The transfer window for Europe's biggest clubs is closed, but click here for all the deals and keep track of who has joined the big boys. And Transfer Talk will continue to scour the world's media and set correspondents loose to see what's on the agenda for the summer.
TOP STORY: Madrid monitor Dybala situation
All is not well in Turin. After deserting his teammates for an early shower after being an unused substitute against Parma, Paulo Dybala played a meagre seven minutes at Sassuolo.
The Argentina international has let his dissatisfaction be known, and Real Madrid have received the message loud and clear, according to AS.
Los Blancos have been interested in the 25-year-old attacker for the better part of three years, and disharmony at the Old Lady could encourage them to make their move in the summer.
In a close season that could see Madrid offload Isco, Gareth Bale and more, the report says they are considering a €120 million offer for Dybala. It also suggests that they would prefer a cash-only purchase, rather than including any players to lower the fee.
With Marcelo having been linked with leaving the Spanish capital for the north of Italy to follow in the footsteps of close friend Cristiano Ronaldo, could the 30-year-old Brazilian be a useful makeweight in such a deal?
LIVE BLOG
23.50 GMT: That will do it for today's Transfer Talk LIVE blog. We hope you enjoyed the return of the Champions League and all the latest rumours and rumblings from around the world of football. Remember to check back in a few hours for more transfer talk. Goodnight!
23.30 GMT: James Rodriguez to Arsenal? Not so fast.
With rumours swirling the two could be a match as the Colombian's time in Munich seemingly nears its end, Spanish outlet Marca has delivered a blow to Gunners fans.
The paper says that James prefers a return to Madrid or a move to Juventus and that the playmaker isn't exactly keen on playing in the Premier League.
Same story, different day for Arsenal as another top player is linked with he the club but the interest from the player doesn't seem mutual.
22.40 GMT: We've already talked Tottenham beating out rivals Arsenal for Ivan Perisic but how about Spurs making a move for another of their rivals strikers?
The Mirror claims that Tottenham are interested in making a move for out-of-favour Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge. According to the report, Spurs are set to offer the 29-year-old a two-year contract with Sturridge also attracting interest from New York City FC of MLS.
Sturridge has four goals in 20 appearances for the Reds this season but has found playing time scarce with Roberto Firmino ahead of him at Anfield.
21.50 GMT: Here's a sensational one as Sky News Arabia claims that Juventus could be ready to make a gigantic offer to sign Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah.
The report claims that Cristiano Ronaldo and the club's "leaders" have given the club's brass the go ahead to negotiate with Liverpool, with thoughts a fee for the Egyptian could rise to as high as £175 million, second only to the £200m PSG paid Neymar in 2017.
We don't see this one happening but you just never know in football...
21.08 GMT: Italian outlet Tuttosport claim Tottenham are set to make an aggressive push to sign Inter's Ivan Perisic in the summer.
The report claims Mauricio Pochettino "fell in love" with the Croatian winger during the Group Stage of the Champions League.
Perisic was most closely linked with a move to Arsenal in January but now it looks like their rivals could come in and pip them for the World Cup runner-up in the summer. Perisic's Inter were part of Group B alongside Tottenham so Pochettino will have gotten a good look at the winger firsthand.
The 30-year-old Perisic is valued at around £35 million.
20.19 GMT: Man City, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid are all reportedly set to do battle over the "next Jordi Alba."
Mundo Deportivo report Arsenal had scouts in Lisbon to watch Benfica left-back Alex Grimaldo, who has been compared to Barcelona's Jordi Alba.
The 23-year-old actually came through the La Masia academy at Barcelona but with his contract set to expire, the Spanish youth international signed with Portuguese giants Benfica at the end of 2015. Man City are also said to have interest with Pep Guardiola and Co. growing sick of Benjamin Mendy's injury woes.
With four goals and five assists so far this season from full-back, Grimaldo figures to be a popular name this summer in the transfer window with attacking full-backs always in demand at Europe's elite.
