The coronavirus pandemic has made the transfer market uncertain -- you can find out when the windows close here -- but here are the rumours floating around Europe's big leagues and beyond. Plus, check out the latest major completed transfers across Europe.
TOP STORY: PSG trying to hijack Arsenal move for Aouar
Arsenal's hopes of signing long-term target Houssem Aouar took a big blow Thursday with the news that French giants Paris Saint-Germain have started negotiations with Lyon to sign the France international.
The update comes from L'Equipe, which reports that the Gunners have had two bids turned down for the influential midfielder. The most recent was said to be around £32 million, with PSG reportedly bidding something closer to the £46m fee Lyon are after.
Arsenal need to raise more funds before they can increase their bid, and to that end they're trying to move Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira and Sead Kolasinac, but it could be too little too late.
ESPN's Julien Laurens reports his sources say there has been no breakthrough in the discussions between Arsenal and Lyon regarding a deal for Aouar and that Mikel Arteta is now weighing a move for Chelsea midfielder Jorginho as a contingency plan.
Lyon had set the Gunners a deadline of Oct. 2, and their inability to return with a bigger offer has seen PSG take centre stage.
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22.58 BST: Fulham have agreed an €18m fee with Barcelona to sign centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo, according to Mundo Deportivo, but the France U20 international's preferred destination is not Craven Cottage, with AC Milan, AS Roma and Everton also said to be interested.
22.25 BST: Globo Esporte reports that Brazilian outfit Vasco da Gama are in advanced negotiations with 23-year-old LAFC midfielder Latif Blessing about leaving the MLS club.
21.52 BST: With Michael Cuisance's move to Leeds United collapsing, and the 21-year-old midfielder set to remain at Bayern Munich now, the eight-time defending Bundesliga champions are now content to allow Javi Martinez to leave, according to AS, with a return to Athletic Bilbao appearing most likely.
21.19 BST: While Paris Saint-Germain remain frontrunners for Chelsea pair Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko, Goal writes that Napoli have entered the race for the latter, who's also been linked with a return to AC Milan - where he spent the 2018-19 season on loan - this summer.
20.46 BST: Every transfer window has surprising moves, but we lined up some sensible sales involving teams and players that make perfect sense. We think. ESPN's Mark Ogden looks at a Tottenham-to-Arsenal move for Dele Alli, a pair of Chelsea players to Liverpool (Antonio Rudiger) and Manchester United (N'Golo Kante) as sensible deals that suit everyone. No, really!
20.29 BST: Tottenham Hotspur have announced the signing of 25-year-old Benfica forward Carlos Vinicius on a season-long loan, with the Portuguese league's joint top scorer in 2019-20 expected to provide some goal-scoring cover for Harry Kane in north London.
🇧🇷 #BemVindoVinícius 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/rSf0K56OA6
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 2, 2020
20.13 BST: Atletico Madrid continue to look for potential destinations for 24-year-old midfielder Thomas Lemar, but Mundo Deportivo writes that the only interest in the France international is on a loan deal, with Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig said to be two sides considering such a move.
19.40 BST: Add Marseille to the list of clubs Arsenal outcast Matteo Guendouzi has reportedly rejected, according to L'Equipe, with the 21-year-old midfielder said to have already turned down advances from Villarreal, Hertha Berlin, Valencia and Real Betis.
19.07 BST: AS Roma have announced that they've signed Real Madrid forward Borja Mayoral, with the details of the deal rather complicated. Bear with us.
The 23-year-old moves to the Italian capital on a two-year loan, which will cost the Giallorossi €2m in fees. They have an option to make that deal permanent, for a fee of €15m if the option is triggered in 2020-21 or €20m in 2021-22. And should the former Spain U21 international indeed join Roma permanently, he's already agreed a contract with the club through 2025.
