The coronavirus pandemic made the summer transfer market unlike any before it, but there were still plenty of deals done, and you can check out the major ones here. The window might be closed across the top leagues in Europe, but here are the best rumours from around the globe.
TOP STORY: Inter, Juventus showing interest in Atletico's Felix
Joao Felix's frustration with Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has alerted longtime admirers Internazionale and Juventus, according to Calciomercato.
The Portugal star seemed irked when Simeone took him off in Atleti's 2-0 loss to Real Madrid on Saturday, fuelling speculation about the rapport between coach and player.
The Italian outlet claims that Felix has never fully established a relationship with Simeone and that could leave him tempted by a move.
Knowing they can't afford the €126 million that Atletico paid Benfica for Felix in 2019, Inter are prepared to offer striker Lautaro Martinez in exchange, while Juventus would make Paulo Dybala part of their deal.
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22.29 GMT: Marseille and Lyon face competition from Arsenal and Everton in the race to sign 24-year-old Stade de Reims forward Boulaye Dia, according to Le10 Sport.
21.42 GMT: Twenty-year-old Chelsea centre-back Marc Guehi has impressed in his second season on loan at the Championship's promotion-chasing Swansea City, and the Athletic reports that the Blues are preparing to welcome him into the first-team squad for next summer's preseason - or loan him out to a fellow Premier League outfit should minutes look limited in West London.
20.55 GMT: Newly crowned MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew SC have signed Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper and former CONCACAF Champions League Golden Glove winner Evan Bush in exchange for $125,000 in General Allocation Money.
No better time to join #Crew96.
— Columbus Crew SC (@ColumbusCrewSC) December 14, 2020
We've acquired Ohio native @ebushel1.
20.08 GMT: Ivan Perisic reportedly has disappointed Internazionale since returning from a season-long loan at Bayern Munich in 2019-20, both on the pitch and with his attitude, and Gazzetta dello Sport writes that the Milanese outfit would be willing to part with the 31-year-old winger if they received a suitable offer in January.
19.21 GMT: Former Brazil forward Hulk, now out of contract after a four-plus-year spell at Shanghai SIPG, had been offered to Wolverhampton Wanderers as they look for backup with Raul Jimenez facing a potentially lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a skull fracture earlier this month, according to the Athletic. However, in addition to not fitting Wolves' recruitment profile, the 34-year-old reportedly would not meet the criteria required for Premier League club signings as football in the UK adopts new guidelines as Brexit takes effect Jan. 1.
18.34 GMT: In the wake of an alleged bust-up with manager Gian Piero Gasperini, Papu Gomez has been heavily linked with a January exit from Atalanta, and Italian football journalist Chloe Beresford writes that FC Cincinnati has been in negotiations for a week to bring the 32-year-old Argentine attacker to MLS.
17.47 GMT: With Internazionale ready to part ways with Christian Eriksen just 11 months after paying Tottenham Hotspur £17m for the midfielder, the Sun reports that Manchester United are interested in the 28-year-old playmaker, for whom the Nerazzurri would seek a £27m fee.
17.00 GMT: Cope reports that Valencia came close agreeing a deal for Man United goalkeeper Sergio Romero in the upcoming January transfer window.
Romero has slipped down the pecking order at United this season after the club put their faith in Dean Henderson as the back-up for David de Gea, and wants to depart.
Valencia need an experienced goalkeeper after an injury to Jasper Cillessen, but evidently a deal for Argentina international Romero fell through.
16.08 GMT: Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says that the club won't allow winger Kingsley Coman to leave.
Coman, 24, signed on loan from Juventus in 2015 before Bayern made the deal permanent two years later for €21m. The France international has been linked with a move to Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus, but after scoring the winner in last season's Champions League final against PSG, he could extend his contract which expires in 2023.
"Kingsley is not for sale. We will deal with a possible contract extension at the appropriate time," Rummenigge told Kicker.
Bayern president Herbert Hainer added: "Kingsley is an absolute top player today and is extremely valuable to Bayern Munich. He often makes the difference when it matters."
15.32 GMT: Liverpool are reportedly keen to sign midfielder Marcos Llorente from Atletico Madrid.
Llorente, 25, helped to knock Liverpool out of the Champions League at the round of 16 stage last season with a fine performance at Anfield when he scored twice in extra-time in March.
"I have received many calls since Anfield for Marcos Llorente," his agent Julio Llorente told radio station Cadena Ser. "Marcos and I have always talked about this, and he wants to stay, so there is not much else to do. The last call I received was in May, and it was not from Spain."
14.55 GMT: Wolverhampton Wanderers have been linked with former Brazil striker Hulk, but it seems Brexit is going to put a stop to this speculation.
Hulk, 34, is to leave Chinese club Shanghai SIPG and become a free agent in January, with Wolves looking for a backup to the injured Raul Jimenez.
But, says the report, "from January 1, potential new Premier League signings from overseas will need to meet certain criteria based on their recent international experience, the quality of the league they are joining from and how much they have played for their present club... Because he has not played for his country since 2016 and has been playing in China, which will have a far lower rating than those players coming from La Liga, the Bundesliga or Serie A in terms of their eligibility to move and work in the UK, he does not meet the new criteria."
13.43 GMT: Borussia Dortmund need to turn things around quickly to have any chance of silverware this season.
12.59 GMT: Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira has revealed has spoken to Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Khedira, 33, has a contract which is set to expire in June 2021 but is not part of the club's plans and could be set to link back up with his former manager at Real Madrid.
"We spoke on the phone and wrote. You know my situation," he told Bild. "I'm open to a new sporting challenge. I have had a difficult time and want to play football again, fighting for three points week after week. That's what I long for.
"At the moment I still have so much strength and energy, so I am not dealing with summer 2021, but with December and January. A change is realistic, my full focus is on that."
