The summer transfer window is here, and there's plenty of gossip swirling about who's moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!
TOP STORY: Christian Pulisic move to Man United could hinge on Harry Maguire swap
Chelsea have made a shock enquiry about Harry Maguire's availability amid growing doubts around the centre-back's future at Manchester United, according to a report from The Daily Mail. The England international has faced plenty of criticism in recent times but is of interest to the Blues as they struggle to complete a deal for Leicester City's Wesley Fofana.
Chelsea have even raised the idea of Maguire moving to Stamford Bridge as part of a swap deal that would see U.S. captain Christian Pulisic head to Old Trafford. As ESPN's James Olley reported earlier this week, Manchester United have expressed interest in 23-year-old Pulisic for a possible loan.
Pulisic is set to hold talks with Chelsea about his future, which could include Pulisic pushing to leave the club despite two years remaining on his contract. This comes as Pulisic has found himself shuffled around at Chelsea and not looking integral to manager Thomas Tuchel's plans ahead of the World Cup in November.
Fofana does still remain the priority signing for Tuchel's side, with growing optimism that a deal could be completed after the Frenchman asked to be left out of Leicester's squad to face Southampton on Saturday. Even so, Chelsea's interest in Maguire will be seen as a very interesting development due to questions surrounding whether or not the 29-year-old figures into Erik ten Hag's plans.
The report even suggests that it has been seriously considered that Maguire could not be picked to face Liverpool on Monday. This comes with Raphael Varane pushing for a place in the team after watching on from the bench while United have endured a terrible start to the season, losing against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford.
- ESPN+ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more (U.S.)
- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
- Don't have ESPN? Get instant access
LIVE BLOG
20.02 BST: Brazilian winger Antony missed another Ajax training session as he puts the pressure on his club to negotiate a move for him to Manchester United, reports Fabrizio Romano.
Last week, Man United saw a handsome bid of as much as £80m for the Brazilian rejected, according to reports. But the Red Devils are said to view Antony as one of their top transfer window targets as Erik ten Hag's squad continues to struggle.
Meanwhile, Ajax have reportedly been looking at going after Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech if everything comes together and Antony does get the move he wants.
19.15 BST: LaLiga club Mallorca are interested in Ukrainian center-back Mykola Matviyenko, according to Fabrizio Romano. The 26-year-old is a key player for Shakhtar, which competes in the Ukranian top flight, but talks are ongoing.
- Mallorca vs. Rayo Vallecano: Watch LIVE Aug. 27, 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (U.S.)
18.22 BST: In case you missed the notebook on Friday, here's the latest reporting on Christian Pulisic's future at Chelsea: sources told ESPN that the U.S. international is set to hold talks with the Chelsea hierarchy over his future and will push to leave the club if his prospects of regular first-team football look bleak.
17.36 BST: Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka made his 100th Premier League appearance for the club on Saturday, and before the game manager Mikel Arteta said he was positive that the England international would sign a new contract at the Emirates.
Saka, 20, has two years left to run on his current deal but, as one of the Premier League's most exciting young talents, the Gunners are keen to get him to commit his future to them.
"I am very confident that we as a club and Bukayo, his family, his agent, everybody, we are very much aligned in what we want to achieve," Arteta said in a news conference on Friday ahead of the the game against Bournemouth. "And now it is about putting it on a piece of paper."
From Hale End to one hundred...
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 20, 2022
He's a bit special, this one 🥰
🌶 @BukayoSaka87 pic.twitter.com/RYIenpOvFN
17.03 BST: Erik ten Hag was well aware of David de Gea's limitations on the ball before the start of the season, but the Manchester United boss decided to stick with him over fears making too many changes in his first summer would cause too much disruption, sources told ESPN.
De Gea has been criticised for his distribution during defeats to Brighton and Brentford and he was culpable for the second goal at the Gtech Community Stadium after playing a dangerous pass into midfield.
Ten Hag is keen for his teams to build from the back, and he has been questioned by some supporters over his decision to put his faith in De Gea. Sources told ESPN the goalkeeping situation was identified as a problem ahead of the new season, but Ten Hag believed the best option was to stick with the 31-year-old in his first season while other more pressing issues were solved.