Welcome to #ASRoma, @Mayoral_Borja! 🐺
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) October 2, 2020
More details ➡️ https://t.co/Dyp0TriXgV pic.twitter.com/h5K09WHvMf
18.34 BST: So long as Juventus find a buyer for Douglas Costa, they will secure the signing of Fiorentina forward Federico Chiesa before Monday's transfer deadline, according to Corriere della Sera. The deal would be structured as a €10m loan deal with an option to purchase that becomes an obligation should easily achievable milestones be reached, with the final outlay for the Bianconeri to land between €50m and €60m. In addition to Costa, Juve will also look to offload at least two of at least two of Daniele Rugani, Mattia De Sciglio and Sami Khedira to help fund the move for the 22-year-old Italy international.
18.01 BST: Sheffield United have announced the signing of 20-year-old striker Rhian Brewster from Liverpool in a club-record deal sources have told ESPN's Tom Hamilton is in the realm of £22m.
Welcome to the Blades, Rhian. 👋
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) October 2, 2020
United have again smashed the club's record transfer fee to secure the services of the sought-after striker on a 5 year deal.
17.28 BST: As links between Manchester United and Ousmane Dembele continue to intensify, Mundo Deportivo reports that the Red Devils have enlisted the help of Paul Pogba, asking the World Cup winner to help convince his France teammate to leave Barcelona for Old Trafford.
16:55 BST: Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho welcomed the rumours of signing striker Alexander Sorloth, as it aided the club in the signing of Benfica striker Carlos Vincius, according to ESPN's James Olley.
Mourinho stoked rumours of a move for the then Crystal Palace player, using it as a smokescreen to hide club's interest in Vinicius.
Tottenham were interested in signing a back-up for Harry Kane this window, and despite Mourinho's comments sources told ESPN that Spurs never seriously considered an offer for the 24-year-old. Sorloth has since joined RB Leipzig having spent last season on loan at Trabzonspor.
16:35 BST: Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has responded to rumours Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Fikayo Tomori will leave the club on loan.
The English trio have all been linked with moves away from Stamford Bridge with Hudson-Odoi linked a move to Bayern Munich, Loftus-Cheek to Aston Villa and Tomori to Everton.
"With every player in the squad, if it's a loan, you have to consider what's best for the player and the club," Lampard said in a press conference.
"I have a good relationship with them all and speak honestly with them. It's one we'll approach player by player over the next few days.
"Once the window shuts, every player that is here will be used because there is a long season coming up."
16.15 BST: Manchester City fended off competition from Manchester United, Arsenal and Juventus for the signing of Ruben Dias from Benfica, according to ESPN's Rob Dawson.
Dias, 23, was closely watched by a number of clubs for over a year, with Arsenal having a £60 million bid turned down last summer for the player's services.
City signed Dias for £64.3 million with the inclusion of defender Nicolas Otamendi as part of the deal. Pep Guardiola's side also assessed offers for Napoli's Kalidou Kouibaly and Atletico Madrid's Jose Gimenez before turning their attention to Dias.
City had concerns over Gimenez's injury record, and also were put off by the age of 29-year-old Koulibaly.
15.55 BST: Atletico Madrid are still hopeful they can secure striker Edinson Cavani's signature, sources told ESPN.
Cavani became a free agent after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ran out earlier this window, Atletico are one of a number of clubs interested in the 33-year-old.
But Diego Simeone's side will only sign Cavani should they find a buyer for Diego Costa, which would free up space in their squad and also on their wage bill.
Since his return to the club in 2018 from Chelsea, Costa has been largely disappointing on the pitch scoring 11 league goals in over two-and-a-halfseasons.
15.31 BST: Barcelona want to avoid another contract standoff with one of their players by offering youngster Ansu Fati a new deal, sources told ESPN's Sam Marden and Moises Llorens.
Fati, 17, signed his last contract in 2019 which keeps the youngster at the club until 2022. But after the very public contract standoff with Lionel Messi, the club are keen to extend the Spainish international's current deal and avoid a similar situation with Fati.
