The transfer window is now open in most leagues across the world, and speculation is heating up about potential deals. Check out the latest gossip below and see all official moves here.
TOP STORY: Liverpool eye Salzburg defender Wober
Liverpool are set to return to FC Salzburg for a defender in January, reports Eurosport.
The Reds, who lost to Southampton on Monday night, need a centre-back as Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez recover from injuries and signed midfielder Takumi Minamino from the Austrian side last year.
Salzburg let star midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai join RB Leipzig this month so may not be in the mood to allow more players to leave, but the report claims that Maximilian Wober is of interest to Liverpool.
Wober, 22, was signed from Sevilla for around €15m in 2019 and has impressed, though Lille's Sven Botman and Braga's David Carmo are also mentioned as possible targets for Jurgen Klopp as Leipzig's Dayot Upamecano will prove too expensive at €60m.
LIVE BLOG
22.15 GMT: That will do it for the latest edition of our LIVE Transfer Talk blog. We hoped you enjoyed following along with us and remind you to check back shortly for the latest transfer rumours, reports and completed deals. Goodnight!
21.56 GMT: Aston Villa to land Inter playmaker Matias Vecino in January?
Sports MediaSet claims that the Uruguayan has been given the green light to leave this month, with Aston Villa and West Ham both with reported interest. The 29-year-old has yet to play this season while recovering from a knee injury, has scored 11 times in 96 games for the Nerazzurri since arriving from Fiorentina in 2017 for €24 million.
21.20 GMT: Preston North End have announced they have signed Republic of Ireland midfielder Jayson Molumby, 21, on loan from Brighton.
✍️ 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝘆𝘀𝗼𝗻!
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) January 5, 2021
Preston North End have completed the loan signing of Irish international midfielder Jayson Molumby from Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion.
➡️ https://t.co/M6nQe97ObW#pnefc pic.twitter.com/IscOopYU69
The 21-year-old, who previously spent time on loan at Millwall, joins fellow Ireland internationals Alan Browne, Joe Rafferty and Sean Maguire on the books at Deepdale.
20.43 GMT: Newcastle have been listed as favorites to bring Man United's Brandon Williams in on loan but don't rule out a late plot twist.
Sky Sports reports that Southampton are keen on brining in the young left-back, who is keen to secure regular first-team football ahead of this summer's Under-21 Euros. Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle have also been credited with interest in the youngster.
Man United have still not revealed whether or not they will loan out the 20-year-old in January.
20.18 GMT: Leeds have 'concrete interest' in on-fire Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, Football Insider has learned.
The 6-foot-four frontman has 10 goals in 16 appearances for Mainz, and is being tracked by Leeds director of recruitment Victor Orta and his staff. The 23-year-old has represented France at the Under-21 level and was Mainz's record signing (£7 million) when he joined from Lyon in 2018.
19.49 GMT: Juventus are monitoring ageless Serie A goal machine Fabio Quagliarella, according to a report from Italy.
La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that the soon-to-be-38-year-old is an option for Andre Pirlo and the Old Lady as they look to strengthen their attack in January. The Sampdoria striker, who played at Juventus from 2010-14, has scored 63 Serie A goals in 113 games over the last four years with Samp, all while defying Father Time in the process.
The report lists Quagliarella, Olivier Giroud, ex-Southampton man Graziano Pelle, Cagliari's Leonardo Pavoletti and Spaniard Fernando Llorente all as options for striker-searching Juve.
19.00 GMT: New PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino is not ruling out anything in terms of transfers.
Mauricio Pochettino said that PSG are looking at all possibilities when it comes to transfers. Speaking in his first news conference, the Argentine was asked about the potential arrivals of Lionel Messi, Dele Alli or Christian Eriksen either this January or in the summer. He stayed coy on these names but said that "every great player is always welcome in Paris".
The former Tottenham manager is being linked with a reunion with his former players Alli and Eriksen, who are not playing much at Spurs and Inter Milan. "I am in direct contact with Leonardo (PSG sporting director)". Pochettino and Leonardo have a meeting scheduled later this week to start discussing the January transfer window.
