The summer transfer window is closed for the top leagues in Europe! After a summer full of international football, countless clubs waited until the last minute to pull off their transfers. See all the major deals here and check out how we graded the biggest signings. But just because the window is shut until January, that doesn't mean the rumours won't keep coming.
TOP STORY: Olmo eyes move to Barcelona
Mundo Deportivo reports that RB Leipzig's Dani Olmo was so eager to join Barcelona before the transfer deadline that he said yes to the move without even looking at the contract.
The Catalans are in financial disarray, so the midfielder, who came through the La Masia academy, would have needed to take a pay cut, but that didn't matter to him.
The 23-year-old wanted to move to the Camp Nou before the transfer window closed, but he now hopes that Barcelona and RB Leipzig will be able to thrash out a deal in the future.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta wants the club to rediscover its identity, by signing players who have come through the club's academy. It is why he pushed to sign Eric Garcia and even considered bringing in Hector Bellerin -- who is now on loan from Arsenal to Real Betis -- despite already having the right-back spot covered.
Olmo wants to return to the club, but it's far from certain Barca will be able to find the funds to complete the deal in the next window.
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LIVE BLOG
22.15 BST: Folks that's it for another day of our live Transfer Talk blog, but we'll be right back with tomorrow's paper round shortly. Thanks as always for checking in.
21:35 BST: LaLiga side Elche have announced the signing of former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore.
The 32-year-old enjoyed a successful stint with the French giants where he won five consecutive league titles from 2013-18.
Pastore has signed a one-year deal with the Spanish side and could make his debut after the international break.
💚 𝐉𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄 🤍
— Elche Club de Fútbol 🌴 (@elchecf) September 4, 2021
🆕 @Javi_Pastore firma por una temporada con el #ElcheCF #BienvenidoPastore pic.twitter.com/SJBIDYjds9
20.55 BST: Liverpool, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain are keen to sign AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The report claims that the 24-year-old has turned down a contract extension worth €6.5m-a-year with the Italian giants as he eyes a move away from Serie A.
The Ivory Coast international's contract expires at the end of the season and he could leave the club on a free transfer if he refuses to sign a new deal.
19.25 BST: The transfer window is closed but that doesn't mean the chaos at Barcelona has come to an end. After a busy summer, Japan international Hiroki Abe is the latest name to eye the exit door.
A report in Mundo Deportivo says the young winger wants a new challenge after failing to settle at the club and not featuring in the plans of coach Ronald Koeman
18.40 BST: Jules Kounde's move to Chelsea didn't materialise during the transfer window, but any Sevilla fans concerned that the defender's head has been turned can think again.
According to his central defensive partner Diego Carlos, Kounde is committed to the cause with Sevilla this season.
"Kounde is a great friend of mine, an excellent player, one of the best defenders out there today," Carlos told Marca. "I've been talking a lot with him, he's a player who's been growing every day and is prepared to compete at any club, but his head is in Seville. He's calm, and an excellent player."
17.55 BST: Romelu Lukaku has explained that he would only have left Inter Milan for Chelsea having completed a move back to Stamford Bridge last month.
Lukaku signed for Chelsea in a €115m deal, eight years after leaving the Blues for Everton. After helping Inter win the Scudetto, Lukaku was still fully committed to the club... until Chelsea showed they were serious with three huge bids.
"With Chelsea's third offer, I knew it was serious and I wasn't there [at Inter] anymore," Lukaku told Hln.be. "Chelsea offered €110m plus [Davide] Zappacosta, but Inter said no, so I went to [coach Simone] Inzaghi's office asking to find an agreement.
"I told Inzaghi: 'Inter pulled me out of s--- but I wanna leave only because of Chelsea."
17.11 BST: Football Insider reckons that Celtic want to sign the tallest outfield player in British football: Kyle Hudlin of Solihull Moors of the Conference National, the fifth tier.
The 21-year-old, who joined from local rivals Solihull United in October, has scored nine goals in 20 league starts. He is 6-foot-9 tall -- two inches taller than former England international Peter Crouch!