With his promotion into the senior squad this season Fati's release clause rose to €400 million. This campaign the player has scored two goals in Barca's win over Villarreal, which was followed by another strike against Celta Vigo.
15.14 BST: Tottenham are close to officially unveiling striker Carlos Vinicius from Benfica. ESPN FC's Gabrielle Marcotti thinks he has identified how Spurs came to recruit the Brazilian.
14.48 BST: Manchester United are progressing in talks with Barcelona over forward Ousmane Dembele, according to ESPN sources.
United, who have failed to persuade Borussia Dortmund to sell top target Jadon Sancho, are pursuing alternative options having made one permanent transfer this window.
Talks with Barca over the transfer of Dembele, 23, are steadily progressing. United plan to pay around €50 million for Dembele, yet Barca are holding out for more.
Should the club fail to agree a deal for the France international sources told ESPN that United would instead move for Sevilla player Lucas Ocampos.
14.28 BST: Real Madrid striker Borja Mayoral will undergo a medical on Friday ahead of joining Roma on a loan for the next two seasons, according to El Larguero.
Roma are looking to add a striker before the transfer window closes and have moved for Mayoral in the hope of securing a deal that includes an option to make the move permanent.
Mayoral, 23, scored nine goals during his second loan spell at Levante last season.
14.06 BST: Barcelona should try to sign Memphis Depay before the transfer deadline but the Lyon forward should not be seen as a replacement for Luis Suarez, according to club legend Rivaldo.
Suarez left Barca last week to join La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid while Netherlands international Depay has become a top target since his former national team boss, Ronald Koeman, took over at Camp Nou.
"Barcelona are still searching for a new attacker to replace Luis Suarez," Rivaldo told Betfair. "It would be nice to see them sign Memphis Depay who looks like a good player.
"But it will be tough to find someone with the quality and fighting spirit that helped Suarez to become the third best goal scorer in the club's history.
"I'm afraid it will be a long time before Barcelona can find a similar player who can finally make fans forget about Suarez.
"All the players who might come in as his replacement in the next few seasons will be compared to him which will add extra pressure on top of the pressure that already comes with wearing the Barcelona shirt.
13.39 BST: Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is prepared to sell winger Daniel James to fund a late move for Jadon Sancho, sources have told ESPN's Mark Ogden, but is yet to convince the club's hierarchy to sanction a potential £25m sale of the Wales international.
Solskjaer remains determined to test Borussia Dortmund's resolve over Sancho, despite the German club's insistence that he will not leave this year, but United have yet to come anywhere close to Dortmund's £108m valuation of the England winger.
ESPN reported earlier this summer that Solskjaer was frustrated by the club's lack of progress over Sancho and plans to make an opening offer of £50m, but the Norwegian continues to hope that United will make a breakthrough before Monday's transfer deadline.
With finances tight at United because of the impact of the pandemic, however, player sales could help boost funds ahead of a late move for Sancho and James is attracting interest.
James, 22, has scored four goals in 47 appearances for United since completing an £18m move from Swansea during the 2019 summer transfer window.
- Man United's frantic transfer chase: Sancho, Dembele, Ocampos in frame ahead of deadline day
13:12 BST: Leicester City have announced the signing of defender Wesley Fofana from Saint-Etienne, the Premier League club have announced.
The 19-year-old joins the Foxes for an undisclosed fee on a five-year contract. He will join the rest of the squad as Leicester prepare for their next fixture against West Ham.
Last season the player featured 14 times for Saint-Etienne in the league with the club also reaching the Coupe de France final, and this campaign has played four times in Ligue 1 keeping three clean sheets.
"I'm very happy to be here. I've watched Leicester City closely since they won the title and they're a top club in the Premier League. I know I will learn a lot from the players and the manager here, which is one of the main reasons I came. I can't wait to get started," Fofana said to the club's official website.