United, meanwhile, made a point of only making Dean Henderson available for loan in the summer and did not allow Nottingham Forest to include an obligation to sign clause in his temporary move to the City Ground. Henderson is considered better on the ball than De Gea but he was desperate for regular first team football after making just three appearances last season.
Sources added United are looking to sign another goalkeeper to compete with De Gea before the transfer deadline on Sept. 1, but they expect Henderson, who has impressed already at Forest, to return to Old Trafford at the end of the season and compete for the No. 1 spot.
- O'Hanlon: The issues Ten Hag must fix... and how to do it (E+)
16.07 BST: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has confirmed that both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay will be available for Sunday's trip to Real Sociedad, but didn't close the door on them leaving before the transfer deadline.
Chelsea are negotiating for Aubameyang, who could return to London just six months after leaving Arsenal to join Barca, while Juventus are keen on Memphis.
"The transfer window is open until [Sept. 1] and we don't know what will happen," Xavi said. "At the moment, [Aubameyang] is our player and I am counting on him. For me, he's an important player, but we will see what happens.
"For now, neither [Aubameyang nor Memphis] has left. If there's an offer for one of them, we will see how the squad is and decide what to do."
Sources have told ESPN that talks between Chelsea and Barca over Aubameyang are progressing. However, despite their interest in Marcos Alonso, Barca don't want the left-back to be included in the deal and will demand cash only.
There's an expectation that a middle ground could be struck at around €25m, while Barca would move for Alonso in a separate deal once they are sure they can register him. That is far from a certainty, though, with summer signing Jules Kounde set to miss a second game this season as a result of Barca being unable to register him with LaLiga yet.
"We're waiting to see," Xavi said of Kounde's availability this weekend. "It's all on standby. There is no news. We need to move players on [to be able to register him]."
- Real Sociedad vs. Barca: LIVE Sunday, 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (U.S.)
15.21 BST: Welsey Fofana was not named in Leicester City's matchday squad against Southampton, which the Guardian reports is due to the Chelsea target asking to not be involved in Saturday's match.
Fofana, 21, played both of Leicester's opening two games of the season from start to finish, but was not named in the group to feature at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Last weekend the Daily Mail reported that personal terms over a potential transfer have already been agreed, but Leicester are holding out for a bigger transfer fee.
Chelsea have had two bids turned down, the most recent for £65m, but the Foxes want more than the £80m they got from Manchester United for Harry Maguire in 2019.
Our starting XI for today's #PL match 🦊 📝#LEISOU pic.twitter.com/lWQ5237Ans
— Leicester City (@LCFC) August 20, 2022
14.37 BST: Manchester United's swift move to agree a deal to sign Casemiro this week made headlines, while the potential fee that they'll pay Real Madrid -- which sources have told ESPN is an initial £60m (€70m), with another £10m (€11m) in add-ons -- has raised eyebrows for a player who turned 30 in February.
The deal doesn't make the Brazil midfielder the most expensive over-30 player of all time, though. It's his future United -- and former Madrid -- teammate Cristiano Ronaldo who still holds that honour. Juventus eventually paid a whopping €100m to sign Ronaldo, now 37, from Madrid back in July 2018. Casemiro -- another Madrid departure -- now holds the No. 2 spot on the most expensive over-30s list, as he faces the unenviable task of turning around United's season after two losses in their two opening Premier League games.
A common feature of several of the historical transfers in the over-30s top 10 is that they didn't work out quite as anticipated -- ranging from being simply underwhelming to outright flops. United will be hoping that Casemiro is the exception.
- Casemiro among most expensive over-30 transfers ever
13.48 BST: Atletico Madrid have told Manchester United and other interested parties they are wasting their time over Joao Felix, sources told ESPN's Adriana Garcia.
It has been suggested that United made a €130m bid to acquire the forward, but sources said Atletico's stance continues to be that "the player is non-transferable." Meanwhile, a source at Manchester United did not confirm a bid for Felix but said the club have monitored the player previously. Felix, 22, is under contract with Atletico until June 2026 and has a €350m release clause.
United are looking to bolster their attack, with Erik ten Hag desperate to sign a forward before the end of the transfer window. Felix is a key player for Atletico coach Diego Simeone, and both the club and their fans are excited about the strong attacking partnership the Portugal international has formed with Alvaro Morata, who returned to Atletico last month after two seasons on loan at Juventus.
