The coronavirus pandemic has made the summer transfer window uncertain, but here are the rumours floating around Europe's big leagues and beyond.
TOP STORY: Partey priority for Arsenal
Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey is considered to be one of Arsenal's main priorities during the summer transfer window, Mundo Deportivo reports.
Although this is a transfer that might set them back around €50 million, either in one go or in installments, the Gunners are willing to take that hit, as they know what Partey could add to their squad.
It isn't going to be easy, but the biggest and best transfer decisions never are, and Arsenal and Mikel Arteta need to go full steam ahead as they look to rebuild their team in search of Premier League glories past.
- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
LIVE BLOG
22.07 BST: Twenty-two-year-old Mexico international Cesar Montes has confirmed that La Liga outfit Valencia have shown interest in signing him, and the center-back is keen to make the move from Monterrey.
"Valencia is one of the big teams that always battle in Spain and in Europe and always competes for a Champions [League spot]," said Montes in an interview with Marca Claro. "Yes, there is an approach; my agents take care of that and they are looking at it."
21.20 BST: Konstantinos Mavropanos has made just seven appearances in 18 months at Arsenal, and his performances on loan at Nurnburg have led the Bundesliga club to investigate a permanent move for the 22-year-old centre-back, according to Bild. The rest of German football reportedly has also taken notice, with Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen, Stuttgart and Mainz all said to be interested in the former Greece U21 international.
20.33 BST: Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo is wanted by Boca Juniors this summer, sources have told ESPN.
His contract at Old Trafford runs until 2021, although United hold an option to extend the deal for a further 12 months. Sources have told ESPN that Boca are keen to sign the 30-year-old permanently if they can agree on a fee, with the Old Trafford outfit seeking £15m.
19.46 BST: The Evening Standard reports that Southampton are willing to sell captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but not for anything less than £35m, with Tottenham and Everton said to be interested in the 24-year-old former Bayern Munich midfielder.
18.59 BST: Napoli are demanding €40m for Allan, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, which adds that the amount is too rich for Everton, who are keen to reunite the Brazilian with Carlo Ancelotti. However, the Italian club could be persuaded to part with the 29-year-old midfielder for €30m because of the club's close relationship with Ancelotti.
17.42 BST: Real Madrid have put contract renewal talks with Sergio Ramos on hold until the end of the season, multiple sources have told ESPN. The 34-year-old's current deal expires in June 2021 and both parties are keen to extend, but want to focus on finishing the season first, with Ramos "calm" about the situation.
The club captain's preference would be to stay in Madrid. If an agreement isn't possible, ESPN understands Ramos is a fan of the United States and would be keen on playing in MLS, although a move isn't among his short-term priorities.
Real Madrid and Ramos are keen to finalise a deal this summer or, at the latest, early autumn, to avoid speculation continuing into next season. The club's usual policy is to extend the contracts of players over 30 one year at a time, but Ramos is an exceptional case and a two-year agreement isn't being ruled out.
16.25 BST: Chelsea and Man United are making some transfer plans to close the gap on Liverpool and Man City, writes Mark Ogden.
Italian publication Tuttosport reckons that United might be interested in Juventus winger Federico Bernardeschi if they can't land Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.
Bernardeschi, 26, is valued at €40m, which is a lot less than the €100m quoted for Sancho. So call that one a Plan B.
15.31 BST: Update from 10.56. Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Thiago Silva is hoping to stay in Europe and play for another top club for at least two more seasons after being told his contract will not be renewed, sources have told ESPN.
The Brazil international, 35, is set to leave PSG this summer when his contract expires once 2019-20 Champions League campaign is over.
Sources said that Silva still believes he has the ability to play for another top European club and would be willing to reduce his wage demands to do so. The defender believes he must stay in Europe so that he can be apart of Brazil's 2022 World Cup squad in Qatar.
14.38 BST: Manchester City. Central defender. Stop us if you've heard this one before...
Now, according to Correio da Manha, City are chasing FC Porto's Alex Telles as the Brazilian is available for around €30m if they can persuade him not to join PSG instead.
