LIVE Transfer Talk: Manchester City go after Everton defender Holgate

The winter transfer window is closed, but now it's time to look ahead to the summer! Here are the new rumours floating around Europe's big leagues and beyond.

TOP STORY: Manchester City go after Everton's Holgate

Manchester City are considering a bid for Everton defender Mason Holgate, the Mirror reports.

The 23-year-old has been an impressive figure in the Toffees' starting XI ever since Carlo Ancelotti joined the club, and on the flip side, City boss Pep Guardiola is eager to add to his ranks -- especially from a defensive standpoint.

The bid in question is set to be priced at around £30 million, with Holgate being viewed as a realistic target.

The defending English champions will aim to go after two new defenders at a minimum in the summer, but with two years remaining on Holgate's current deal, City will have to make their offer an impressive one.

Despite City feeling that Holgate presents a realistic opportunity to upgrade their defence, Ancelotti is adamant that the centre-back won't be leaving Goodison Park any time soon.

LIVE BLOG

22.38 GMT: The Vancouver Whitecaps have announced they've signed 24-year-old central midfielder and former Portugal youth international Janio Bikel from Bulgarian outfit CSKA Sofia.

21.21 GMT: Not only is Youri Tielemans paying dividends on the pitch for Leicester, but the Mail writes that the 22-year-old has become the key recruiter in the Foxes' pursuit of 23-year-old Nice midfielder Arnaud Lusamba, who is out of contract in the summer and keen to join his mate at the King Power Stadium.

20.04 GMT: Inter are closing in on a deal for 20-year-old Manchester United forward Tahith Chong, who's out of contract in the summer, with Calciomercato reporting that the Nerazzurri have offered him a five-year contract worth €2m a year.

18.47 GMT: Inter Milan are set to continue their pursuit of Premier League players by attempting to sign Newcastle United youngster Matthew Longstaff, according to the Athletic.

The 19-year-old, who scored the winning goal against Manchester United in October, is also being monitored by Marseille and an unnamed Bundesliga club.

The midfielder has reportedly stalled on signing a new deal at St James' Park as his representatives believe he deserves a higher wage.

17.29 GMT: Staying in Italy, La Repubblica claims that Maurizio Sarri could be sacked if Juventus suffer defeat at the hands of Inter Milan this weekend.

Sarri criticised his players after the 1-0 Champions League midweek defeat against Lyon which did not go down well with the club's hierarchy.

Former Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri has reportedly been touted to make a stunning return to Turin who left at the end of the previous campaign.

16.52 GMT: The Daily Mail reports that Manchester United are interested in signing Italy international Federico Chiesa this summer.

The report claims that United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sent out his personal scout Simon Wells to watch the Fiorentina winger play last weekend.

The 22-year-old is reportedly valued at £60 million and has also attracted interest from Italian champions Juventus. He has 21 goals in 121 Serie A matches.

15.39 GMT: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has admitted that it was "nice" to receive praise from RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner.

Werner recently said that he was proud to be linked to the European champions and called them the "best team in the world."

"I prefer that when players speak about us they are positive, rather than saying 'that's the last club I would ever go to," Klopp told Sky Sports.

"From that point of view it's obviously nice, but that's all -- there's nothing else to say about it."

14.56 GMT: Mesut Ozil's agent has said that the midfielder will not leave Arsenal this summer.

The 31-year-old has been linked with a move away from north London but his agent Dr Erkut Sogut said he will stay until his contract runs out.

"He still has 15 months to go," Sogut told the i. "Until then, he will stay at Arsenal, for sure. He will stay until the end of his contract. There's no chance he'll leave."

13.47 GMT: There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the future of Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen this summer.

ESPN's Steve Nicol discusses whether he should be the latest player to leave the Premier League for Inter Milan.

13.11 GMT: The Sun reports that Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is prepared to leave the club after being dropped to the bench.

The newspaper says the 25-year-old will consider his options in the summer if he does not return to the starting lineup.

The world's most expensive goalkeeper has not featured for the Blues since the 2-2 draw against Arsenal on Jan. 21.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard recently said the club's board back his decision to drop Kepa for Willy Caballero.

12.09 GMT: Liverpool youngster Harvey Elliott is set to sign a professional deal at the club, according to the Times.

The report claims the 17-year-old will put pen to paper on a three-year contract at Anfield.

The attacking midfielder has made six appearances for the first team this season and is highly rated by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.

11.33 GMT: Neymar has sued Barcelona for a third time since leaving the club in 2017 El Mundo reports. According tot the Spanish newspaper, the Brazil international is demanding €6.5m over tax contingencies that he faced regarding the contracts that led to his signing in 2013.

Back in January, Neymar reportedly sued Barca for €3.5m over unpaid wages and issues around his 2017 transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

In total, Neymar is demanding from Barca €38.6m, which includes the loyalty bonus he believes he is owed by his former club.

10.42 GMT: Former Cameroon and current Togo boss Claude Le Roy has advised Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to leave Pairs Saint-Germain. The Cameroon international is out of contract this summer, and barely features for Thomas Tuchel's men.