12.49 BST: Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may be playing down his club's transfer activity as the transfer deadline approaches, but ESPN FC's Mark Ogden thinks they would be doing a great bit of business if they signed free agent Edinson Cavani.
12:22 BST: Leicester City are ready to sell winger Demarai Gray with Tottenham Hotspur interested in the player, according to the Mirror.
Gray, 24, is in the final year of his contract at the Foxes having signed from Birmingham City in 2016.
The winger was left out of manager Brendan Rodgers' squad for Leicester's win against Manchester City, he is also set to remain on the sidelines in this weekend's game against West Ham United.
Spurs are long-term admirers of the winger with interest also reported in the player from Germany.
12:01 BST: Inter Milan are preparing a loan bid for Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso, according to reports by Sky Italia.
Alonso has slipped down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge following the signing of Ben Chilwell from Leicester City earlier this window.
The defender was taken off at half-time in the Blues 3-3 draw against West Brom. England International Chilwell's return from injury has pushed Alonso down the pecking order at left-back.
Former boss Antonio Conte, who signed the player whilst managing Chelsea, is keen to take the player to Italy on loan with an obligation to buy for €12 million. Alonso was a regular under managers Conte and Maurizio Sarri.
11.39 BST: Tottenham have rejected Paris Saint-Germain's offer to take midfielder Dele Alli on loan, according to the Guardian.
Alli, 24, is set to leave Spurs after falling out of favour with boss Jose Mourinho, the player has featured just once in the Premier League this season.
PSG want to take the unwanted midfielder to the Parc de Princes, but have only offered a €1.7 million loan offer which Spurs have rejected.
The French side are also pursuing a deal for Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar, who is a target for Arsenal.
11.19 BST: Rennes are the front-runners to sign Daniele Rugani from Juventus, sources have told ESPN's James Olley.
West Ham and Newcastle had been leading the chase to land the 26-year-old with late competition expected from Fulham as they seek to sign two centre-backs before Monday's transfer window deadline.
Sevilla and Valencia were also linked with Rugani but Rennes can offer a combination of Champions League football -- having qualified for the group stage for the first time -- and a regular starting spot. They have also agreed to Juventus' demands of a €1.5m loan fee. West Ham wanted to sign Rugani on a permanent deal but were unwilling to meet the €20m valuation.
The deal has not yet been finalised, however, with Rugani's future set to form part of a frantic finale to the transfer window which could have a knock-on effect for Arsenal's William Saliba.
Arsenal are willing to loan out Saliba, who is yet to play for the club following his £27m move from Saint-Etienne, with Rennes interested in bringing the defender back to France. However, it is unclear at this stage whether Rennes would sanction deals for both Rugani and Saliba.
10.52 BST: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has insisted his Manchester United squad is strong enough to compete this season -- even if there are no more new arrivals before the transfer deadline.
Solskjaer, who has made one summer signing in Netherlands midfielder Donny van de Beek, said United must "strengthen the squad depth" following the Europa League exit to Sevilla in August.
But with just four days to go before the close of the window, the Norwegian said the performances of some of his players have forced him into a change of opinion.
"When I talk about the squad depth, of course the performances [last season] didn't warrant me giving more of them more options," Solskjaer told a news conference on Friday. "The 11, 12 or 13 players deserved to play and they played really well.
"I think it's a different scenario now. I've seen many of the other players who didn't play too well the other season, play really well."
10.25 BST: Sheffield United are close to signing striker Rhian Brewster from Liverpool with a fee in the region of £22m set to land the 20-year-old, sources have told ESPN's Tom Hamilton.
Brewster, 20, scored 11 goals in 22 appearances for Swansea City duyring a loan spell in the second half of last season.
However, since returning to Anfield the England youth international's only appearance for Liverpool was as a late substitute in the Community Shield.
Sources added that the Blades are also seeking to bolster their squad with a new left-sided centre-back and before the transfer deadline.
09.44 BST: Benfica have announced that they will loan Brazilian striker Carlos Vinicius to Tottenham Hotspur for the 2020-21 season.
