The 2022 January transfer window is closed, but there's still plenty of gossip swirling about who's moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings and goings and, of course, done deals!
TOP STORY: Arsenal plan Coutinho swoop
Arsenal will move quickly to acquire Philippe Coutinho if Aston Villa fail to exercise their priority purchase option before his loan deal expires, according to Sport.
Villa boss Steven Gerrard is keen to sign his former Liverpool teammate on a permanent basis, but he is yet to receive the green light from the Villa Park hierarchy that the funds will be made available to activate the €40 million clause.
Barcelona are eager to move on the 29-year-old attacking midfielder with plans to raise funds for other signings, and they hope to have a deal confirmed by the time the international transfer window opens on July 1.
While the LaLiga club have no plans to lower their asking price should Coutinho's future no longer be at Villa, the report suggests that the Gunners are prepared to pay the transfer fee and offer the Brazil international a long-term contract at the Emirates.
Coutinho has been a standout performer for Villa since joining on loan in January, registering four goals and three assists in nine Premier League appearances.
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21.52 GMT: Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is still undecided about his future, reports Le10 Sport. The France World Cup winner's contract at Parc des Princes ends this summer and it has seemed almost inevitable that he will go on to join Real Madrid, but les Parisiens continue to make lavish financial offers as they work to convince the 23-year-old that their on-field project is one he wants to be part of -- reportedly including bringing in Zinedine Zidane to replace manager Mauricio Pochettino.
21.15 GMT: The future of Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta is uncertain, as he has played enough matches this season to trigger an option clause in his contract to automatically extend his stay, reports Marca. The Spain international reportedly wants to sign for Barcelona, and would have been able to depart as a free agent in the summer if it wasn't for the extension, but the Blaugrana are not willing to pay a transfer fee for a 32-year-old. The Blues captain is said to be unwilling to force a move in hopes of an amicable departure after 10 years in west London.
20.38 GMT: Internazionale are progressing in talks to sign centre-back Bremer from Torino, reports Fabrizio Romano. The 24-year-old has been key for Torino this season and is hoping to push on in order to represent Brazil at the World Cup.
20.01 GMT: Real Madrid have added Chelsea right-back Reece James to their summer transfer list, according to Ekrem Konur.
With the certainty surrounding the London club's financial future, Los Blancos are one of many clubs hoping to sign one of their players.
19.24 GMT: Torino are hoping to keep midfielder Tommaso Pobega, who is on loan from AC Milan, but it would take an extreme offer for the Rossoneri to consider such a proposal, reports Calciomercato. Milan have reportedly earmarked a place for the midfielder in Stefano Pioli's team next season, encouraged by the 22-year-old's impressive performances for Il Toro this term.
18.47 GMT: Barcelona and Liverpool are interested in signing Leeds United winger Raphinha, reports Fabrizio Romano, with Chelsea also on standby. The Blaugrana have already discussed a possible move with the 25-year-old Brazil international's agent, Deco, but there haven't been any talks with Leeds as a fee would depend on whether they stay in the Premier League.
18.10 GMT: Benfica are holding talks to sign winger Angel Di Maria when his Paris Saint-Germain contract comes to an end in the summer, according to Ekrem Konur. The 34-year-old scored the winner in the Copa America final for Argentina in 2021, but hasn't had as much joy at club level playing backup to Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi. If Di Maria is to return to Benfica, where he played between 2007 and 2010, he will likely need to lower his wage demands.
17.33 GMT: Clubs from the Premier League and Bundesliga are monitoring goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha's precarious situation at Lazio, reports Calciomercato. The Albania No. 1's contract expires in the summer, and it seems increasingly unlikely that it will be renewed despite the 26-year-old retaking his place between the sticks from Pepe Reina.
16.56 GMT: Sevilla are hoping to sign centre-back Jason Denayer when his Lyon contract comes to an end in the summer, according to Le10 Sport. They are aware that Jules Kounde could leave in the summer, having been linked with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United, and have lined up Denayer as a possible replacement, with it being a bonus that the Belgian would be a free agent.
16.19 GMT: Fiorentina are happy with midfielder Lucas Torreira's performances while on loan from Arsenal, and talks are underway regarding a permanent move, reports Fabrizio Romano. The 26-year-old's arrangement with the Viola includes a €15m option to make the deal permanent, with the Gunners happy to let him leave and use the funds, and those from Matteo Guendouzi's pending move to Lyon, to finance their summer transfer spending.
