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LIVE Transfer Talk: Arsenal eye Osimhen as Aubameyang replacement

The coronavirus pandemic has made the summer transfer window uncertain, but here are the rumours floating around Europe's big leagues and beyond.

TOP STORY: Arsenal eye Osimhen as Aubameyang replacement

Arsenal striker and captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looks set to leave in the coming months as he has failed to agree a new contract, with his current deal expiring in 2021.

That means the Gunners will be in the market for a replacement and Lille striker Victor Osimhen is on the shortlist, according to Italian outlet La Repubblica.

Ironically, Osimhen was Lille's replacement for Nicolas Pepe when Arsenal paid £72m for the Ivory Coast winger last year. Osimhen has scored 18 goals in 38 games this season and is now valued at around £50m, having cost just £11m when the French side signed him.

Napoli are also interested in the Nigeria international, with neither side reportedly prepared to pay the full £50m because of the impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on clubs' finances.

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LIVE BLOG

23.00 BST: 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!

22.57 BST: Roma are interested in River Plate full-back Gonzalo Montiel, according to Corriere dello Sport. The 23-year-old has represented Argentina on four occasions, and has also attracted the interest of Fiorentina and Torino.

22.12 BST: Napoli attacker Jose Callejon will become a free agent at the end of this season, and in recent weeks it's been reported that Valencia have offered the 33-year-old attacker a two-year contract. However, Super Deporte reports that Los Che are monitoring the situation but have not submitted any formal offer, and the club that is most interested in the former Real Madrid man is Getafe.

21.25 BST: Arkadiusz Milik has just a year remaining on his contract at Napoli, and the Italian club have given the 26-year-old striker 20 days to accept their latest contract offer or else they will look to sell him, according to Mundo Deportivo. The asking price has been set at €50m, with Juventus and Atletico Madrid said to be at the head of the queue for the Poland international's signature.

20.38 BST: Former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has rejected Pep Guardiola's offer to become an assistant with the reigning English champions, Sport writes, in favour of remaining at Belgian outfit Anderlecht, which he joined last summer after leaving the Etihad following the expiration of his City contract.

18.51 BST: Federico Bernardeschi wants more playing time, something that Juventus can't guarantee the 26-year-old attacker, and is now considering a move abroad to help consolidate his place in the Italy team for next summer's European Championship, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. The report suggests that the Premier League is his most likely destination, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal said to be interested in the former Fiorentina starlet.

18.04 BST: Bild reports that Liverpool's unwillingness to meet Timo Werner's €55m release clause has opened the door for Chelsea to snatch the 24-year-old RB Leipzig and Germany star forward.

17.17 BST: Juventus have given up on a swap deal with Barcelona that would see Arthur join the Bianconeri in exchange for Miralem Pjanic, according to Corriere dello Sport, and have instead turned their attentions to Chelsea's Jorginho and Paris Saint-Germain's Leandro Paredes as the men to run Maurizio Sarri's midfield in Turin.

16.30 BST: RB Leipzig midfielder Tyler Adams could have a bright future.

15.15 BST: ICYMI - Shanghai Shenhua have softened their stance on extending Odion Ighalo's loan with Manchester United but time is against the Premier League side, sources have told ESPN.

United want to keep Ighalo for the remainder of the season but privately insist the "ball is in Shanghai's court" with the delayed Chinese Super League season set to start in June.

14.21 BST: Someone should tell Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp that you can't just call up players and ask them to join.

According to Le10 Sport, Klopp has spoken to Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly about a move to Anfield.

The manager wants a solid partner for Virgil Van Dijk in the centre of his defence, but Koulibaly is being tracked by Manchester United, PSG, Barcelona and Real Madrid and would cost over €80m.

13.26 BST: RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner has been linked to Liverpool for months but could he move to Man United instead?

12.40 BST: Real Madrid's interest in Paul Pogba is still in the news, but this one seems unlikely.

Todofichajes reports that Real have offered James Rodriguez, Lucas Vazquez and Brahim Diaz (on loan) to Man United in a bid to get a deal done. Three for the price of one, but United surely won't agree to that.

12.16 BST: Lille are reportedly interested in Mexico starlet JJ Macias.

Macias, 20, has four goals in five caps for the national team and impressed on loan at Leon in 2019, though the stirker has now returned to Guadalajara.

11.34 BST: Manchester United have renewed interest in 19-year-old Monaco striker Pietro Pellegri, according to reports in Italy.

Pellegri has struggled with injury since joining as a 16-year-old for £18m in January 2018 and the Italian has made just six competitive appearances for Monaco, scoring one goal.

Sky Sport Italia's Gianluca Di Marzio says United are ready to take a gamble on him, while he has also been linked with a return to Serie A at Roma or Hellas Verona.

10.31 BST: Borussia Dortmund midfielder Thomas Delaney has told ESPN that teammate Jadon Sancho feels the pressure amid speculation linking him with a move away from the club.

Sources said that Manchester United and Bayern Munich are interested in signing Sancho this summer, but Dortmund believe they can hold out for a fee around €120m.

"Clearly, one of the biggest talents that I've played with," Delaney told the Gab & Juls podcast. "With that talent comes a lot of pressure, and I think he slowly starts to feel that from the England national team and clubs surrounding him now."