Felix set up all three of Atletico's goals, including two from Morata, in Monday's 3-0 win at Getafe. Injuries limited Felix to 24 league appearances for Atletico last season, scoring eight goals and setting up four more. There was speculation he wanted to leave the Rojiblancos in the previous transfer window because Simeone's style of play did not suit his strengths. However, Simeone has praised Felix and believes the player can having a starring role this season.
He said after the win at Getafe: "Joao Felix looks increasingly mature, stronger. He is growing, shows maturity, weight and has more vision than the rest. He is going through a great spell. Hopefully he continues to grow, because he is at the best time of his career."
Felix, who joined Atletico for a club record €126m fee from Benfica in 2019, recently said he had no intention of leaving Atletico despite growing interest from Premier League clubs in his services.
"A departure from Atletico is not on the table," he said. "I'm well and focused on Atletico. I'm calm about my future. I'm aware of what I can do and I'm happy with myself."
- Notebook: The latest stories from inside football
13.04 BST: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said Sergino Dest "knows what the situation is" as the club put pressure on the United States defender to leave the club before the transfer window closes.
Barca need to raise funds and reduce their wage bill to be able to register €55 million summer signing Jules Kounde and Dest is one of the players they have decided is disposable.
"Being honest, we wanted to sign Cesar Azpilicueta [from Chelsea] and we couldn't, so that's the situation," Xavi said in a news conference on Saturday when asked about the right-back position.
"But we do have players to provide cover there. Ronald [Araujo] did well there last weekend, Sergi Roberto can play there and [Kounde] can as well in case of an emergency."
Asked if Dest also remains an option off the microphone, Xavi added: "He knows what the situation is."
ESPN reported on Friday that Xavi spoke with Dest earlier in the week and told him he should look for a new club because he is no longer part of his plans for the season.
Dest, 21, prefers to stay at Camp Nou but is coming under intense pressure to agree to a transfer to help Barca register Kounde and, if possible, strengthen in other positions as well.
Barca had told Dest earlier in the summer they wanted him to stay due to his ability to also cover at left-back, but their financial position has forced them to change their stance.
12.23 BST: Real Madrid are considering a move for Tottenham's Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as a replacement for the Manchester United-bound Casemiro, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Hojbjerg, 27, has been a key player at Spurs since joining from Southampton in August 2020, making 74 Premier League starts since then.
However, Madrid brought in another defensive midfielder -- France international Aurelien Tchouameni -- in an €80m deal from Monaco earlier this summer, while manager Carlo Ancelotti -- speaking on Friday ahead of confirmation of Casemiro's switch to Old Trafford -- said that they would not look to bring in any further reinforcements.
"We have replacements within the squad," Ancelotti said. "Tchouameni is one of the best midfielders in the market right now. Then there's the option of Toni Kroos... We have [Eduardo] Camavinga.
"We have six midfielders: [Luka] Modric, Kroos, Tchouameni, [Fede] Valverde, Camavinga and [Dani] Ceballos. I think six are enough to manage all season."
11.54 BST: Everton manager Frank Lampard has admitted that "business" reasons could decide Chelsea target Anthony Gordon's future despite both him and the club wanting him to stay.
Sources told ESPN's James Olley this week that Chelsea had an improved £45m offer for winger Anthony Gordon rejected, and the London club will now decide whether to make a third offer for England under-21 winger Gordon, who has previously attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.
Sources have told ESPN that Everton value Gordon well in excess of £50m but would prefer to keep him given they have already lost Richarlison to Tottenham this summer.
"It has to be a joined-up say so," Lampard said. "When you're talking about the level of player Anthony is and the value of the player, we know what those kind of players go for in the modern day if there was ever to be these sort of transfers.
"It's a serious situation on a football level and a club business level, simple as that. If you can join those two up and make the right decision, I will always consider the football one the most important because that is what my job will be judged on. Anthony Gordon is a fantastic player for us and that is why my answer is what it is."
11.12 BST: Arsenal are in talks with Ligue 1 club Nice over the transfer of forward Nicolas Pepe, sources have told ESPN's James Olley.
Pepe has struggled since joining Arsenal from Lille for a club-record fee of £72m in 2019, scoring 27 goals in 112 appearances for the club across all competitions.