15.42 GMT: AS Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is set to sign a new contract with the club.
Mkhitaryan, 33, has been a crucial player for Jose Mourinho. In fact, they have won only one game without him in the starting line-up.
Calciomercato reports that he is set to be offered reduced wages, but the club hope that by offering him a two-year deal rather than one-year he will be persuaded to extend his stay.
15.00 GMT: Barcelona would have to reduce costs and increase their income to be able to make a significant investment in the squad this summer, LaLiga has said, after setting the club's spending limit after the January transfer window at -€144m.
Barca are the only club in Spain's first and second divisions -- all of which are subject to strict financial controls on spending on transfer fees and contracts -- to receive a negative cap, with Real Madrid topping the list with a €739m spending limit.
The spending cap will restrict Barca's ability to act in this summer's transfer market when ESPN has reported that the club hope to compete with Real Madrid and Manchester City to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
There have been doubts about the club's capacity to finance a deal that could total €350m in transfer fee, commission and salary.
"To make signings, Barcelona have to reduce the costs they have now or bring in more income. There's no other way," LaLiga director general Javier Gomez said when asked about Haaland in a media call on Monday. "Barcelona's losses are greater than their capacity to bring in income. That's why [the spending limit] is negative."
14.14 GMT: Dani Ceballos' future at Real Madrid is "uncertain" after playing an "irrelevant" role at the club this season, according to Diario AS.
Ceballos, 25, missed the first half of this season with an ankle injury after spending the previous two years on loan at Arsenal.
Despite returning to fitness in January -- when coach Carlo Ancelotti said he would play an "important role" in what's left of this campaign -- he has barely featured, making just five brief substitute appearances for a total of 46 minutes in LaLiga.
The midfielder's contract at Real Madrid expires in June 2023, and with a renewal highly unlikely, the club are expected to look to find him a new club this summer, AS reports.
13.29 GMT: Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano says that Barcelona and definitely interested in Raphinha, but all clubs are waiting to see if Leeds United stay in the Premier League as that will change the financial package needed to get the player.
Raphinha, 25, was in stunning form under former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa, but his performances dipped along with the rest of the team in the last few months.
Barca are one of a number of clubs who will be looking to sign the player in the summer, which will be far easier to achieve if Leeds are relegated to the Championship. Liverpool have also been strongly linked.
Barcelona are interested in Raphinha alongside Premier League clubs, including Liverpool [Chelsea wanted him, now in stand-by]. Barça already discussed about Raphinha with Deco. 🇧🇷 #FCB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 14, 2022
No talks yet with Leeds - as price depends on their PL future and potential buy out clauses. https://t.co/iof4IPzMdB
12.40 GMT: The Sun reports that Liverpool have no intention of allowing back-up goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher to move to another club next season.
A number of Premier League clubs are said to be interested in the the 23-year-old, who has impressed when deputising for No. 1 Allison.
Liverpool aren't even interested in letting him move on loan for first-team experience just yet -- though they may change their opinion on that for the 2023-24 campaign.
Adrian and Loris Karius will both leave Anfield this summer when their contracts expire.
11.58 GMT: Negotiations for Barcelona to renew the contracts of Gavi and Ronald Araujo are at "breaking point," according to the journalist Ruben Uria in Diario Sport.
Gavi and Araujo are both out of contract in 2023 but talks with their agents have failed to yield an agreement, with Barca said to be unwilling to match their demands.
"If [the players] want to continue at the club, they will, but on Barca's terms," a source at the club is quoted as saying.
Gavi, 17, has enjoyed a breakout season at Camp Nou. The midfielder has established himself as a regular in Xavi Hernandez's side and has also earned international recognition with Spain.
Araujo, meanwhile, has emerged as an important part of Barca's backline. The 23-year-old is in his second full season with the first team after initially signing for Barca B from Boston River in his native Uruguay in 2018. ESPN has previously revealed that he has been approached by several Premier League sides.
11.11 GMT: Calciomercato reports that Juventus will make finding a new club for Adrien Rabiot a priority this summer.
Rabiot, 26, joined Juve from Paris Saint-Germain three years ago, but he has struggled this season under coach Massimiliano Allegri.
The report says that the club are eager to get his €7m a season wages off the books, though there is no indication of which clubs could be interested.