14.17 BST: How come Liverpool didn't sign Timo Werner from RB Leipzig?
13.51 BST: Mario Balotelli will be looking for a new club soon. The striker was turned away by Brescia when he arrived for training on Tuesday, an incident that comes days he was reportedly fired by the Serie A club.
Balotelli walked up to the club's training ground and, following a brief conversation with a Brescia employee, he turned around. As he walked away he said to media: "Now [they] say that I don't want to train."
Balotelli was reportedly fired by his hometown club last weekend for failing to report to training as Serie A prepares to resume three months after being stopped by the coronavirus. The striker said he had stomach problems.
13.20 BST: The CIES Football Observatory has published its latest transfer value rankings, charting the current market worth of the top 100 players across Europe's big five leagues. Some of our takeaways can be found here, including:
- France striker Kylian Mbappe is the hottest property in the world, worth more (€259.2m) than Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar's world-record fee (€222m).
- Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount (€102.5m) is worth more than Lionel Messi (€100.1m), who is outside the Top 20 due to being 33 years old and having just one year of contract remaining at Barcelona.
13.05 BST: Liverpool news: Adam Lallana has agreed a short-term contract extension that will enable him to complete the remainder of the 2019-20 season with the club.
12.32 BST: United States international Fabian Johnson will leave Borussia Monchengladbach at the end of the season.
The versatile 32-year-old's contract at the Borussia Park expires and he will not get a new deal, the club have confirmed.
Johnson has played in 140 competitive matches for Gladbach since joining in 2014, but various injuries limited his time on the pitch to just seven appearances this season.
12.15 BST: Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele is only 23, but is he sunk already?
11.31 BST: In addition to what the Daily Mail are reporting below, sources have told ESPN that Chelsea are monitoring Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz as they continue to assess their transfer market options in the belief Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho will join Manchester United.
Lampard views Havertz's versatility as a key factor given he can play as a No 10, a central striker or out wide. But a transfer would cost in excess of £70m.
The Blues are also one of several clubs to have been offered the chance to sign Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona, either as a loan or on a permanent deal, but have so far proved reluctant to match the £9m loan fee and £250,000-a-week wage.
10.56 BST: Thiago Silva looks set to leave PSG once his contract expires in the summer and Everton are eyeing up a shock move for the veteran defender.
Footmercato reports that the 35-year-old Brazilian is ready for a new challenge, having been in Paris since 2012.
10.11 BST: Real Madrid will offer Sergio Ramos a one-year contract extension to keep him at the Bernabeu until 2022, Diario AS reports.
The newspaper admits that the parties "haven't sat down for talks yet" but claims an "unspoken agreement" exists with just a year left on the 34-year-old's deal.
Real Madrid have a policy of only extending the contracts of players over 30 season by season.
In February, Ramos denied pushing for a longer deal, saying "we'll reach an agreement ... if the club want me to stay, I'll stay."
09.52 BST: Donnie van de Beek is getting tired of waiting on Real Madrid, according to Marca, with the Ajax midfielder keen to know if the Spanish club plan to sign him or not amid interest from Manchester United.
Van de Beek, 23, impressed with his Champions League performances in 2018-19 -- especially in Ajax's shock 4-1 win at the Bernabeu -- and Madrid subsequently opened talks over a €55m move, before delaying a decision until 2020.
Now though, with transfer plans on hold due to the financial impact of COVID-19, the most likely scenario will see no major incoming signings at the club this summer.
Marca claim that message has now been relayed to Van de Beek's camp, who want a definitive answer before looking for alternatives elsewhere.
09.09 BST: Juventus forward Paulo Dybala says he would like to continue with the Italian giants beyond his current deal, which expires in 2022.
Speaking to CNN, Dybala said: "For now there is nothing, really. I have a year-and-a-half left on my contract, which is not much, and I understand that with all this that has happened [coronavirus] it isn't easy for the club, but other players have also renewed -- so we are here waiting ... At some point maybe there may be some possible renewal, but it depends on Juventus."
The Argentina forward also revealed he was a target of Manchester United and Tottenham at this point last year.
"It was more or less last year at this point when Juventus didn't want to count on me, didn't want me to continue playing here," he added. "That's when I was contacted and there were some clubs that were interested in me. Among those were Manchester United and Tottenham. I think for a long time there were conversations, then Paris Saint-Germain also appeared. I did not speak directly to any of them, but there were conversations with the clubs. However, my intention at the time was to stay."