A centre defender and creative midfielder could be targeted. The club is already talking with Everton about Moise Kean to make his move permanent, according to Sky Italia. But, according to ESPNFC sources, Mauricio Pochettino has already been told that the priority this winter is to extend the contract of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar which both expire in June 2022.
Paris also need to sell players with German midfielder Julian Draxler one player on the club's transfer list.
18.23 GMT: Inter are being linked with a surprise move for former striker Eder by Calciomercato.
The Italy international, who has played the last two seasons in China with Jiangsu Suning, played for the Nerazzurri from 2016-18 and previously played under Antonio Conte with the Italian national team. Now 34, the Brazilian-born Eder is being tipped with a return to Italy, with Inter looking for a backup behind Romelu Lukaku.
Eder, who scored 12 goals in 24 games last year to lead Jiangsu Suning to a first-ever league title, may also be allowed to get out of his contract in China rather easily, with the Chinese government imposing further restrictions regarding foreign players due to COVID-19.
17.51 GMT: West Brom are looking for a striker in January and the Daily Mail suggests out-of-favour Bournemouth forward Josh King could be the man for Sam Allardyce and Co.
The outlet reports that King is a target for the relegation-threatened Baggies and that West Brom could even get him for a bargain price given King is entering the final six months of his contract. West Brom currently have Karlan Grant, Callum Robinson, Charlie Austin and Hal Robson-Kanu as options at striker, while King has scored 48 career goals in the top-flight.
17.09 GMT: Minnesota United have signed USMNT midfielder Wil Trapp to a contract.
It's a (Wil) Trapp! pic.twitter.com/BXYoXOqhrG
— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) January 5, 2021
The midfielder, who turns 28 in a few weeks, played last season with Inter MIami CF, starting 16 of their 23 games. Trapp, who has earned 20 caps for the United States, previously played seven seasons with the Columbus Crew, earning an All-Star nod in 2016.
16.31 GMT: USMNT goalkeeper Zack Steffen made his Premier League debut for Manchester City on Sunday against Chelsea, but how is he doing?
16.01 GMT: Some MLS news to bring you: New England Revolution midfielder Diego Fagundez has signed with Austin FC as a free agent after a decade at the club.
FC Cincinnati have reportedly submitted a bid for Flamengo striker Lincoln, according to Globoesporte.
And Inter Miami defender A.J. DeLaGarza is reportedly set to sign with New England as a free agent, reuniting him with head coach Bruce Arena, says SBI.
15.28 GMT: A Premier League winner with Leicester, midfielder Andy King has joined Belgian side OH Leuven on a deal until the end of the season.
Leuven are Leicester's sister-club so that makes some sense.
15.12 GMT: New PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino has been speaking in his first news conference and of course transfers came up.
Pochettino during his press conference: "Eriksen? This is not the moment to talk about him. We're waiting for our injuried players to come back [...]. I'm sure Leonardo will take the best decisions for PSG" 🔵🔴
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 5, 2021
Inter have *not* received any approach yet from PSG for Eriksen. 🇩🇰
Pochettino on Messi: "Any great player is welcome in Paris, but honestly, we have not discussed it." #PSG
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) January 5, 2021
14.58 GMT: Odion Ighalo is still a Manchester United player, though the Nigeria striker hasn't had much of a chance to play after the arrival of Edinson Cavani this summer.
Ighalo, 31, is on loan from Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua but "is attracting interest from clubs in Qatar and Saudi Arabia ahead of the striker's Old Trafford deal expiring on January 31," according to Sky Sports.
The former Watford man has five goals in 20 appearances since arriving at Old Trafford in January 2020.
14.17 GMT: LeBron James to PSG would be pretty huge. So would Kylian Mbappe to the LA Lakers.
Shame it's just for a Nike campaign.