10.33 GMT: Lionel Messi's dad contacted Barcelona recently to sound out the possibility of a sensational return to Camp Nou, according to the journalist Gerard Romero.
Messi, 34, was jeered by Paris Saint-Germain supporters on Sunday following the French club's elimination from the Champions League last week, which has led to renewed speculation about his future. And Romero claims that the forward's father, Jorge, was even floating the idea of moving back to Barcelona prior to the weekend's events against Bordeaux, when Neymar was also subject to whistles from his own fans.
Speaking on Jijantes FC, Romero said Messi Sr. phoned a Barca director recently to find out what the situation is at the Catalan club following a troubled few years which culminated with Messi's exit last summer. Messi joined PSG on a free transfer because Barca could not afford to renew his contract while remaining within their LaLiga-imposed spending limit.
Not everything has gone as expected in Paris, though, where Messi has scored just twice in 18 league games. He did score five Champions League goals, but failed to net in either of the games against Madrid as PSG were knocked out, leading to fan complaints on Sunday.
☎️ La llamada de Jorge Messi al FCB, así lo hemos contado con @Blayasensat y su bata #mercato pic.twitter.com/BO7XjqhBDh
— Jijantes FC (@JijantesFC) March 13, 2022
09.56 GMT: Arturo Vidal is likely to leave Inter Milan this summer, reports Calciomercato.
Vidal, 34, has been at Inter for the past two seasons and helped the club win the Scudetto last year. However, he will celebrate his 35th birthday on the last day of the Serie A season and even though he is contracted to 2023 he may be allowed to move on.
The report says that he still wants to win the Premier League, having claimed the title in Italy, Germany and Spain, but it is more likely he moves to Flamengo. However, Inter will need to make some financial concessions for the move to work for the Brazilian club.
09.16 GMT: AS reports that Benfica are the most likely destination for Angel Di Maria when he leaves Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his contract this summer.
Di Maria, 34, has not been offered fresh terms by the Ligue 1 club, as reported by L'Equipe, and his representatives have been weighing up his options.
Benfica was the winger's first club in Europe, moving to Portugal from Argentine side Rosario Central in 2007 before going on to play for Real Madrid, Manchester United and PSG. And now his European career could come to a close where it started.
08.30 GMT: Cesar Azpilicueta will not be available on a free transfer this summer, reports Marca, because a clause in his contract to trigger a one-year extension has automatically been activated.
Azpilicueta, 32, was due to be out of contract in the summer, and was heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, but the deal has been extended to 2023 after the defender played in the required number of games to add an extra 12 months.
It means Barca will have to pay a transfer fee to sign the Spain international, though there remains uncertainty over Chelsea's future after Roman Abromovich saw his assets frozen by the UK government
PAPER GOSSIP
- Barcelona have identified Alexandre Lacazette as a potential alternative forward option, writes Ekrem Konur. The Blaugrana are continuing to look for reinforcements on their front line, and with fees proving to be an issue in moves for the likes of Erling Haaland and Alexander Isak, Lacazette is seen as a more realistic option. The 30-year-old Arsenal striker will be out of contract at the end of the season.
- AS Roma look to have completed talks for the signing of Mile Svilar, reports Fabrizio Romano. Jose Mourinho's side have been in discussions for the Benfica B goalkeeper over the past month, and it now looks as though that the deal will be announced before the end of the season. Svilar, 22, earned his first cap for the Serbia national team in September.
- Luka Modric has made his decision to remain at the Bernabeu, reveals Marca. Manchester City were recently linked with a move for the 36-year-old midfielder back, but it looks as though he will soon sign new terms at Real Madrid. Modric has remained a key player for the LaLiga side this season, making 32 appearances across all competitions.
- Napoli and Juventus are keeping a close eye on Junior Traore, according to Calciomercato. The 22-year-old has impressed for Sassuolo, and the latest report suggests that the club will receive contact from Naples this week ahead of a potential summer deal. His valuation is believed to be around €25m.
- Lyon are keeping tabs on Villarreal central defender Aissa Mandi, writes Foot Mercato. As hopes of Jason Denayer renewing teams with the Ligue 1 club look uncertain, the club hierarchy are now looking for alternatives. Mandi has impressed in LaLiga this season despite not being a regular starter, and the 30-year-old Algeria international would be open to a return to French football.