08.53 BST: Inter Milan CEO Giuseppe Marotta says his team will sign a top player should reported Barcelona target Lautaro Martinez leave this summer.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Marotta said of Martinez: "It is difficult to declare something on his future right now. But I say to him: 'Stay focused on the present, there is a season that resumes, there are goals to hit, we can take away satisfaction, the players must be protagonists.'
"There is no willingness from the club to sell Lautaro: he is young, has the future in his hands and is a functional element for [Inter coach Antonio] Conte. Then, of course, there is a [release] clause ... I don't know what Barcelona are thinking. Perhaps they will have also other alternatives... I hope they don't pay the clause. But in the event of a goodbye, in Lautaro's place a big, top player will arrive."
08.26 BST: The future of Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano remains up in the air as the club insists "there are only two options: prolong or leave," amid interest from Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
The French centre-back has a €60m release clause in his contract, which runs until 2021, that can be triggered before the end of the month. This summer represents the last chance for his club to cash in on him and the Bundesliga side are not planning to allow him to leave on a free transfer next year.
"'Upa' is an extremely important player for us and one of the most sought-after talents in Europe," Leipzig chief Oliver Mintzlaff told Bild. "And we can assure that we have a clear understanding with him and his agent he won't leave us on a free. We can't afford that as a club. There are only two options: prolong or leave. I am sure we'll soon find out in which direction it's going."
According to Bild, Upamecano is also considering to let his contract run down and then leave on a free transfer in 2021.
He will miss Leipzig's next match at Hoffenheim after he was sent off in the disappointing 1-1 draw with Leipzig last weekend.
08.00 BST: Manchester United left-back Brandon Williams and goalkeeper Dean Henderson are among the club's youngsters in line for new contracts, sources have told ESPN.
Williams and Henderson have both signed long-term deals at Old Trafford within the last 12 months, but the club are considering fresh terms to reflect their impressive development.
Williams was not part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's preseason tour squad last summer but has broken into the senior squad this season and made 26 appearances in all competitions. The 19-year-old signed a contract in October but negotiations would bring his wage more in line with the likes of striker Mason Greenwood and winger Tahith Chong.
Henderson has spent the campaign on loan at Sheffield United, where his performances have caught the attention of Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, as well as England boss Gareth Southgate.
United are keen to keep Henderson, 23, at Old Trafford in the hope he can succeed David De Gea as No.1 in the future but are wary of rival clubs offering regular first-team football earlier.
PAPER TALK (by Harry Kettle): Chelsea go after Havertz
Chelsea are planning to make a huge move to try to secure the signing of Bayer Leverkusen sensation Kai Havertz, the Daily Mail reports.
With the £49m signing of Timo Werner looking like a matter of when, not if, it'll be completed, Frank Lampard wants to partner him with one of his Germany teammates in the form of a highly touted attacking midfielder.
The Blues will have some stiff competition and if they're serious about getting the job done, they'll probably have to spend north of £75m on top of what they've committed for Werner.
James discount for Manchester United?
The Sun is reporting that Real Madrid star James Rodriguez could be available at a discount price this summer.
At one stage, the Colombian was viewed as a club asset with a potential £100m price, but as time has moved on, Real have come to realise that James could generate some funds but certainly not what was once possible.
With money being limited for Man United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who warned that the club won't be signing "rotten apples" in the next few months, this deal could work out for all parties involved.
Tap-ins
-- Liverpool veteran Adam Lallana is set to sign a contract extension that will keep him at Anfield until the end of the season, the Daily Mail reports. The Englishman's deal was set to expire on June 30, but this new contract will allow him to lift the Premier League trophy with the Reds as their coronation edges closer and closer with the return of England's top flight on June 17.
-- Goal is reporting that Henrikh Mkhitaryan wants to stay at Roma for a few more years, as opposed to heading back to Arsenal. The Armenian has been on loan with the Serie A club since last year, and though he admitted during his appearance on the Futbol with Grant Wahl podcast that he'd be ready for selection if he did go back to the Emirates, it's clear that his preference lies with Roma.