Liverpool part owner LeBron James has swapped profile photos with Kylian Mbappe during the January transfer window 👀 pic.twitter.com/uWfFCMGGdG
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 5, 2021
14.02 GMT: RB Leipzig signed midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai from FC Salzburg this month, but how good is he?
13.15 GMT: Since 2010, Europe's top clubs have all done something wrong. Here's a look at some of the biggest mistakes in the transfer market. Including:
BARCELONA: Spending over €420m on four players: Malcom, Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele
DORTMUND: Letting Robert Lewandowski leave on a free
CHELSEA: Allowing Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah to go
MAN UNITED: Letting Paul Pogba join Juventus and buying him back for £89.3m
REAL MADRID: Spending €100m on Eden Hazard
12.50 GMT: The Shields Gazette reports "Newcastle United are understood to have agreed the framework of a deal, in principle, to sign Manchester United and England under-21 international defender Brandon Williams."
Williams is keen to move on to find regular first team football and Newcastle are in need of some defenders. The full-back emerged last year but hasn't been able to hold down a place in the XI, so will go out on loan.
12.22 GMT: Agusti Benedito, one of the candidates to become the next Barcelona president, has told ESPN he's not optimistic about the club's chances of retaining Lionel Messi.
Messi, 33, is out of contract in the summer and is free to negotiate a precontract agreement with other clubs outside Spain. The Argentina forward, though, has said he will not make any firm decision on his future until the end of the season.
Benedito, who also ran for the presidency in 2010 and 2015, believes the most likely outcome is that Messi walks away from Barca in June when his deal expires.
"Keeping Messi would be the best news for the club but I am not very optimistic," he told ESPN's Jordi Blanco. "Given the club's situation, I think it's really important that he stays at Barca, with the understanding that he understands the next two years we have in front us [could be difficult].
"He's been here for 20 years; he's a Barcelona fan and I think he's sensitive to the situation. He has given us so much in the same way that Barcelona have given him a lot and it's time for us all to roll up our sleeves.
"I would have liked him to say in his interview the other week that his desire is to stay at the club, but he didn't and now we have to wait and see. The truth is I am pessimistic. Remember that in August he said he wanted to leave after 20 years and now he's still not cleared up what he wants to do. The most likely outcome I see is that he leaves us in the summer."
Benedito is one of nine candidates competing to replace Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned in October. Each candidate must get over 2,257 signatures from club members before Jan. 11 to be able to stand in the election, which is on Jan. 24.
Two of the other candidates, Joan Laporta and Victor Font, have both expressed confidence in interviews with ESPN that they can get Messi to stay at Camp Nou.
12.00 GMT: David Alaba looks set to leave Bayern Munich for free in the summer, possibly heading to Real Madrid.
11.27 GMT: Barcelona midfielder Carles Alena is close to joining Getafe on loan until the end of the season, sources have confirmed to ESPN.
Alena, 23, is also drawing interest from another La Liga club and from Italy, but he's prioritised a move to Getafe, where he will be reunited with former Barca B teammate Marc Cucurella.
The deal will not include an option to buy and Alena, who's started just once under coach Ronald Koeman this season, will return to Barca in the summer. It's the second time the Spain U21 international has left on loan. He spent the second half of last season at Real Betis.
Meanwhile, Riqui Puig is set to extend his contract with Barca until 2023, according to a report in Mundo Deportivo.
Puig, 21, is out of contract in the summer and hasn't featured regularly under Koeman but there is still a belief he has a bright future at the club.
Koeman has urged him to go out on loan to play more minutes but he has so far resisted and the injury to Philippe Coutinho and Alena's looming departure could enhance his chances of playing under the Dutchman.
11.11 GMT: Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman has attracted interest from Manchester United and City but doesn't seem interested in a move yet.
Coman, 24, scored the winner in the 2020 Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain and had been rumoured to be ready to quit the German club.