12.06 GMT: Why Arsenal spent £27m on defender William Saliba only to play him in the reserves this season is a mystery, but The Athletic reports that a loan move within England is possible in January.
The report states that: "Saliba's preference would be to stay within the UK, which may speed up his adaptation over the final six months of the campaign. Failing that, there are a number of possibilities in France. There has been no indication from Arsenal that they would consider selling the 19-year-old; to the contrary, they remain optimistic he will fulfil the potential that convinced them to recruit him."
11.24 GMT: Real Madrid won't look at contract extensions for Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez until January, according to Diario AS.
The deals of all three players -- who have been key to the team's turnaround in form in the last week -- expire next summer and they will be free to talk to other clubs from Jan. 1.
A club source told the newspaper that this Sunday's general assembly of members, where Real Madrid's COVID-hit budgets for last season and this season will be approved, is their priority before any discussion of contract renewals.
One player whose future looks increasingly likely to lie away from the Bernabeu is Isco.
The playmaker, once a favourite of coach Zinedine Zidane, was an unused substitute in all three crucial wins last week against Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach and Atletico Madrid.
"Now Isco doesn't even warm up!" newspaper Marca said on Monday.
The 28-year-old also featured for just 13 minutes of Madrid's six Champions League group stage games. Last month the player's father and agent Paco Alarcon admitted he would like to "try another league" due to a lack of playing time and a desire to win back his Spain place ahead of Euro 2020, but denied having received any offers.
10.45 GMT: The Paul Pogba/Manchester United/Mino Raiola situation rumbles on.
09.58 GMT: RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano is going to be one of the players of most interest to clubs in the coming months, especially once his reported €42m release clause kicks in next summer
The Athletic reports that "the most credible destinations recently emerged as Bayern Munich and Manchester United -- however it can be revealed that United have now cooled their interest and that leaves Bayern in the driving seat. Bayern have been linked with Upamecano in the past but decided against making a concerted effort to sign him because the cost was higher at that point and they had no need to bolster in his position. Both of those factors are set to change soon, thanks to the release clause and possible exits for experienced defenders Jerome Boateng and David Alaba."
09.20 GMT: ICYMI - Mesut Ozil is open to joining a club in Major League Soccer once his time at Arsenal comes to an end, sources told ESPN's James Olley. The 32-year-old will enter the final six months of his £350,000-a-week contract in January and will be free to negotiate directly with overseas clubs.
MLS sides D.C. United and LA Galaxy have been linked with a move for Ozil, while sources said David Beckham's Inter Miami are also among a host of other clubs in multiple countries monitoring the situation.
Ozil has not played for Arsenal since March 7 and was left out of the club's Premier League and Europa League squads by manager Mikel Arteta
08.38 GMT: Paulo Dybala says his priority is to remain at Juventus even though the club has yet to offer him an extension on his contract, which runs until June 2022.
Juve sporting director Fabio Paratici claimed that Dybala's contract extension was a priority for the club and that they were in negotiations. However, the Argentina forward says that has not been the case.
"There has been a lot of talk but unfortunately a lot has been said that is not true," the 27-year-old told Sky. "There are people that have spoken about things that are not like that.
My agent has been in Turin for a long time and has not been called [by Juventus]. That is why it upsets me when there is talk about money and figures that are made up. These are things that I have never spoken about, I never do. It would be nice for the truth to be told, to talk about numbers in the situation that we are in only puts people on me."
Dybala, nevertheless, insisted that his wish is to remain at Juve.
"I love Juventus," he said. "I've always said it [wants to stay]. I have a great rapport with the fans. I am very loyal to this club and people know what."
08.00 GMT: Dominik Szoboszlai is set to become the 18th player to join RB Leipzig from RB Salzburg, kicker reports.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has been linked with Arsenal, but Bundesliga side Leipzig led the race all the way and will reportedly make the deal official this week.
Following negotiations with their partner club, Leipzig will pay €20m for the Hungary international, who would be eligible to play for them in the knockout phase of this season's Champions League.
PAPER TALK (by Danny Lewis)
PSG to pip Arsenal to Aouar move
Arsenal are a mess, so it's only right that fans are keen for the club to sign new players. But while the Gunners missed out on Lyon's Houssem Aouar in the summer, now they could be set to miss out on him completely.
Paris Saint-Germain made their interest in Aouar known to Lyon a few months back, but they didn't have the means to secure a deal as his €60m valuation proved too much.
But with the 22-year-old midfielder's contract expiring in 2023, this summer may be the best time for Lyon to move him on and PSG are best placed to complete a deal according to RMC.
Simakan tops Milan's list of defensive targets
Calciomercato claims that Strasbourg's Mohamed Simakan tops their AC Milan's list of targets, with the Serie A leaders desperately looking for another centre-back in January.
Injuries have left Milan short in defence, who are also looking into the possibility of signing Juventus' Daniele Rugani if his loan spell at Stade Rennes comes to an early end.
Other players of interest are said to be Schalke 04's Ozan Kabak, Fiorentina's Nikola Milenkovic and Hellas Verona's Matteo Lovato.
Tap-ins
- Javier Pastore has a number of offers ahead of the January transfer window, according to Nicolo Schira. The Argentina midfielder hasn't played a single minute of football for AS Roma so far this term, but that has seemingly not put off potential suitors. There is said to be interest from MLS, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Fenerbahce also having asked for information from the agent of the ex-Paris Saint-Germain star.
- Various clubs across Europe are looking to sign Arnaud Kalimuendo, who is on loan at Lens from Paris Saint-Germain. That is according to Calciomercato, who have named AS Roma as one of the clubs keen to sign the 18-year-old. Roma's interest is reported to have come out of a working relationship between club legend Francesco Totti and the youngster.