Transfer news LIVE: Dembele to leave, Leno to Newcastle, Pogba latest

Welcome to the 90min Thursday live transfer blog – the place that will keep you up to date with the breaking news throughout the day.

Just 12 days of the transfer window remain and there's still plenty of time for signings to be completed across Europe – though as ever, negotiating in January is proving as difficult as ever.

Newcastle appear to be the team to keep an eye on, with manager Eddie Howe hopeful that the many irons his club have in the fire lead to at least another three or four signings.

Follow along with the below live blog to stay up to date with all the latest transfer speculation doing the rounds.

Today's top stories

• Pogba yet to decide Man Utd future
• Arsenal receive Aubameyang offer
• Newcastle loan bid for Lingard rejected
• Barcelona want to sell Dembele immediately
• Today's transfer rumours

Live transfer blog

1:45pm - Barcelona scolded over Dembele threat

In case you missed it this morning, Barcelona finally admitted defeat in the Ousmane Dembele contract saga and confirmed they would be looking to sell the player 'immediately'.

The club's comments have not gone down well though, particularly the one about him having to leave Camp Nou 'as soon as possible'. The Spanish Players' Union have even warned that Barça could have infringed Dembele's labour rights.

"This circumstance could be understood as pressure to bend their will, and public statements are also made acknowledging this type of pressure, we would be facing an illegal action by the company," their statement read.

1:25pm - Leno offered exit route?

Bernd Leno has barely featured since Aaron Ramsdale booted him out of the Arsenal side at the beginning of the season.

90min understands that the German is keen on leaving the club this month and Newcastle are potential suitors. The Magpies are keen on a loan deal with an obligation to buy in the summer, though Arsenal are concerned about leaving themselves short...

Read the full story here.

1:05pm - Tottenham eyeing up the 'next Haaland'

According to Italian reporter Gianluigi Longari, Tottenham are in for a player dubbed the 'next Erling Haaland'. Well, no pressure then.

Benjamin Sesko is the latest talent off the Red Bull Salzburg production line, and the 18-year-old has already managed three goals in 15 league appearances this season. Not quite Haaland levels yet then...

12:50pm - Arthur wants Arsenal

Arthur Melo's proposed loan move to Arsenal has been a fixture of these live blogs over the past few weeks.

Things had seemed to be simmering down somewhat in recent days but the saga could be ready to kick off again with TuttoMercatoWeb reporting that Arthur has told Juventus that he wants to make the switch this month.

12:35pm - Rambo recovers from Covid-19

Juventus are pretty desperate to get Aaron Ramsey's monster wages off the books this month so they will be delighted by the news that he has recovered from Covid-19.

Newcastle and Tottenham have both been linked with the midfielder in the past and they are now free to negotiate to their heart's content.

12:15pm - Gavi close to signing new Barcelona deal

Barcelona have not got much right in the transfer market over the past few years, but they may have stumbled upon a get out of jail free card in the form of midfield starlet Gavi.

Thus, the Blaugrana would have been very worried over speculation linking him with a move away from the club of late. Fortunately for cules everywhere, Helena Cordis Edo reports that Gavi will pen a new deal until 2026 soon.

It will even include another one of those €1bn release clauses. No chance he's going anywhere anytime soon then.

11:45am - Magpies handed Diego Carlos blow

Since 90min revealed Newcastle were after Sevilla defender Diego Carlos last week, the Magpies have been trying desperately to hammer out a deal in time for this weekend's clash with Leeds.

Although they remain confident of getting this one over the line, the club will not have been particularly encouraged by Carlos' interview last night, in which he insisted he still has 'a lot of time' at his current side.

Read the full story here...

11:15am - Arsenal vs Burnley

Arsenal and Burnley might be the two most contrasting sides in the Premier League and it's very rare that you see them linked with the same player.

The Sun are bucking that trend this morning, claiming that both the Gunners and Clarets are in for Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Mislav Orsic. Arsenal's interest is easy to understand. Orsic netted a hat trick against Spurs last season, knocking them out of the Europa League in the process.

11:00am - Martial loan fee revealed

If you don't ask, you don't get. This is clearly the mantra Man Utd have been adopting in their negotiations with Juventus over a loan deal for Anthony Martial, if Sport Mediaset are to be believed.

They report that the Red Devils are trying to charge Juve a hilarious €12m for the privilege of taking the forward on loan for the next five months. What a rip off.

10:45am - Time's up for Dembele

Ousmane Dembele and his agent have been playing hard ball with Barcelona in contract negotiations for some time.

Now, after a string of missed deadlines and empty ultimatums, the club have finally lost patience with director Mateu Alemany confirming the Blaugrana's desire to rid themselves of the injury-prone winger "immediately".

Read the full story here.

10:20am - Conte wants to keep Steven around

Another Tottenham player relentless linked with the exit door has been Dutch forward Steven Bergwijn.

But after his dramatic two-goal injury-time show against Leicester – which saw Spurs wrestle victory from the jaws of defeat - manager Antonio Conte made it clear that Bergwijn is an important asset who he can't afford to lose.

"In the past when someone asks me about Steven Bergwijn I was very clear, I said that for me he is an important player because he has characteristics that in our squad we don't have many creative players."

9:40am - Ndombele swap rumours

Tanguy Ndombele's future at Tottenham is uncertain to say the least, and there's now talk of a possible swap deal that would reunite with him *checks notes* Jose Mourinho.

That's right, the Daily Express report that Ndombele could be heading for Roma in exchange for former Aston Villa midfielder Jordan Veretout.

9:25am - DONE DEAL!

Udinese have completed the loan signing of Arsenal defender Pablo Mari - who some fans considered to be better than Virgil van Dijk after his first few appearances!

Fair to say those assessments were a little wide of the mark...

9:05am - Christensen in advanced Barcelona talks

Spanish media outlet Sport claim that Barcelona are in extensive talks with the representatives of Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen.

The 25-year-old is out of contract at Stamford Bridge at the end of the season and is yet to ink fresh terms. The Dane has been and out of Thomas Tuchel's side, though the former Borussia Dortmund boss is anxious for him to stay.

8:50am - Pogba yet to decide future

Paul Pogba has still not relayed any sort of decision about his future to Manchester United.

The World Cup-winning Frenchman is out of contract at the end of the season and is being extensively monitored by Real Madrid and PSG. However, Pogba is still considering his next move, and is not yet willing to commit.

Full story.

8:30am - Arteta on Aubameyang: 'We'll see what happens'

A potential exit route from Arsenal appeared for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on Wednesday afternoon as Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr reportedly lodged a loan bid.

Disciplinary breaches have seen Auba fall out of favour under Mikel Arteta this season, with the Spaniard even stripping him of the club captaincy. However, with the Gabon striker back in London to undergo further tests on a worrying health condition, the boss was in no mood for speculation.

"He contracted Covid and then the national team decided to bring him back here. We need to make sure the player's health is in the best possible condition and then we'll see what happens."

8:20am - Newcastle chase Lingard

Newcastle have been linked with around 25 players this window, showing just how badly they want to improve their relegation-threatened squad.

Many deals are being worked on but there will need to be improved bid made to Manchester United if they're to persuade them to allow Jesse Lingard to go on loan. The Magpies saw an initial loan bid rejected on Wednesday but a counter offer shouldn't be ruled out.

8:15am - Good morning!

A very good morning to you all, welcome back to the live transfer blog!