The winter transfer window won’t reopen in Europe for a while yet, but there are plenty of moves in the works and gossip swirling around. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings, goings and, of course, done deals!
TOP STORY: Barcelona search for Ansu Fati replacement
Barcelona are willing to loan out Ansu Fati in January if they are able to replace the winger, according to Diario Sport.
The 21-year-old is looking to reignite his career after a disappointing loan at Brighton & Hove Albion last term, and Barca had high hopes for him as he stayed having not received any convincing proposals in the summer. This came with agent Jorge Mendes having looked into possible destinations, although the economics weren’t attractive for either party.
Yet, Fati had an injury in pre-season and has only played 28 minutes this term — 26 of those came with the Blaugrana already four goals up in their 5-0 win against Young Boys. That has resulted in the club deciding that the best option would be for Fati to go out on loan for the second half of the campaign so that he can get minutes and find a rhythm.
One of the reasons behind the initial decision to keep Fati was Barca’s struggles to find another winger who could fit into their salary limit. Sporting and financial aspects will be taken into account in November, when the club will make the decision on Fati’s immediate future, but they will only let him leave if a replacement can be found.
PAPER GOSSIP
– Following up reports that Barcelona and Juventus are interested in Alejandro Garnacho, TEAMtalk say that it would take over £70m for Manchester United to even consider letting the winger leave Old Trafford. The 20-year-old is frustrated about his limited minutes but is focused on regularly getting into Erik ten Hag’s starting lineup, while his dream is to play for Real Madrid.
– Robert Lewandowski and Barcelona are planning to continue together for another year, as reported by Diario Sport. The 36-year-old’s current contract ends in 2025, but a clause was inserted at the beginning that would see that extended until 2026 if he played close to half of the club’s matches in his third year with them — he has started all official matches so far.
– Calciomercato theorise that Juventus could let Paul Pogba leave in January after the midfielder’s doping ban was reduced to 18 months. I Bianconeri are reportedly trying to reduce their wage outlays while the 31-year-old would be able to start fresh where he chooses to.
– While Juventus have been linked with Simon Kjaer, Joel Matip and Sergio Ramos since Gleison Bremer‘s injury, Tuttosport report that I Bianconeri are looking at younger centre-backs. They have been working on a deal for Ajax’s Jorrel Hato, they are looking at Maxence Lacroix despite the 23-year-old joining Crystal Palace in the summer, while they could also look to recall Tarik Muharemovic from Sassuolo.
– Having already linked Eberechi Eze with Tottenham Hotspur, Football Insider now report that Liverpool want to sign the Crystal Palace attacking midfielder as a potential replacement for Dominik Szoboszlai. They feel that the 26-year-old is more creative and has a better end product.