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The coronavirus pandemic has made the transfer market uncertain — and you can find out when the windows open and close here — but here are the rumours floating around Europe’s big leagues and beyond.
Click here to check out all the latest major completed transfers across Europe.
TOP STORY: Two-way race to sign French phenom Camavinga
Stade Rennes defender Eduardo Camavinga has been a wanted man this summer, and Marca believes Real Madrid face stiff competition from Paris Saint-Germain.
Los Blancos have made no secret of their admiration for the 17-year-old but while they looked favourites to take him to Madrid, PSG would rather he stayed in Ligue 1 and joined them instead.
Camavinga’s stock rose once again this week in France after he came on as a substitute to replace N’Golo Kante to make his official international debut.
Madrid have been doing their best to sign the youngster, but both PSG sporting director Leonardo and coach Thomas Tuchel were quick to praise a player they believe has huge potential.
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10.48 BST: Houssem Aouar remains Arsenal’s No.1 target for the rest of the transfer window, with first-team manager Mikel Arteta eager to build his side around the Lyon midfielder, sources told ESPN’s Julien Laurens.
Arteta views France Under-21 international Aouar as a pillar of the 4-3-3 formation he eventually wants to employ. Sources said Arsenal remain front-runners for Aouar’s signature, but they do not have the €60 million required to land him and would have to fund that through sales. Alexandre Lacazette is expected to seek clarification over his role in the Arsenal team amid growing speculation the club will allow him to leave for around £40m this summer, sources told ESPN’s James Olley.
Arsenal are the only club so far to show a strong interest in Aouar, with Manchester City and Juventus focusing on other areas of their respective squad rebuilds. Arsenal technical director Edu is good friends with Juninho, his counterpart at Lyon, and the pair speak regularly.
– ESPN’s Insider Notebook: Read more here
10.11 BST: Gonzalo Higuain has agreed terms to terminate his contract with Juventus ahead of his move to Inter Miami, according to Sky Italia.
Juve will reportedly officialise Higuain’s departure once the Argentina forward agrees terms with the MLS franchise.
Higuain, 32, has one year left on his contract with Juve and he is in Miami to finalise terms with the American club. The former Napoli star is set to sign a two-year deal worth €7.5m per season.
Higuain joined Juve in the summer of 2016 from Napoli for €90m and scored 66 goals in 149 games for the Bianconeri. He had loan spells at AC Milan and Chelsea before returning to Juve last summer.
09.35 BST: Gareth Bale has been grabbing all the headlines, but another unwanted forward, Mariano Diaz, is also turning into a major headache for Real Madrid, sources have told ESPN’s Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez.
Coach Zinedine Zidane has made it clear that Diaz, who didn’t start a single La Liga game last season, has no future at the club. However the 27-year-old has three years left on a hefty €5m-a-year contract and is refusing to accept a move that would mean earning any less.
Madrid had a deal agreed with Benfica this month but Diaz turned it down because, even as one of their top earners, it involved a pay cut of around 50%.
The striker is behind Karim Benzema and even misfiring Luka Jovic in the pecking order at the Bernabeu.
09.00 BST: Mikel Arteta will now carry the title of Arsenal first-team manager instead of head coach as part of a restructuring that reflects his growing influence at the club.
Arteta, 38, was only appointed in December but an upturn in performances coupled with his leadership throughout the coronavirus pandemic has prompted Arsenal to effectively promote him.
As part of an overhaul which led to 55 non-playing staff redundancies, the departure of head of football Raul Sanllehi and a number of long-serving scouts, the club has also made Vinai Venkatesham chief executive.
Venkatesham, who was previously managing director, will oversee a three-man team responsible for all football affairs as Arteta works closely with technical director Edu and academy manager Per Mertesacker.
“He has walked into probably the toughest nine-month period this football club has had in its 134 year history,” Venkatesham said of Arteta. “I say probably, but I checked with [life president] Mr. [Ken] Friar and he has been here for 70 of those years and he says it is the toughest period the club has ever had so, take it from him if you don’t want to take it from me.
“During that period Mikel has lifted the spirits of fans, staff, players and driven this team to an FA Cup semifinal and an FA Cup final, winning that trophy and winning the Community Shield. That is no mean feat.
“And we really acknowledge the man’s capabilities, and that the man’s capabilities fit much better as a manager than as a head coach.”
Real consider move for Mahrez
FootMercato are reporting that Real Madrid have made contact with Riyad Mahrez‘s team of representatives over a potential move for the Manchester City attacker before the new season.
Mahrez is on Zinedine Zidane’s radar thanks to his form last season in which he scored 13 goals and added 16 assists. Madrid are believed to be gathering information on the 29-year-old winger.
However, Mahrez still has three years remaining on his contract at the Etihad Stadium and appears to be a major part of boss Pep Guardiola’s plans. Moreover, City have already lost another winger, Leroy Sane, to Bayern Munich, though they have signed Ferran Torres from Valencia.
It would appear as though City would be reluctant to see another major winger leave the club, though they would have time to replace him if he was tempted by a move to the Bernabeu.
1:19
Colin Udoh stresses the importance of regular football for Riyad Mahrez at Manchester City this season.
Rose to move on from Spurs
Serie A side Genoa are attempting to prise Danny Rose away from Tottenham Hotspur, according to Sky Sports and Sky Sports Italia.
Rose is under contract in north London until 2021 but it would appear as though he has no future under Jose Mourinho.
Genoa, who narrowly avoided relegation last season, believe it will be difficult to land left-back Rose, but they’re keen to get one over on rivals Cagliari, who are also interested, by signing Rose.
Rose is in the final year of his contract and Spurs need to offload players to help contribute to any potential new signings they want to bring in, which means they’re open to allowing Rose to leave.
Rose spent the second half of last season on loan at Newcastle United and made 11 appearances under Steve Bruce.
He has been at Tottenham for 13 years.
Tap-ins
– Jack Wilshere could be on the lookout for a new club this week with West Ham United likely to terminate his contract with less than 10 months remaining, reports the Daily Mail. The Hammers are keen to bolster their transfer kitty in an effort to increase their bid for Burnley defender James Tarkowski, and David Moyes is growing frustrated by so far not being able to strengthen his squad ahead of the new season. Wilshere has played just 18 games since making the switch to West Ham on a three-year deal.
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