has a contract until 2025 and has previously been linked with Leicester City and West Ham. The Hungary international is now on the radar of the Blues, who could make a £17m move to sign him in January.
08.17 GMT: Barcelona want to land RB Leipzig midfielder Dani Olmo in January, says AS.
Olmo, 23, was part of the La Masia academy at a young age and fits the criteria for club president Joan Laporta.
The Spain international would still cost upwards of €60m, which Barca still can't afford at this time, but they may turn to a loan move for Manchester City's Raheem Sterling if it doesn't work out.
08.00 GMT: Real Madrid "haven't lost sight" of Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger, Diario AS reports, with the 28-year-old centre-back out of contract next summer.
According to the newspaper, "[coach Carlo] Ancelotti and those responsible for the sporting department like him a lot" with Madrid keen to strengthen in central defence to provide competition for David Alaba and Eder Militao, after the departures of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane last summer.
AS says Rudiger is asking for a €12m net annual salary, which Chelsea are currently unwilling to pay, while Madrid could free up some room on their wage bill in 2022 with possible exits for Isco, Marcelo, Gareth Bale and even Eden Hazard.
PAPER GOSSIP (by Luke Thrower)
- The agent of FC Salzburg striker Karim Adeyemi has met with representatives from Atletico Madrid, according to Sport1 journalist Florian Plettenberg. The 19-year-old has impressed with the Austrian club, scoring 14 goals and providing two assists in 21 appearances across all competitions so far. His performances in the Champions League have also caught the eye, with other clubs also weighing a potential move.
- Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are eyeing the free transfer of Internazionale midfielder Marcelo Brozovic in the summer, reports Calciomercato. The 28-year-old could leave the Milan club at the end of the season, with postponement over a new deal alerting many teams over a potential move next year. While PSG and Bayern Munich are said to have the greatest interest, other European clubs are also said to be monitoring the situation.
- Manchester United and Barcelona are monitoring Manchester City youngster James McAtee, says the Daily Mail. The 19-year-old has only 18 months left on his contract at the Etihad, with clubs ready to move if he doesn't sign a new deal. However, Pep Guardiola is said to like the playmaker and be willing to reward him with more game time going forward.
- Wolves have begun negotiations with RB Leipzig over the permanent signing of Hwang Hee-Chan, according to Calciomercato. The 25-year-old forward joined Wolves on loan for the season and has impressed so far this season, so much so that the club wants to make the move a long-term one.
- Southampton are monitoring FC Salzburg forward Chukwubuike Adamu, with a host of other clubs also eyeing a potential move. The Daily Mail says that the Saints are keen on the 20-year-old, whose potential contract is reportedly valued at £15m. Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, as well as a number of Bundesliga sides, are said to also be eyeing a possible transfer in the future.