The Ivory Coast winger scored 16 goals in 47 appearances in his most productive campaign for the north London side in 2020-21 and helped them lift the FA Cup in 2020. But the 27-year-old made just five Premier League starts last season.
"Until the end of the window it's possible that anything can happen with any player," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told a news conference on Friday. "What we can communicate we always do when it's the right moment.
"We discussed that we have a big squad and we've made some decisions and allowed some players to leave."
10.37 BST: Casemiro has posted a farewell message to Real MAdrid and the club's fans ahead of his proposed transfer to Manchester United:
"I have lived a more wonderful story than I ever thought. I hope to return some day to what will always be my home. Not in a thousand lifetimes could I repay all that Real Madrid and the fans have given me. Forever... Hala Madrid!"
10.11 BST: Leicester City have announced that striker Jamie Vardy has signed a contract extension that commits him to the club until 2024.
Vardy, 35, has scored 164 goals for the Foxes in his 10 years at the club. helping them to their historic Premier League title triumph in 2015-16.
The former England international was the league's top scorer in 2019-20 with 23 goals, while in March this year when he became the player with most Premier League goals after his 30th birthday.
🎉 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬! 🎉#VardyParty2024 pic.twitter.com/9Wde2WxVlf
— Leicester City (@LCFC) August 20, 2022
09.48 BST: Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that he is in talks with the club over extending his contract.
The 48-year-old has been in charge at Stamford Bridge since January 2021, and led the club to Champions League glory at the end of that season.
The former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain coach's current deal at Stamford Bridge runs until 2024.
"My people talk to the owners and take care of everything else. You know how glad I am to be here and how much I like it," Tuchel said. "There are talks but I think given the situation where we come from, and where we are in the middle of the transfer period, I think it is the very best if I focus on my team and on sports and on being competitive,."
09.00 BST: Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro for £60m, with a further £10m possible in performance-related add-ons, but is he the player to save the club?
Casemiro, 30, is widely regarded to be one of the best defensive midfielders in the world and has won almost everything there is to win in Madrid after moving from Sao Paulo in 2013.
With just over 500 career appearances (and 47 goals) the Brazil international has lifted the Copa Sudamericana (2012) with Sao Paulo and a lot more trophies with Madrid, including; three LaLiga titles (2017, 2020, 2022); a Copa del Rey (2014); three Spanish Super Cups (2017, 2020, 2022); five UEFA Champions Leagues (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022); three UEFA Super Cups (2016, 2017, 2022); three FIFA Club World Cups (2016, 2017, 2018.)
With Brazil -- for whom he has made 63 senior caps -- he has won a Copa America (2019), as well as the South American U-17 Championship (2009), South American U-20 Championship (2011) and FIFA U-20 World Cup (2011) at youth level.
So what can Man United expect?
- Everything you need to know about Man United-bound Casemiro
PAPER GOSSIP (by Danny Lewis)
- Paris Saint-Germain still dream of signing Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva, according to L'Equipe. The Ligue 1 champions have come up against difficult negotiations, but have moved back in again with Luis Campos wanting to sign him and Christophe Galtier feeling that he would have liked to have the Portugal international available for the Lille match on Sunday.
- Barcelona are looking to bring in a new right-back and Foot Mercato have suggested that Stade Rennais' Hamari Traore is one of the players they are considering signing to fill that position. He has received interest from Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt, Crystal Palace and clubs in Qatar this summer but none have taken action, meaning Barcelona would face little competition if they opt to move for the Mali international.
- West Ham United are closing in on a deal for Chelsea left-back Emerson Palmieri, reports Fabrizio Romano, who adds that the two clubs are willing to agree on a fee of £13m plus an extra £2m. The Italy international will now discuss personal terms ahead of a permanent departure from Stamford Bridge, with some details still to be clarified over the weekend before a deal can be completed.
- Aston Villa have approached Southampton about a possible transfer for centre-back Jan Bednarek following Diego Carlos' injury, reports The Athletic. The Saints are willing to let the Poland international leave this summer, although there could be competition for Villa as he has received interest from across Europe.
- Negotiations remain ongoing between Club America and LAFC for Brian Rodriguez, as reported by Tom Bogert. The two clubs are getting closer but are still yet to reach an agreement, with the final deal expected to be in the region of $6 million to $7 million with a clause making LAFC entitled to some of the funds raised from any future move.