Welcome to the 90min Sunday live blog. Games may be taking centre stage across Europe this weekend, but that doesn't stop the rumour mill from churning out transfer story after transfer story.
The gossip seems to be getting more and more zany as the days pass. The latest example is former Chelsea hot-head Diego Costa being linked with Arsenal (!). Elsewhere, Manchester United wantaway Anthony Martial is embroiled in a war of words with his manager Ralf Rangnick, Liverpool's Roberto Firmino has been touted as an option for Barcelona, and Chelsea have continued to be linked with full-backs - with Layvin Kurzawa the latest man talked about.
The drama is never-ending, so follow our live blog below to make sure you don't miss any updates from the Premier League and around the world.
Today's top stories
- Martial responds to Rangnick on Villa omission
- Eriksen close to Premier League return
- Lille president gives update on Botman future
Transfer live blog
4.40pm - BARCELONA JOIN RACE TO SIGN ADAMA TRAORE
According to Sport, Barcelona are the latest club to consider a move for Wolves' Adama Traore.
Barca are said to be interested in making a move for the Spanish winger in order to replace Ousmane Dembele - whom the club are keen to sell this January.
4.18pm - REAL MADRID READY TO PAY £292m FOR KYLIAN MBAPPE AND ERLING HAALAND
Yep, £292m.
I agree, that is a lot of money.
But, as reported by Marca, that's how much Real Madrid are prepared to shell out in order to finance moves for Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
The extraordinary number reported by Marca includes salaries for both Haaland and Mbappe, and the rumoured £62m release clause needed to get the former - with the latter available to sign at the end of his current PSG contract which runs until June.
4.00pm - CHELSEA IN TALKS TO SIGN LAYVIN KURZAWA
As you probably already know, Chelsea are in dire need of a left-back this January.
With Ben Chilwell being out for the season and Marcos Alonso being, well, not very good, the Blues have been scouring Europe to bring in some full-back cover - and they may have finally found it.
According to RMC Sport, the Blues have opened talks with PSG over the signing of Layvin Kurzawa.
3.49pm - DIVOCK ORIGI WANTED BY PREMIER LEAGUE CLUB
As well as enquiring about Benteke, Burnley are also said to be mulling over a bid for Liverpool's Divock Origi.
The Liverpool forward is out of contract in the summer, and the Daily Star are reporting that while Burnley are interested now, Liverpool are keen to keep Origi until the end of the season.
3.30pm - BURNLEY EYE CHRISTIAN BENTEKE AS CHRIS WOOD REPLACEMENT
According to the Daily Mail, Burnley have made an enquiry for Crystal Palace's Christian Benteke after losing their star striker Chris Wood to Newcastle United.
As a result of the enquiry, Palace have placed a £12m price tag on Benteke who, despite barely ever scoring goals, has been a useful player for Patrick Vieira this season - playing 20 Premier Leagues under the new manager.
3.10pm - PAULO DYBALA ON CONTRACT SITUATION
There's been plenty of rumours flying around regarding Paulo Dybala's future in recent days. The Juve forward, after reportedly all but agreeing a new deal with Juventus at the end of 2021, has reneged on the deal due to the club trying to change the terms last minute.
As such, basically every competent Premier League, and Tottenham, have been linked with Dybala in the last week and, finally, the forward has been asked about the situation:
"Many things have happened...I prefer not to talk about it.
“I’ve nothing to prove to anyone [to sign a new deal with Juventus]. The club has decided to talk with me in February or March. I’m here available for the manager.”
3.00pm - OFFICIAL: Everton sack Rafa Benitez
Everton Football Club can confirm the departure of Rafael Benitez as first team manager.
— Everton (@Everton) January 16, 2022
It's been coming.
Everton have officially confirmed the sacking of the much-maligned Rafa Benitez following the disastrous defeat to Norwich on Saturday.
2.36pm - MAN UTD SLAP HUGE PRICE TAG ON PHIL JONES
Well...Man Utd certainly think a lot of Phil Jones.
Although the defender has played one league game in two years, according to the Daily Star the Red Devils have put a £15m price tag on the injury-prone defender.
Burnley and Newcastle are said to be the interest parties, but likely won't be when they find out United want £15m for the defender.
2:26pm - AC MILAN NOT LOOKING TO SIGN FIKAYO TOMORI REPLACEMENT
It's fair to say that AC Milan's centre-back options are pretty depleted right now. Simon Kjaer is out indefinitely with an injury, Fikayo Tomori is undergoing knee surgery and Alessio Romagnoli is also dealing with a short-term ailment.
