LIVE Transfer Talk: Man United will turn to Matondo if they can't get Sancho

The coronavirus pandemic has made the summer transfer window uncertain, but here are the new rumours floating around Europe's big leagues and beyond.

TOP STORY: Man United will turn to Matondo if they can't get Sancho

Can Manchester United land the new Jadon Sancho before he officially becomes 'the new Jadon Sancho'? The Manchester Evening News reports the club are monitoring the progress of Schalke youngster Rabbi Matondo.

The 19-year-old, who was formerly a part of Manchester City's academy setup (just like Sancho), is viewed as an alternative if they can't land Sancho himself from Dortmund this summer -- but there are doubts over whether he would be too similar to winger Daniel James. 

Matondo left City for an £11m move to Schalke last year and would cost considerably less than Sancho's £120m price tag. Though Wales manager and United legend Ryan Giggs will likely have provided some key intel on his fellow countryman.

Meanwhile, Borussia Monchengladbach striker Alassane Plea could be an easier target for United than Lyon's Moussa Dembele, says Sky Germany.

Plea, 27, has eight goals in Bundesliga appearances this season and is valued at around €25m. The Frenchman has been watched by Arsenal and Tottenham in the past but United chief Ed Woodward has reportedly made contact with the player's agents to sound out a move.

LIVE BLOG

23.00 BST: That will do it for the latest edition of our LIVE Transfer Talk blog. We hoped you enjoyed following along with us and remind you to check back shortly for the latest transfer rumours, reports and deals. One more sleep till the return of live football!

22.35 BST: Inter Milan to beat out Chelsea for Dries Mertens' signature?

Calciomercato suggests that the Belgian is set to sign with Inter Milan over Chelsea once he becomes a free agent after the season. The 33-year-old forward has accounted for 121 goals and 73 assists in 311 appearances with Napoli and recently became the club's record goalscorer.

Chelsea have been one of the favourites to sign Mertens, with the Blues looking for another forward to replace/push Tammy Abraham. At Inter, Mertens would team up with Belgium strike partner Romelu Lukaku, who has revitalised his career in Serie A with 17 goals so far this season.

22.04 BST: An update on Tottenham target Timothy Castagne.

Calciomercato claims that the Atalanta right-back is likely to leave Bergamo this summer with PSG, Napoli and Juventus all also interested. The 24-year-old former Genk man has fallen out of favour a bit with Atalanta, playing in only 14 of the Serie A side's 25 games and could be set for a change of scenery.

The report states that Atalanta would demand around €20 million for the player, whose contract runs through 2022.

21.11 BST: By now it is no secret that Man United want Birmingham City wonder kid Jude Bellingham but 90mins writes that he isn't the only Birmingham City player in United's crosshairs.

The outlet understands that the Old Trafford outfit is targettting Jude -- and his brother Jobe Bellingham. The younger Bellingham, who recently turned 15, has turned out for England at youth level and could be added in to a deal for his now highly coveted brother.

Jude remains one of United's top targets with the 16-year-old phenom valued at £30 million and also being tracked by Borussia Dortmund,

20.26 BST: Liverpool have been linked with a number of forwards in recent months ranging from Timo Werner to Kylian Mbappe. 

The Latest? Wolfsburg's Wout Weghorst. The towering Dutchman, who stands six-foot-six, has very quietly bagged 28 goals in 58 Bundesliga games over the past two seasons and recently told Goal that he dreams of playing for Liverpool. 

"I always found Liverpool very special.

"I still get goosebumps from 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.

There are other great English clubs too, and I always liked Milan because so many Dutch played there."

Liverpool fans will have a chance to see Weghorst this weekend, as the Bundesliga returns Saturday.

19.33 BST: Man United reportedly have interest in Wolves ace Raul Jimenez but how much would the Mexican cost?

The 29-year-old target man has no release clause and Record in Portugal, via SportWitness claims he could cost up to £89 million! Jimenez, who has scored 26 goals in 63 Premier League games with the Wolverhampton club, was purchased outright last summer from Benfica for a club-record £30m.

The report adds that if Jimenez is too expensive, United could elect to raid his former club for 15-goal scorer Carlos Vinicius.

18.55 BST: Liverpool favourites to sign 'next Neymar'? 

The Mirror writes that Liverpool are among the clubs targetting 17-year-old Vasco da Gama prodigy Talles Magno. The exciting teen already has a full season of first-team football under his belt and could be sold due to a financial crunch at the Brazilian club.