According to a statement, Tottenham will pay the Portuguese club €3m for the loan, which will only be deducted if Spurs exercise a purchase option of €45m on the player.
Sources told ESPN's James Olley on Thursday that Vinicius must be granted a work permit but the deal is expected to be completed by this weekend, safely ahead of Monday's transfer window deadline. Spurs are yet to announce confirmation of the deal.
Vinicius, 25, joined Benfica from Napoli in the summer of 2019 and is tied to the Portuguese giants until June 2024 He scored 18 goals and set up eight more in 32 league appearances for Benfica last season.
09.00 BST: ICYMI -- Barcelona completed the signing of USMNT right-back Sergino Dest from Ajax on Thursday.
Dest, 19, joins Barca on a five-year deal, with Ajax receiving a fee of around €21 million plus a potential €5m in add-ons. A buyout clause is set at €400m.
Dest, who will wear the No. 2 shirt, was also on Bayern Munich's radar and, according to ESPN sources, the European champions twice travelled to Amsterdam for talks although no deal could be agreed.
Sources also told ESPN that Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman was key in agreeing to a transfer for the defender thanks to his long-standing interest.
While Koeman was manager of the Netherlands, he tried to persuade Dest to declare for the Oranje, but the player opted for the United States, having played at youth level football for the U.S.
- Karlsen: Dest, Cherki, Bellingham: 11 poised for breakthrough seasons
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens explain the details of Carlos Vinicius' proposed transfer to Tottenham.
PAPER TALK (by Nick Judd): Shaqiri in demand ahead of Anfield exit
Two clubs have contacted Liverpool about the possibility of signing Xherdan Shaqiri, with one reportedly from Italy, says the Liverpool Echo.
Liverpool value the striker at £20m, and because of the recent interest he was purposely left out of the squad that lost to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on penalties.
Shaqiri impressed in Liverpool's 7-2 win against Lincoln City in the previous round of the competition, and his omission against the Gunners had raised eyebrows.
However, it now makes sense given the interest for the 28-year-old, who is keen to play more first-team football. Lazio and Sevilla had both expressed interest in Shaqiri in the January transfer window, but at the time Liverpool were reluctant to sell given they were chasing both Premier League and Champions League glory.
With the squad reinforced by the arrival of Diogo Jota from Wolves, and with Shaqiri continually dogged by injuries, Liverpool feel now is the right time to let him go.
Darmian expected to join Inter Milan on Friday
Versatile defender Matteo Darmian is expected to join Internazionale this Friday, with a deal from Parma set to be finalised for a fee of around €2.5m, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The deal is alleged to have been originally put in place in January, though both clubs needed other elements to fall into place before he could actually swap the Ennio Tardini Stadium for the San Siro.
Now, though, it looks as though Darmian has played his last game for Parma, as he is set to join Antonio Conte's squad ahead of their clash against Lazio on Sunday.
Thirty-year-old Darmian joined Parma just last year for €2.8m from Manchester United after having previously come up through the Milan youth academy, while also gaining experience at Padova, Palermo and Torino.
Tap-ins
- It's been a busy day for Sampdoria, who after seemingly having agreed a deal to sign Adrien Silva from Leicester City, now appear to be letting Ronaldo Vieira join Hellas Verona and Omar Colley go to Fulham, according to Fabrizio Romano. Colley has been left out of the Sampdoria squad to face Fiorentina due to advanced talks between the Italian side and the west London club, who are in desperate need for defensive reinforcements following their disappointing start to life in the Premier League.
- Roma are set to submit a fresh bid to Manchester United for Chris Smalling, but Fabrizio Romano says they also want United defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah on a loan deal. Roma are expected to meet United's £18m estimation of Smalling, but they're keen to make the deal a double and add Fosu-Mensah to their back line. The 22-year-old has made 28 appearances since graduating from the club's academy in 2016, but he is keen to get more game time.