Despite these issues, Stefano Pioli has said the club aren't interested in signing a new defender 'for the sake of it':
“We don’t want to bring in someone for the sake of it, but find a player who improves the squad. Pierre Kalulu and Matteo Gabbia are proving themselves ready for important games, so if we see an opportunity, then fine, otherwise Tomori should only miss three or four games. If it was up to him, he’d play again tomorrow, but it will take three to four weeks."
2:10pm - ARSENAL AND WEST HAM INTERESTED IN FILIP KOSTIC
Italian outlet Calciomercato are reporting that Arsenal & West Ham have declared an interest in Eintracht Frankfurt's main man Filip Kostic.
The winger/wing-back has been one of the most consistent players in the Bundesliga since moving to Frankfurt in 2018, and would certainly be a brilliant signing for either team.
We'd take the reports with a pinch of salt however. The initial article on the story by Calciomercato is about 15 words long, and judging Arsenal's recent transfer policy of signing young players, signing a 29-year-old wouldn't really make sense.
2:00pm - NEWCASTLE FAIL WITH DONNY VAN DE BEEK LOAN OFFER
Newcastle cannot stay out of the headlines at the moment. Some big news this afternoon as according to The Telegraph the Magpies have been unsuccessful in a loan bid for Man Utd outcast Donny van de Beek.
The player himself rejected the move as he was not enticed by Newcastle's current predicament in the Premier League, with Eddie Howe's side embroiled in a relegation battle.
Despite Van de Beek's lack of game time, Man Utd also do not want to weaken their squad in the middle of the season.
1:53pm - XAVI PREPARED TO SELL DEMBELE IN JANUARY
Bit of a bombshell coming out of Spain this afternoon.
According to AS, Barcelona boss Xavi is not happy with contract rebel Ousmane Dembele and is prepared to sell him this month.
The Frenchman's current deal expires in the summer and he has so far failed to renew with his demands deemed too high.
The report claims Xavi would rather sell now to generate some income and create space on the wage bill for a new signing, rather than ostracising the winger for the rest of the season. Bomba.
1:33pm - LIVERPOOL & MAN UTD CONTACT ARAUJO
Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester United are said to have contacted Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo.
A product of La Masia, the Uruguay international has 18 months left on his current deal, so the English giants have apparently been on the blower to sound him out over a possible future move.
This is probably not one to get too excited over for either set of supporters, though. Barcelona are currently working on a new deal for the defender, and you'd imagine it'd take some convincing for him to reject it.
1:11pm - CHELSEA PONDER PERISIC
Veteran Inter wide man Ivan Perisic has emerged as a potential target for Chelsea as the Blues root around for a replacement for long-term injury absentee Ben Chilwell.
The Croatian's contract at San Siro expires in six months and a renewal is not yet forthcoming. The Mirror report that Chelsea are therefore considering a move this month, with the Nerazzurri willing to listen to reasonable offers rather than lose the player for free in the summer.
Formerly an attacking winger, Perisic is capable of operating up and down the left flank and can also provide cover on the right. He is still a regular starter for the Scudetto holders at left wing-back.
12:39pm - DORTMUND CHIEF ADMITS SURPRISE AT HAALAND COMMENTS
Borussia Dortmund chief Michael Zorc has admitted the club were surprised by Erling Haaland's comments on Friday night.
The Norwegian claimed BVB have been pressuring him into making a decision on his future, with Europe's biggest clubs interested in signing him.
Zorc said: "I did not expect Haaland's comments. His remarks surprised us a bit. At the moment, there is no deadline, there haven't been any talks yet. But it's understandable, of course. You have to talk about it at some moment."
12:14pm - BARCELONA INTERESTED IN ROBERTO FIRMINO
Is Roberto Firmino nearing the end of his time at Liverpool?
El Nacional claim Diogo Jota's spell with the Reds so far has been so good that they are willing to depart with Firmino should they receive a respectable bid.
The Catalan outlet says €20m could do the trick for Barça, with Firmino's contract expiring in 2023.
12:06pm - ATLETICO NOT CONSIDERING FELIX DEPARTURE
Atletico Madrid are not interested in letting Joao Felix leave the club, despite reported interest from Premier League champions Manchester City.
The Portugal international, who has scored two La Liga goals this season, is seen as 'untouchable' by Atleti, according to Marca. Barcelona have previously been linked.
11:47am - ARSENAL LODGE CASH PLUS PLAYER BID FOR VLAHOVIC
Italian outlet Corriere della Sera say Arsenal have offered Fiorentina €60m plus midfielder Lucas Torreira for the in demand Dusan Vlahovic.
The Gunners are on the lookout for a new striker and Vlahovic has been heavily linked, though 90min understands the Serbian will not be rushed into deciding his future.