19.40 GMT: Continuing our busy day in MLS...
The Athletic's Paul Tenorio is reporting that MLS expansion side FC Cincinnati is set to acquire former Vancouver Whitecaps and Columbus Crew winger Kekuta Manneh.
Sources: FC Cincinnati is set to sign Kekuta Manneh after trade with Columbus https://t.co/TuvElrxDOI pic.twitter.com/Qj5vk53RFC
— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) February 12, 2019
Th 24-year-old played in MLS between 2013-17, scoring 26 goals in 128 games (including playoffs), and has recently spent short spells at Pachuca (Mexico) and St. Gallen (Switzerland). It remains to be seen what FC Cincinnati will have to give up to acquire Manneh's MLS rights which still belong to Columbus at present.
Originally born in the Gambia, Manneh acquired his U.S. citizenship in 2016 and plans to play for the Stars and Stripes at international level.
18.30 GMT: Arsenal defender Zech Medley, 18, has signed a new contract after making senior appearances in the Europa League and the FA Cup this season.
18.00 GMT: MLS side Orlando have been linked with a move for Mouscron's Belgian defender Bruno Godeau.
17.30 GMT: Midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo has said he wants to leave Belgian club Genk and never signed an agreement saying he would stay until the end of the season. He is a target for Toronto.
17.00 GMT: Chelsea are among the clubs to have sent scouts to watch have sent scouts to watch 19-year-old Marseille defender Boubacar Kamara, in action in recent weeks, according to reports in France.
16.15 GMT: Montreal Impact have signed Bologna striker Orji Okwonkwo on loan for the 2019 season subject to international clearance, the MLS club have announced.
15.45 GMT: As Tottenham prepare to take on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League this week, manager Mauricio Pochettino is giving nothing away as far as speculation that he had wanted to sign Jadon Sancho is concerned, "Ah, you know I don't talk about that," Pochettino told a news conference ahead of the match. "Rumours."
14.41 GMT: Arsenal sent scouts to watch AC Milan vs. Cagliari at the weekend -- sorry, sent scouts to watch Suso play for AC Milan vs. Cagliari -- according to Tuttomercatoweb.
The former Liverpool winger has a release clause of €40m, and that's within Arsenal's tiny, tiny budget for the summer. But Milan also want to get him to sign a new contract and raise the clause somewhat.
14.26 GMT: New York Red Bulls are looking to the future with their latest signing: 18-year-old Denmark youth international Mathias Jorgensen from Odense Boldklub.
"We are pleased to welcome Mathias to our club," Red Bulls sporting director Denis Hamlett said in a statement. "He is a talented young player who fits into our philosophy and playing style. His decision to join our club as a young European player speaks volumes about the New York Red Bulls and Major League Soccer."
14.03 GMT: AC Milan striker Krzysztof Piatek could have been Real Madrid striker Krzysztof Piatek but for the desire of the Italian club to land him from Genoa for €35m.
Michal Probierz, who managed the Poland international at KS Cracovia, told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "I think that directors of Real Madrid are regretting that they didn't push to sign him in January. They seriously thought about signing him, but AC Milan wanted him more."
13.16 GMT: The chances of former Manchester United midfielder Nani coming to MLS are "50-50," a league source told ESPN last month, but Marca reports that the Sporting Lisbon winger is set to move to Orlando City FC.
Though evidently his last club, Valencia, will be owed 40 percent of the fee from his next sale, so that may have to be carefully negotiated.
12.51 GMT: Calciomercato reports that PSG are still after a midfielder and have chosen AC Milan star Franck Kessie as their No 1 target to replace Adrien Rabiot, who will depart on a free transfer this summer.
Arsenal and Chelsea are also reportedly keen, but PSG have the €40m needed to land him and the others don't.
12.10 GMT: Andres Iniesta has revealed that swapping Barcelona for Vissel Kobe has been testing at times, but he's finally beginning to feel settled in Japan.
Iniesta, 34, left Spain for Japan after the World Cup and admits it's been difficult to get used to the cultural differences between the two countries.
"I have to confess that the adaption process has not been easy during my first six months in Japan, in sporting and in family terms," he wrote in Esquire ahead of the new J. League season.