Celtic scout Andy Thorne has been to watch Hudlin, who has also been linked with Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Cardiff. He is out of contract at the end of the season and will be in demand when the window reopens.
16.30 BST: Serie A newboys Salernitana on the brink of making the biggest signing in their history: former France international Franck Ribery. Calciomercato reports that the 38-year-old has agreed a one-year contract as a free agent, having been released by Fiorentina in the summer. Hellas Verona were also hoping to sign the midfielder.
Ribery is expected to sign the contract on Monday and could make his debut away to Torino on Sept. 12.
15.42 BST: Arsenal technical director Edu has defended the club's transfer policy in an interview with Sky Sports.
The Gunners were the biggest-spending club in the Premier League over the summer window, but find themselves rooted to the foot of the table after losing all of their opening three fixtures.
"We signed six players who are under 23, which means a lot in terms of our planning," Edu explained. "Normally, people like to see just one window, so I have to say it is the bigger picture because we started planning this squad a year ago in terms of consolidating the team and to try to get a better foundation.
"We have to balance the squad better. We have to recruit the players with the right characteristics and the right profile to make the squad better, more solid and much more consistent because last season we suffered with consistency.
"We suffered last year because we lost a lot of players and we didn't really have good back-ups to play games. I believe we need a squad to win games. We need a squad to be in a good position at the end of the season because it is not only about the first XI.
"Again, we need a foundation. We need players to play and then we need players to cover the first XI.
"Where we needed to spend big, big money, for me and for Mikel [Arteta], that was in the centre-back position because we needed someone to fill that position. David Luiz was leaving and this was the one where we needed someone to come here and straight away have an impact on the team with the right profile of what we believe for the short, medium and long term.
"That was Ben White. That is why we went there and signed Ben White to give the squad what the squad needed."
15.00 BST: Romeo Beckham, son of global superstar and Inter Miami CF co-owner David Beckham, has signed with Ft. Lauderdale CF, the sister club of Miami that competes in League One of the United Soccer League, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The younger Beckham, who celebrated his 19th birthday with members of his family on Wednesday, is the second oldest of four Beckham children, and has reportedly been training with both Ft. Lauderdale and Inter Miami in recent weeks. The source confirmed he is eligible for selection for Saturday's game with Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (live on ESPN+ at 7.30 p.m. ET, U.S. only).
14.18 BST: Radamel Falcao has joined Rayo Vallecano on a free transfer after his contract with Galatasaray was terminated.
Falcao, 35, joined Gala in 2019 and spent two seasons in Turkey but is best known for his spells with Porto, Atletico Madrid and Monaco. He also played for Manchester United and Chelsea on loan.
OFICIAL | @FALCAO nuevo jugador del Rayo Vallecano.
— Rayo Vallecano (@RayoVallecano) September 4, 2021
¡Bienvenido a Vallecas! ⚡️ 🐅 pic.twitter.com/rWYNto5JsF
13.30 BST: Newcastle United have issued a statement to defend their transfer business, with the only summer signing being Joe Willock, who was on loan at the club from Arsenal last season.
"Our commitment to being run in a sustainable manner, which secures the financial viability of the club, is a longstanding one. This does not come at the expense of being ambitious, and it is built on the core principle that we will spend what we have," the statement read. "Ahead of the summer transfer window and having made a significant impact after arriving on loan in January 2021, Joe Willock was identified as the club's primary target.
"Once it was confirmed that the player would be available on a permanent deal, a collaborative decision was taken to pursue this option. All parties were aware as to the implications for further squad consolidation, with the collective view being that securing Joe Willock was the right priority. There was a shared understanding that further additions to the playing squad would be heavily influenced by player trading, both in terms of available funds and space in the squad.
"Since summer 2019, the club has made nine permanent signings and taken five players on loan. Our net spend over this period is c£120m* (£160m spent on players and £40m received from sales). We have delivered on our commitment to spending what we have, and indeed because of our business this summer, have spent more to secure our primary target. To suggest otherwise is misleading and claims that money has been taken out of the club are wholly untrue.
"For context, this summer, Sky Sports reported that Newcastle United's net spend was the tenth highest in the Premier League. The club retained its best players despite the obvious financial challenges.