11:02am - LEEDS CLOSING IN ON 'PITBULL' MIDFIELDER
Leeds have agreed a fee of around £6m with Standard Liege to sign midfielder Nicolas Raskin.
United need depth in midfield with Kalvin Phillips' injury issues and The Sunday Mirror say a fee has been agreed.
He's been described as a 'pitbull' of a midfielder in the past, so hopefully the transfer gets completed and we can watch Mr Worldwide strut his stuff in the Premier League.
10:44am - SOUTHAMPTON TARGET PERMANENT BROJA TRANSFER
Southampton are in talks with Chelsea over the permanent signing of Armando Broja.
The forward has scored five Premier League goals in his first top flight season for the Saints, having joined on loan from the Blues.
The Guardian claim other clubs are interested in the 20-year-old, though he could be given a chance at Chelsea if he's there next term.
10:34am - NEWCASTLE TARGET TO STAY IN FRANCE
Defender Sven Botman has been linked with a move to Newcastle this window, but it looks like he'll be staying in France until at least the end of the season.
The Magpies have made a few bids for the Dutchman but Lille president Olivier Letang has revealed the club don't intend to let him leave any time soon.
“We had enquiries last summer for Sven but we were clear in saying that we needed Sven this season. We had a run in the Champions League and we managed to finish first in our group. We have big objectives for the end of the season so Sven will stay with us until the end of the season to help us achieve these objectives.”
10:27am - WOLVES REACH AGREEMENT FOR 21-YEAR-OLD WINGER
Wolves are close to finalising their first signing of the winter window, with numerous reports indicating that Estoril winger Chiquinho will sign for around £3m.
The 21-year-old is set to pen a long term deal with the Wanderers and The Athletic say he will come into Bruno Lage's first team squad. He isn't, however, expected to be a direct replacement for Adama Traore, who scored against Southampton on Saturday and has been linked with a move to Tottenham.
10:17am - NEWCASTLE CONTACT PSG FOR KEYLOR NAVAS
Newcastle have been linked with every footballer under the sun since their takeover and now they're said to be keen on a move for PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
The Costa Rican looked to have little future in Paris when Gianluigi Donnarumma was signed in the summer but has still played regularly enough this season, making 12 Ligue 1 appearances.
RMC Sport claim the Magpies have contacted the French champions over Navas, though PSG 'closed the door to a departure'. No need for Martin Dubravka to worry just yet, then.
9.25am - CHELSEA TOLD TO INCREASE DE JONG OFFER
Frenkie de Jong was the most wanted central midfielder in the world in 2019 when he starred in Ajax's run to the Champions League semi finals, but these days he's not the flavour of the month at Barcelona.
The emergence of Pedri, Gavi and Nico has seen De Jong drop down the Camp Nou pecking order and El Nacional claim Chelsea are keen to bring the Dutchman to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues - who took Saul from Atletico Madrid on loan at the start of the campaign - will need to up their bid to €60m if they want to sign the 24-year-old, according to the report.
9:19am - €350m FOR BARÇA AND REAL MADRID TARGET HAALAND?
Marca say Barcelona and Real Madrid will have to pay €350m if they want to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
That figure would include the €75m release clause fee, on top of commissions to agent Mino Raiola and the Norwegian's father.
That really is crazy money.
9:11am - NEUER CLOSE TO NEW BAYERN CONTRACT
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is close to securing a new contract with the German giants.
He said: "Bayern is an outstanding club - we made history during my time here and we keep trying. Of course I want to be part of that."
A three year deal is said to be on the table.
8:57am - ERIKSEN LINING UP PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN
Christian Eriksen is closing in on a return to the Premier League, having suffered a cardiac arrest last year at Euro 2020.
The Dane was released by Inter last month and The Times claim he has had approaches from several English clubs and wants to finalise a deal by the end of the week.
8:53am - MARTIAL REJECTS RANGNICK CLAIM
Martial has denied Ralf Rangnick's claim that he refused to be in the squad to face Aston Villa on Saturday night.
The Frenchman wants to leave United and hasn't played for them since early December. On Saturday, Rangnick said Martial "didn't want to be in the squad", but Martial has now rejected that statement.
On social media, he said: "I will never refuse to play a match for Man Utd.
"I've been here for seven years and I never disrespected and will never disrespect the club and the fans."
8:30am - GOOD MORNING!
It's Sunday morning - time to get that kettle on and sprawl across the sofa while devouring the latest transfer rumours.
We start with a little snippet on Anthony Martial, who wasn't included in Manchester United's squad in their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa....
Source : 90min