He told Bild: "Knowing that good teams are interested in me is good, it gives me additional confidence. But I have a contract here until 2023, I'm just thinking of Bayern. It's all good, I'm happy. I had the feeling that I could be used less often [due to Leroy Sane's €49m arrival]. I'm 24, that's an age I have to play! Fortunately, my fear did not come true."
10.28 GMT: Tottenham wouldn't let star striker Harry Kane move to Man City, would they?
10.04 GMT: Kevin De Bruyne's contract at Manchester City expires in the summer of 2023, and it seems like there's a problem.
De Bruyne, 29, has been in talks for a year but The Daily Telegraph reports the midfielder is "set to reject Manchester City's first contract offer and is concerned about the pace of negotiations with the club over a new deal."
How long before Europe's elite clubs are linked with him? Not long...
09.27 GMT: Manchester City are closely monitoring Sergio Ramos' situation at Real Madrid with an eye to signing him as a free agent this summer, multiple sources have told ESPN's Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez.
The Madrid captain is yet to renew his contract at the Bernabeu, which expires on June 30, and has been free to negotiate with other clubs since Jan. 1. City are aware that a deal would be complicated but are looking to reinforce their defence ahead of next season.
Sources told ESPN that Pep Guardiola is a fan of Ramos and would be keen on a deal for the veteran centre-back.
09.00 GMT: Chelsea are prepared to give Frank Lampard time to turn around the club's poor form despite mounting speculation over his future, sources have told ESPN's James Olley.
The Blues were comprehensively beaten 3-1 at Manchester City on Sunday to slip to their fourth defeat in six Premier League matches, a run which has seen them drop to eighth in the table.
Lampard is under increasingly pressure after overseeing a summer spending spree in excess of £220 million featuring six signings, several of whom have underperformed in their first few months in west London.
However, there is recognition of Lampard's achievements last season, most significantly guiding the club into the Champions League despite starting the campaign with a FIFA transfer ban preventing the club making any new signings.
PAPER TALK (by Harry Kettle)
Atletico Madrid want Willian Jose
Atletico Madrid are aiming to sign Real Sociedad striker Willian Jose this month, Diario AS reports.
Jose has emerged as a strong option for Atletico as they look to replace Diego Costa, whose contract was terminated last week. Jose's agents are already reported to be in talks with the club as he edges closer towards ending his four-year stay with the La Liga high-flyers.
With a deal involving Napoli's Arkadiusz Milik seemingly going nowhere, Jose seems as good of a second choice as any for the Spanish giants.
Fernandes heading back to Benfica
Benfica are set to recall Gedson Fernandes from his loan spell with Tottenham Hotspur, the Evening Standard reports.
The 21-year-old signed an 18-month loan contract back in January 2020 but, after barely appearing for Spurs after a year of that deal, Benfica have made the decision to bring him back to Portugal.
There is a clause within the deal for Benfica to trigger an early release and, even if Fernandes winds up playing against Brentford in the Carabao Cup (live on ESPN+ on Tuesday night), the Portuguese side are expected to take up that option during the January transfer window.
Rojo in Boca Juniors talks
Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo is in talks to join Argentine club Boca Juniors, the Daily Mail reports.
Rojo has been sidelined with a calf injury since October and while Boca have yet to submit a formal offer for him, the report says that discussions have begun between the two sides.
The Argentina international was sent out on loan with Estudiantes last season and, while Sheffield United and Newcastle United are both interested in his services, Rojo is understood to be keen on returning to Argentina.
Tap-ins
- West Ham United have decided against trying to re-sign striker Marko Arnautovic, the Daily Mail reports. The controversial forward made the switch from London Stadium to Shanghai SIPG back in 2019 and, though he could improve their attack, the Hammers have decided that he's just too expensive and instead they want to try and offload some fringe players in January.
- The Guardian is reporting that Felipe Anderson's loan spell at Porto could come to a premature end. The West Ham midfielder made the switch to the Portuguese giants in October on a season-long loan but, after a lack of playing time, manager David Moyes is aiming to find him a new destination.