The Premier League season may only be in October but that doesn’t mean that clubs aren’t planning their transfer dealings for the window ahead.
It’s just over two and a half months until the January market opens for business and with teams reflecting on how they’ve started the campaign, it appears that a number of incomings and outgoings are already in the pipeline.
Players will also be taking stock of their situations at present with a lack of gametime or an upturn in form perhaps leading them to contact their agents ahead of a potential move.
What are the latest rumours and headlines? talkSPORT.com takes a look…
Mohamed Salah
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah will reporting demand £400,000-a-week to sign a contract extension at Anfield.
The 29-year-old Egypt forward has 20 months left on his existing deal.
He has been in talks over an extension for some time but no agreement has been reached given hope to the likes of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
The Telegraph report that Salah is willing to sign fresh terms but only if he can double his current wage and become the Premier League’s top earner.
Meanwhile, The Mirror report that Ramy Abbas, Salah’s agent, has flown to England for talks with the Liverpool hierarchy this week.
Raheem Sterling
Manchester City are reportedly willing to sell Raheem Sterling if a bid in excess of £65million is tabled.
Marca report that the 26-year-old England forward is on Barcelona’s radar but it would take a hefty offer to convince City into letting him leave.
Sterling, who has struggled for consistent game-time under Pep Guardiola recently, has said he would consider leaving the Etihad and moving abroad.
He said: “If there was the opportunity to go somewhere else [to play more regularly], I would be open to it at this moment in time.
“As I said, football is the most important thing to me – challenges that I have set myself from a young age and dreams as well, to play abroad.
“As an English player all I know is the Premier League and I have always had something down [in me] that maybe one day I would love to play abroad to see how I would come up against that challenge”
Erling Haaland
Manchester United have reportedly make Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland their number one transfer target moving forward.
The Red Devils remain eager to land a new striker to succeed veteran Edinson Cavani despite the summer return of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Haaland is one of the most in-demand players in world football and would demand a huge fee.
But according to the Manchester Evening News, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and football director John Murtough have ‘mutually agreed’ that Haaland must be their main target.
Jules Kounde
Chelsea are reportedly ready to make a new £50million offer for Sevilla star Jules Kounde.
The European champions are still looking for a new defender following Kurt Zouma’s move to London rivals West Ham over the summer.
They tried and failed to land Kounde last summer but Sport Italia claim the Blues will return with a new offer in January.
Meanwhile, The Sun claim Burnley are hoping to sign Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley in January.
The 27-year-old is a fringe player at Stamford Bridge and could be on the move this winter.
Raphinha
Liverpool were interested in a summer move for Leeds winger Raphinha, according to his agent, former Barcelona and Chelsea star Deco.
The 24-year-old still has three years left on his contract at Elland Road, scored twice on his full Brazil debut in their 4-1 win over Uruguay.
“There are certainly many clubs interested in him,” Deco told Globo in Brazil. “Liverpool do like him and there were some approaches, but nothing official. Leeds wanted to keep him for another season.
“Raphinha is happy at Leeds, but there will certainly come a time when he wants to take a step up in his career and move forward. He has three years left on his contract, but there’s nothing in it that states how long he must stay for or that prevents transfers.
“Leeds are aware of that and will want to sell him for a big sum, while Raphinha will end up progressing in his career.
“There’s a market for Raphinha and Leeds have very high expectations. There’s never been a rush in terms of the project.
“He’s ambitious to play at a higher level, despite Leeds being in the Premier League, but it’s not the right time (to talk about that) and that’s not what he’s focused on. Things will take their course naturally.”
Robert Lewandowski
The Bayern Munich striker’s agent has reportedly claimed that Manchester City is a ‘possible destination’ for the Poland captain.
German outlet Sport Bild claim that Lewandowski’s representative Pini Zahavi believes making the move to the Etihad is a possibility.
The 33-year-old, who remains under contract at Bayern until the summer of 2023, has previously expressed interest in a Premier League move.
City meanwhile remain on the hunt for a new striker after failed moves for Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo in the most recent transfer window.
Nabil Fekir
The Real Betis and France midfielder is the latest high-profile name to be linked with a switch to Newcastle following their high-profile takeover.
French outlet Footmercato claim the Magpies have made contact with the representatives of Fekir.
The 28-year-old came close to a Premier League move with Liverpool in 2017 when he was Lyon but the transfer fell through in the final hours.
Tariq Lamptey
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has a wish list of English defenders that he wants to target, according to Spanish outlet Fichajes.
The Spaniard is set to be after Brighton’s Lamptey, 21, Leicester City’s James Justin, 23, and Norwich’s 21-year-old Max Aarons.
Arteta splashed £50m on England international Ben White this summer while Nuno Tavares was also signed to strengthen his full-back options.
Timo Werner
Newcastle are reportedly eyeing a January move for Chelsea striker Timo Werner.
German newspaper Bild claims the Magpies are ‘in regular contact’ with the striker’s agent as they prepare to splash the cash this winter.
Newcastle have been linked with numerous players since their £300million takeover was confirmed and reports in Werner‘s homeland suggest the former RB Leipzig man might be top of the new owners’ wishlist.
The 25-year-old joined Chelsea in a £48million deal in June 2020 but has failed to set the world alight in the Premier League with the Blues splashing a club-record £97.5m on Romelu Lukaku this summer.
And Newcastle chiefs hope Werner could be tempted to come and be their new main man instead.
Mauro Icardi
Elsewhere on Tyneside, Mauro Icardi will reportedly reject Newcastle’s transfer interest to stay at Paris Saint-Germain.
The Argentine striker has been touted as a possible target after his game-time at PSG was cut short by the summer arrival of Lionel Messi.
However, according to Gabriele Giuffrida – the agent who helped orchestrate Icardi’s transfer from Inter Milan to Paris – the star’s wife Wanda Nara has no desire to leave the French capital.
Giuffrida told Gazzetta: “Leaving Paris is not in Mauro and Wanda’s plans, it’s the last thing they want.
“I don’t see Mauro joining another club soon.”
Eden Hazard
The Belgian winger has been linked with a sensational return to Stamford Bridge according to reports in Spain.
It’s claimed that Chelsea have held informal talks with Real Madrid over a potential move for the star who spent seven years in West London until 2019.
However the report claims that the Spanish giants would only consider a deal if it involved Reece James going to the Bernabeu.