"We arrived here after the World Cup, so we had hardly any time to organise ourselves. We've spent our time getting used to the differences between the two cultures. Japanese customs are radically different to ours [in Spain] but, finally, we feel adapted. Now it's time to enjoy being here."
11.40 GMT: Valencia have reportedly signed goalkeeper Joaquin Blazquez on an 18-month contract from Argentinian side Talleres Cordoba.
The La Liga side will hold a €3m purchase option to acquire 50 percent of the Argentinian's rights. Blazquez, who turned 18 in January and is considered to be one of the most promising goalkeepers in South America, is tied to Talleres Cordoba until 2022.
10.46 GMT: Understandably, Juventus director Fabio Paratici doesn't like the speculation about manager Massimiliano Allegri and forward Paulo Dybala.
Sources have told ESPN FC that Allegri is one of the candidates to take the full-time manager position at Manchester United after Jose Mourinho was sacked and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer installed as interim boss. While Dybala has been linked to Real Madrid (see above).
"I believe he will stay," Paratici told La Gazzetta dello Sport when asked about Allegri. "I really don't see a better manager.
"Dybala is staying. Only people who want to go will leave Juve. I repeat, it is difficult to find better players than those we already have."
10.19 GMT: Mario Balotelli is super happy to be at Marseille. He told RMC: "I'm happy in Marseille, because it's a new challenge for me. I had been wanting to come to Marseille for a while. The environment and the people have a character similar to mine, and also the team is very good, with very competitive and quality players.
"It's a good squad, and I hope to stay here as long as possible. I had had the idea to come to Marseille for a while. Rudi Garcia also wanted me. That's why I wanted to come. I also knew I could do well, and I count on doing that."
09.47 GMT: Former Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel could have been lining up for Barcelona this season but turned them down in January to stay with Fenerbahce.
"Barcelona wanted to sign him and were insisting on him because they needed a central defender that was a reliable alternative, but the player didn't agree because he did not want to be a substitute for [Gerard] Pique and [Samuel] Umtiti," his representative Mithat Halis told AS.
"I think he [Skrtel] is a better centre-half than Clement Lenglet. On the other hand, Martin Skrtel is happy in Istanbul and has an important role to play in Fenerbahçe. He did not want to be third choice at Barcelona."
09.13 GMT: All that talk about Paulo Dybala (above) has been scotched by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who says the club don't need a No. 9 because Karim Benzema is "the best in the world."
Oh wait, Dybala is a No. 10. As you were...
08.54 GMT: Barcelona have not reached an agreement with Frankfurt striker Luka Jovic but do maintain an interest in him, sources have told ESPN FC.
Reports in Germany on Monday claimed Barca had struck a deal with Jovic and would now look to negotiate a transfer with Frankfurt. Sources told ESPN FC that is not the case but -- as revealed in November -- Jovic is one of the forwards interesting Barca as they look for a long-term replacement for Luis Suarez .
08.30 GMT: Brazilian left-back Marcelo says the idea of leaving Real Madrid this summer has not crossed his mind.
Marcelo has been strongly linked with Juventus but has been at Madrid for 10 years and is under contract until 2022.
"Leaving Madrid has never crossed my mind," he told Brazilian outlet Esporte Interativo. "I trust myself more than any other person and there is no reason to leave. If the day comes that Madrid doesn't want me, I will go."
PAPER TALK
Sarri on borrowed time
The future of Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea has been a major topic of discussion, with the manager watching helplessly as his side were stuffed 6-0 by Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday. So what next?
Well, the Telegraph reports that Chelsea's answer lies close to home, suggesting Sarri's assistant Gianfranco Zola is the man most likely to take over as an interim replacement if Chelsea's season goes from bad to worse.
It might not be a bad idea, particularly bearing in mind that a Champions League win was delivered in 2012 by a Chelsea manager with the word "caretaker" in his job title -- Roberto Di Matteo.
Tap-ins
- The Sun reports that Efe Ambrose is set to join Derby County on a short-term contract, with Frank Lampard adding the ex-Celtic star to his promotion-chasing squad.