Benfica have reportedly already had a £2.5 million bid rejected for the teenager but that doesn't mean an improved bid from a club like Liverpool wouldn't sway Vasco to sell the underage Brazil star.

18.09 BST: Ex-Juventus midfielder Mohamed Sissoko has urged the Bianconeri to move for Barcelona defender Jean-Clair Todibo.

"Todibo? I read that he is also talked about, he is a good player who is doing well at Schalke 04 and could adapt well to Juventus," Sissoko told TuttoJuve.

The 20-year-old defender has played just five times in two years for Barca and is tipped to depart the Camp Nou this summer.

17.33 BST: Fulham have signed goalkeeper Marek Rodak to a contract extension that will keep him with the club through 2024.

The 23-year-old Slovak has been a breakout star in goal for promotion hopefuls Fulham, starting 24 games and racking up 10 clean sheets. 

16.45 BST: Arsenal could be set to lose Lucas Torreira this season as his agent has confirmed that the midfielder wants to return to Italy.

Torreira, 24, moved to Arsenal from Sampdoria for £26m in 2018 and could head back to his former club or another in Serie A once the transfer market opens.

"Lucas had been in a bit of a bad mood over some technical differences, then he recovered," Pablo Bentancur told Tuttomercatoweb. "And the injury arrived, fortunately less serious than expected. Today he is completely recovered, I believe he will be a market man.

"I will have to speak to Arsenal. The player would love to return to Italy, but it must be acknowledged that Arsenal treated him very well and behaved great."

15.34 BST: Brescia midfielder Sandro Tonali has been linked with some of the top clubs in Europe, with the 20-year-old 'new Andrea Pirlo' reportedly valued around €50m.

Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Brescia owner Massimo Cellino has held talks with Manchester City, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain in recent months. However, the player has expressed a desire to stay in Italy, which means really only Juventus or Inter Milan could afford him and they are only willing to pay €35m plus €5m in add-ons.

City could still move for him, but it seems as if Tonali will be staying put for the foreseeable future.

15.03 BST: Montpellier captain Vitorino Hilton is 42 but he's signed another one-year contract extension to continue his career.

Hilton has made 321 appearances for them since joining aged 33 in 2011 and the Brazilian centre-back is now the sixth top appearance maker in the club's history.

Sadly he won't play again this season as Ligue 1 cancelled the 2019-20 campaign over the coronavirus outbreak.

14.25 BST: United States and Ajax defender Sergino Dest is a target for Barcelona, according to the Dutch television show Veronica Inside.

Sources have told ESPN that Barca are looking to sell right-back Nelson Semedo this summer and will look to bring in a cheaper alternative to compete with Sergi Roberto. Reports in the Netherlands on Friday suggest Dest, who committed his future to the U.S national team last year, is one of the players on the radar.

Dest, 19, is also drawing interest from Bayern Munich. The German champions made a move for him in January and are expected to move for him again at the end of the season.

14.01 BST: Chelsea are ready to offload several first-team players to help fund a summer rebuild but are expected to resist any offers for midfield duo N'Golo Kante and Jorginho, sources have told ESPN.

Manager Frank Lampard is keen to strengthen his squad having opted not to do so in January despite having their FIFA transfer ban reduced on appeal and Chelsea can bolster their budget by offloading several players now deemed surplus to requirements.

They include Tiemoue Bakayoko, who is on loan at Monaco, Marcos Alonso, Emerson Palmieri, Michy Batshuayi and Davide Zappacosta.

13.33 BST: Marseille manager Andre Villas-Boas looks certain to leave the French club after they sacked sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta on Thursday night, sources have told ESPN.

The former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss was very close to the former Spanish goalkeeper who brought him to the club last summer. The Portuguese has always said that his destiny at Marseille was linked to the one of Zubizarreta.

13.07 BST: Real Betis striker Loren Moron has caught the eye of Tottenham, AC Milan and Napoli, says La Razon.

Moron, 26, was linked to Barcelona before they signed Martin Braithwaite, and has nine goals and two assists in 26 Liga appearances this season so far.

The Spaniard's release clause of €60m makes negotiations easier, while his contract runs out in 2022 and he is reportedly unwilling to sign an extension.

12.26 BST: Arsenal have identified Athletic Bilbao defender Unai Nunez as a potential target for the summer, according to Spanish newspaper El Correo.

Nunez, 23, has a reported release clause of €30m which makes him affordable, with Gunners boss Mikel Arteta a big fan of the young Spaniard.