"Having finished last season in 12th place in the Premier League, and in the top six of the form table over the final nine fixtures, the club at all levels maintains a strong belief in its current squad."
12.42 BST: Zenit St Petersburg striker Sardar Azmoun has told Russian publication Soccer.RU that he had offers to join AS Roma, Bayer Leverkusen, Lyon and Tottenham during the transfer window but opted to stay with his current club.
Azmoun, referred to as the "Iranian Messi" by some sections of the media, has been with Zenit since 2019 and has been prolific in the Russian Premier League, scoring 50 goals in 70 appearances. After scoring 19 goals last season, he already has five in six this campaign.
The 26-year-old has been in Russia since 2015, and has also played for Rostov and Rubin Kazan.
"I never said that I was leaving Zenit," he insisted. "The media wrote that I was undergoing a medical examination and agreed on everything with a certain team.
"When Lyon made the first offer, Zenit rejected it immediately. I have a contract, even if I wanted to leave, the club will not allow it. It was the media that sent me to another team.
"I don't say anything myself. I myself am tired of this news. Don't write about me. Every time I wake up, they send me to a different club. Please do not post about this. If anything happens, I will write myself.
"I had offers from Lyon, Roma, Bayer and Tottenham. But all the proposals were rejected, this year I will not move anywhere."
11.53 BST: Le10sport insists Paris Saint-Germain made no transfer offer to sign Cristiano Ronaldo before the Portugal star agreed to return to Manchester United from Juventus. Rumours suggested PSG considered signing Ronaldo to play alongside Lionel Messi.
The report says that while PSG did speak to Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes, it did not go any further than that and no offer was made.
11.06 BST: Real Madrid might have failed to sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain, but they did get one over their rivals in signing Eduardo Camavinga, that's according to AS. The report says that Camavinga persuaded his club, Stade Rennes, to turn down more lucrative offers from PSG so he could head to Spain.
Camavinga, 18, would also have been given a substantially bigger salary to join PSG, but his dream was to move to the Bernabeu.
10.19 BST: Sport reports that Real Madrid had prepared seven different contracts to put to Kylian Mbappe, had Paris Saint-Germain accepted the transfer offer for the France international. The Spanish giants will now look to sign a pre-contract with the player in January, when he will be able to discuss terms over a free transfer as of July 1, 2022.
Los Blancos are ready to offer the 22-year-old a six-year contract worth €30m a year
09.30 BST: Liverpool and Tottenham were linked with Wolves winger Adama Traore as deadline day approached, but no deal could be agreed for the Spain international. Now The Sun reports that the club are ready to hand the winger a bumper new contract, worth £120,000-a-week, to keep him at Molineux.
That would more than double the wages of the former Barcelona and Aston Villa player, after more than a year of contract negotiations. The 25-year-old has just under two years remaining on his deal.
PAPER GOSSIP
- Inter Milan could look to sign Eintracht Frankfurt's Filip Kostic as a replacement for Ivan Perisic after the Serbian's move to Lazio fell through, reports Calciomercato. Inter coach Simone Inzaghi has already picked up Joaquin Correa from his former employers on loan with a €25m option for a permanent move.
- Fenerbahce have made an approach to Rafinha's agent, according to Pedro Almeida. The Brazilian has been left out of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League squad, and there is speculation he could be looking to move on.
- Inter considered a move for Giacomo Raspadori but couldn't afford to bring in the 21-year-old as Sassuolo demanded a €25m transfer fee, reports Calciomercato. Inter are already looking into ways they could sign the striker in January, though there is a risk that his price could rise further, as it took him just 32 minutes of the Serie A season to score. With this in mind, Inter are considering including some of their young talents as part of a swap deal.
- Pro Sport is reporting that Hatem Ben Arfa could be set to sign for Romanian side Rapid Bucharest. Many will have fond memories of the Frenchman, but he is now a free agent after leaving Bordeaux upon the culmination of his contract this summer. It's claimed that Rapid are offering the 34-year-old a one-year contract worth €15,000-per-week with the option of an extra year.