10.11 BST: Will Zlatan Ibrahimovic move on to a new challenge once his short-term deal at AC Milan ends this summer?

09.24 BST: Sporting Lisbon have reportedly agreed terms to tie starlet Eduardo Quaresma to a long-term contract.

According to A Bola, Quaresma, 18, will sign a new contract with the Portuguese giants until June 2025, with a €45m release clause.

The Portuguese centre-back was recently promoted to Sporting's first team and has been a target of Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan and RB Leipzig. Gazzetta dello Sport claims Sporting already turned down a €5m offer plus Diego Laxalt from Milan in a deal to sign Quaresma.

08.42 BST: Former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes will coach Spanish third division side Unio Atletica d'Horta next season, the Barcelona-based club announced.

Valdes, 38, had been out of a job since being sacked by Barcelona in October after three months in charge of the under-19 team coach. He started coaching amateur side ED Moratalaz's youth ranks.

"I'm very enthusiastic about training a Catalan football team and I trust that things will go well in this new chapter," Valdes told Mundo Deportivo.

08.00 BST: Manchester City and Newcastle are not the only clubs interested in promising Uruguay youngster Facundo Pellistri, according to one of his agents, Carlos Aguilera.

City Group has reportedly been in negotiations with Penarol in recent weeks to reach an agreement for the 18-year-old winger. Pellistri is tied to Penarol until June 2022 and has a US$12m release clause.

"Asked about Manchester City and Newcastle's interest in Pellistri, Aguilera, a former Torino and Genoa forward, said: "There are more than those two teams that want to take Facundo. We have to put ourselves in his shoes. Right now he must be the player that everyone wants around the world."

Aguilera added that the transfer market speculation is affecting Pellistri.

"He is 18 and it's very complicated to deal with this [transfer rumours]," he said. "Imagine that I had to manage my move to Europe when I was 24. He is a very respectful youngster and I speak to him every day. He is not prepared for this."

Asked how the player was dealing with the coronavirus pandemic: "Facundo is well, he is training with some players."

PAPER TALK (by Nick Judd)

Barca and Madrid go to battle over Fabian

The future of Fabian Ruiz has been in question for some time, but Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis hopes that a bidding war between Spain's two biggest clubs could lead to a healthy windfall, reports Gazzetta dello Sport.

It has been widely assumed that Fabian would eventually end up in Spain, with both Barcelona and Real Madrid linked with the player. The coronavirus outbreak had put transfer talk to one side, but De Laurentiis believes the interest has been reignited and he's hoping the two rivals will force the player's price up.

Fabian is contracted to Napoli until 2023, having cost the Italian side €35m in 2018. In an attempt to force any potential fee up even higher, De Laurentiis is even said to be considering extending the player's contract until 2025, even if it means doing so without the player's consent.

Barca coach Quique Setien is particularly fond of Fabian, a player who played under him at Real Betis. Ironically, Barca play Napoli in the Champions League if and when the competition continues, which might give the two clubs a chance to put a plan in motion.

Pasalic makes loan move permanent

Atalanta have agreed a permanent deal for Croatian midfielder Mario Pasalic from Chelsea, reports Tuttosport.

The Italian newspaper suggests that Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi met Chelsea representative Marina Granovskaia on Wednesday and finalised a move that will see the midfielder stay at the club where he's been on loan for two years, for £15m.

That fee was the amount set when Pasalic initially joined the Italian club on loan in 2018, and he has since become a key player for the Orobici.

In the 2019-20 Serie A season alone, which is now set to resume on June 20 following Thursday's announcement, he has scored seven goals and registered seven assists in 32 appearances.

Inter the latest club to try and tempt Cavani

Edinson Cavani's next move remains a mystery. The player has been linked with Atletico Madrid, among others, and is said to be even considering a reduced salary to stay in France, but now he's being linked with a move to Internazionale, reports Le10Sport.

Cavani has been unwilling to commit his future anywhere, even for yearly salaries of up to €6-7m. Napoli had offered him such a deal, then Diego Simeone's Atletico were favourites to land the Uruguayan, but Cavani has not yet put pen to paper.

Cavani has even explored the opportunity of a two-year extension at Paris Saint-Germain, with a reduction to his €14m-a-year salary, but now Inter are said to have offered him a three-year deal.

The sticking point for the Italian club, however, is the salary. The coronavirus has reduced their ability to offer the kind of wages they were able to pay even 12 months ago and the length of contract could be key in attracting the proven goalscorer.

Tap-ins

- Real Madrid appear unwilling to offer Martin Odegaard the first-team football he craves. The Norwegian has been sensational since joining Real Sociedad on loan and he believes he's done enough to prove he can handle the pressure of playing in the famous white shirt, but Sociedad are optimistic they can extend the attacking midfielder's stay beyond the end of the season, according to El Desmarque. 

- Real Madrid are planning on fielding Kylian Mbappe alongside Eden Hazard and Erling Haaland in attack ... in 2022. AS is reporting that Madrid are planning a major upheaval in 2022. Seven major first-team players including Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale are out of contract, and Mbappe's contract at PSG runs out in the same year. Los Blancos are hoping to seal that particular deal next summer, with Haaland also in their sights ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. European defences be warned.

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