11.57 BST: Philippe Coutinho's agent, Kia Joorabchian, has told talkSPORT that he's not had any talks with clubs over the Barcelona forward yet.

Coutinho, 27, will likely leave Barcelona this summer after his €160m move from Liverpool in 2018 was deemed a flop and he was sent on loan to Bayern Munich for the season. With Bayern unwilling to pay the €120m release clause in that loan deal, the Brazilian has been linked to Chelsea, PSG, Liverpool and Man United, as well as with smaller clubs like Everton, Leicester and Newcastle.

"At the moment we have not spoken to anybody about any deals whatsoever," Joorabchian said. "I think at the moment everyone's concentration is on this pandemic and how football can restart in a safe and secure environment and the health of safety of everybody.

"The transfer side of things and where Philippe will go, or where other players will go, will come into play further down the line when things have got back to some sort of normality."

11.30 BST: Manchester United want £120m for Paul Pogba. Pogba wants big wages, but no other club can afford them right now. Maybe it's best he stays?

10.46 BST: ESPN's Insider Notebook is back and there's a host of transfer updates, including:

- Manchester United are relaxed about the future of Angel Gomes and remain in talks over a new contract at Old Trafford as the 19-year-old seemingly becomes one of the most sought after young talents in the game, with Chelsea joining Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund in the race to sign the young midfielder.

- Manchester City are willing to allow Leroy Sane to run his contract down and leave on a free rather than let him move to Bayern Munich in a cut-price deal this summer.

- How and when did Luka Jovic break his foot before Real Madrid returned to training this week? So far three different versions have been offered to explain the latest chapter in one of the most unusual debut seasons anyone can remember at the Bernabeu.

10.17 BST: Lionel Messi believes international teammate Lautaro Martinez is a "complete forward" with similarities to Luis Suarez, but says he has no idea if Barcelona are in talks with Inter Milan to sign him.

"He's strong, he's a good dribbler, he scores goals and he knows how to protect the ball," Messi told Mundo Deportivo when asked about Martinez. "He has a lot of similarities with Suarez. They both use their bodies well and hold the ball up."

Sources have told ESPN that Barca have been negotiating a deal with Inter for the Argentine striker for months as they look for a long-term replacement for Suarez. They are hopeful of including players in the offer to bring his €111m price down. However, Messi says he does not know how the future looks like for Martinez and added that the transfer market will be heavily influenced by the coronavirus pandemic.

"We will have to see what happens with [Martinez] and the other names that have been linked," Messi added. "If I am honest, I don't know if there are talks underway to sign him or not. I have no idea.

"There are people at the club in charge of that and they have to choose what's best for the squad. It's obvious that in this current situation everything going is going to be stranger in the transfer market and [the club] will have to be effective to be able to improve what we already have."

09.44 BST: Ajax left-back Nicolas Tagliafico has revealed he'd like to leave the club to play in a bigger league amid reported interest from Barcelona.

The Argentina defender said Ajax are a "great club" but the Dutch league is "not fantastic" and he has set his sight on playing in one of Europe's bigger leagues. "Footballers always have to dream of something bigger," he told Radio Continental.

Sources have told ESPN that Barca are looking to sell Junior Firpo this summer and sign a new left-back to provide competition for Jordi Alba. Tagliafico is one of the players who has been linked, while Arsenal and Atletico Madrid have also shown an interest.

On potential interest from Camp Nou, he added: "I'm only thinking about staying fir. Everything is uncertain and if I leave Ajax, I don't know what the situation will be or where I could go in the future. Rumours are always coming out; for now, I stay out of them."

09.27 BST: A few days ago, Tottenham defender Juan Foyth was being linked with Barcelona ... now it's Leeds United.

Football Insider says the player "has been well known to countryman [Leeds manager] Marcelo Bielsa since he took over at Elland Road two summers ago."

Leeds will only be able to go for him if they secure promotion to the Premier League, but you have to wonder if Foyth would rather wait to see if anything comes of Barcelona's interest first.

08.30 BST: Bundesliga ambassador (and former Bayern Munich legend) Lothar Matthaus spoke to Vamos and said this on Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.

"He's a player who would fit in well at Real Madrid," he said. "But a young player needs to play. Haaland is 19 and he doesn't have to go to Real Madrid now where he might not play the important games because he'd have [Karim] Benzema as competition. A couple of years at Dortmund and then to Real Madrid. I think that would be good for his career." 

PAPER TALK (by Harry Kettle)

Newcastle want Rabiot

Newcastle United are prepared to roll out the red carpet in an attempt to sign Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot, Calciomercato reports.