"Eric Maxim is better than what he has shown with PSG," Le Roy told Canal+'s African Talents. "Working against him is his miss [vs. Strasbourg] from last season. He was ridiculed a bit and it knocked his confidence.

"Eric Maxim is somebody with character, a big personality, and intelligence. He has to leave. It is not even a question. He can no longer stay with PSG. It would show that nobody else knows the true Choupo-Moting."

Choupo-Moting, 30, has five goals and one assist from 17 appearances across all competitions this season, yet just eight starts.

- VOTE: Is Choupo-Moting's miss worse than these spurned chances?

The former Stoke City man was also recently excluded from PSG's Champions League squad list for the latter stages, suggesting that his contribution for the French giants is nearing an end.

09.49 GMT: Leganes' hopes to sign a replacement for Martin Braithwaite were turned down by the Spanish FA. Barcelona triggered Braithwaite's release clause and bought him in as an emergency signing after losing Ousmane Dembele to a long-term injury earlier this month.

Relegation-threatened Leganes feel the rule, which allows a Spanish club to sign a player out of the transfer window due to a long-term injury, goes against "equality" and has caused them "irreparable damage."

Leganes requested of the Spanish FA, as an exceptional measure, to be able to sign a replacement for Braithwaite. They had reportedly reached an agreement to acquire Villarreal forward Carlos Bacca if they had received the approval of the Spanish FA.

09.12 GMT: Although it has looked likely that this is Thiago Silva's final season with PSG, UOL Esporte claims that the captain could be offered a contract extension by sporting director Leonardo.

However, the only way that could happen is for the Brazil international to agree to a pay cut -- just weeks after L'Equipe reported that he earns around €1.5m per month before taxes.

Silva is likely to miss the Champions League round-of-16 second leg against Borussia Dortmund through injury, and his agent Paulo Tonietto has regularly issued updates as to the lack of talk between him and PSG over his client's future.

The 35-year-old signed for PSG back in 2012 and has been linked with a return to AC Milan -- if he does not secure a new deal at Parc des Princes.

08.36 GMT: Valencia are interested in signing Real Betis defender Zou Feddal to replace injured Ezequiel Garay, according to Betis coach Rubi. However, the Morocco international will only leave the club if his release clause is met.

Valencia have been given the go ahead by La Liga to make an emergency signing out of the transfer window after losing Garay to a season-ending knee injury earlier this month. Los Che have 15 days to sign a replacement and are keen to acquire Feddal, who is tied to Betis until June 2021.

"I'm aware of the interest but also know it will not be easy to complete," Rubi said in a news conference ahead of Saturday's game against Valencia. "From our standpoint we have four great central defenders that are under contract and we have no intention to let anyone leave the club.

08.00 GMT: David Beckham has said he would welcome Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at his new franchise Inter Miami, who make their MLS debut this weekend.

Inter president Beckham, who played for LA Galaxy after spells at Manchester United and Real Madrid, exercised an option to buy an MLS expansion team in 2014. The option was a part of his contract at the Galaxy, whom he represented between 2007 and 2012.

"We really believe in the roster we have, the players that we have we're really happy with," former England international Beckham said.

"But we have also talked about if we have the opportunity to bring in big name players from Europe into our city, we will do that.

"Every team in the world would want Messi and Ronaldo in their teams, but we always talked about us being different from any other team, which I am sure every other owner says exactly the same thing.

"So that's what we will try to do and if we have the opportunity to bring big name players in then great -- we're lucky we have an ownership group that has that vision and wants to succeed and has that competitiveness where we want the best players."

PAPER TALK (by Harry Kettle): Roma speed up Smalling talks

Roma are working to accelerate talks between themselves and Manchester United over the permanent signing of Chris Smalling, Calciomercato reports.

Smalling has impressed during his time in Italy, but even with that being the case, it seems as if there are a few hurdles standing in the way of a deal being done.

Roma are currently willing to offer €15m as part of the deal, whereas the Red Devils want them to bump that up to €20 million.

A meeting took place with Smalling's agents last weekend but with Tottenham Hotspur lingering, there's a real feeling of urgency in Rome.

'No surprise' in Tottenham's Forsberg interest

Emil Forsberg's agent has claimed that he was not surprised to learn of Tottenham Hotspur's potential interest in his client, Daily Mail reports.

The Swede has been attracting the attention of many top clubs over the course of the last few weeks with the summer transfer window looming large.

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho was quick to praise him following RB Leipzig's narrow win over Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League, during which Forsberg was able to play a starring role.

While a move away from Germany is far from a guarantee, Forsberg's agent did note that all will soon become clear regarding his future.

Tap-ins

- Calciomercato is reporting that Napoli star Jose Callejon will be leaving the club during the summer transfer window. The belief is that the 33-year-old will allow his contract to run out in June, and while manager Gennaro Gattuso is leaning towards him staying, a renewal isn't said to be likely at this time. 

- As reported by Football.London, Huddersfield manager Danny Cowley has admitted that the club would love to sign Arsenal youngster Emile Smith Rowe on loan once again next season. Smith Rowe has impressed for the Terriers since arriving during the January transfer window, with the hope being that the Championship side can lure him back up to Yorkshire in the summer.