The transfer window might have slammed shut, but that doesn't mean the rumour mill has shut down! Speculation over summer moves is heating up, so check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here.
TOP STORY: Reds make Bremer top summer target
Liverpool have identified Torino centre-back Bremer as the long-term solution to their defensive woes, the Sunday Mirror reports.
Jurgen Klopp was moved to concede that the Premier League champions' title defence is over after they collapsed to a 3-1 defeat at Leicester on Saturday, their third consecutive loss in the competition.
January signing Ozan Kabak made his debut in that match, but his mix-up with goalkeeper Alisson led to Jamie Vardy scoring into an empty net to put the Foxes 2-1 up.
Kabak was drafted in as cover for injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Fabinho, while fellow January signing Ben Davies was also ruled out shortly before the match at the King Power Stadium.
The Sunday Mirror reports that Liverpool believe Bremer, 23, fits the profile that they are looking for as an addition to the squad. The Brazilian, who has scored six goals in 50 Serie A appearances for Torino, plays on the left side of central defence, making him an ideal partner for Van Dijk.
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LIVE BLOG
22.02 GMT: Transfer fans, that's another edition of our live blog in the books for today. But fear not, we'll be right back with tomorrow's paper round shortly and do the whole live thing again tomorrow. Thanks as always for checking in!
21.18 GMT: Arsenal are ready to offer Brazil defender David Luiz a new contract, reports The Independent. The oft-criticised Luiz plays with a reckless abandon that, at times, can prove costly to his team, but he can be a force for the Gunners in defence and his recent play has Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta lobbying for an extension for the 33-year-old, says the UK outlet.
20.20 GMT: The move that brought playmaker Bruno Fernandes from Sporting to Manchester United played out over the course of two windows and wound up working out splendidly for the Old Trafford side. ESPN FC's Steve Nicol ponders where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team would be without him this season.
19.09 GMT: Toronto FC are monitoring the situation with River Plate forward Santos Borre, according to a report on MLSSoccer.com. The 25-year-old from Colombia's contract is up in June and the story says that if the MLS side pursue Borre, they'll face competition from Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras.
18.16 GMT: Here's one from The Mirror, whose exclusive with Pablo Zabaleta urging Barcelona's Lionel Messi to seize on the "perfect conditions" for his one-time Argentina teammate to experience playing in the Premier League by joining his former club Manchester City.
Zabaleta, who played for City from 2008-2017, said: "If Lionel Messi decides to leave Barcelona and he wants to play in the best league then he has to experience the Premier League for himself. It is something that will interest him - because every player I know always asks me what the Premier League is like.
"Leo has been in La Liga for so many years and I think it would be a huge attraction for him to experience English football. And Manchester City offer the perfect conditions."
17.08 GMT: Gareth Bale's huge Real Madrid salary -- and likely Bernabeu return after his disappointing loan at Tottenham -- is one of the reasons the club could lose Sergio Ramos this summer, Diario AS reports.
Bale earns a reported €30m a year at Madrid, which puts him at the top of the wage bill alongside the club captain.
Madrid are trying to negotiate pay cuts with the squad to deal with financial problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to AS, that is one of the principal sources of friction preventing Ramos -- as well as others such as Lucas Vazquez -- from agreeing contract extensions.
The newspaper says those difficulties would be eased if the club could find avoid paying the final year of Bale's deal, which runs until 2022, but his failure to make an impact at Spurs -- being called out by boss Jose Mourinho this week for a "totally wrong" Instagram post suggesting he was fit -- makes that less likely.
15.34 GMT: Manchester United may have to sign a new goalkeeper before they are able to win the Premier League again, former Old Trafford captain Gary Neville has said.
David de Gea has remained manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's No. 1 this season despite Dean Henderson's return to the club following an impressive two years on loan at Sheffield United.
However, the Spain international has continued to attract criticism for some of his performances, and Neville believes United must recruit another goalkeeper to boost their hopes of ending their eight-year wait for a 21st league title.
"Your goalkeeper, to win a league, has got to be exceptional," Neville told the Webby and O'Neill YouTube channel. "I said three or four years ago at the time, Jurgen Klopp took me on publicly, but you're not going to win a league with [Loris] Karius and [Simon] Mignolet.
"That's not to say they're not good goalkeepers, or decent goalkeepers, but which team do you know that wins a league...there might be the odd one, but they usually have great goalkeepers, or goalkeepers that have had a great season.
"Ederson is a great goalkeeper, Petr Cech, [Peter] Schmeichel, [Edwin] Van der Sar, even Kasper Schmeichel for Leicester, David Seaman, Alisson, you've got to have a great goalkeeper.
"We've got to start asking questions about David De Gea because the mistakes are coming more regularly now and they cost points. The game winning saves, the one-on-one saves are coming less, in my opinion. I think that has to be a question that Ole has to answer.
"Then there's the question of Henderson, are we saying that Henderson is going to be the No. 1 for Manchester United? Honestly, if you want to win the league...If Pep Guardiola or Klopp came into Man United, they'd bring a new goalkeeper in."
14.37 GMT: With several top clubs in Europe looking to strengthen the heart of their defence, RB Leipzig centre-back Dayot Upamecano was the one that many wanted.
Liverpool, Manchester United and Bayern Munich were all heavily linked with a move for the 22-year-old France international. And it was the reigning European champions who won out, announcing on Sunday that a deal is in place to sign Upamecano on a five-year contract this summer and they will reportedly pay a release clause worth €42.5 million ($51m).
The move is yet another example of Bundesliga giants Bayern recruiting one of their main domestic rivals' key players. However, having just won the FIFA Club World Cup to become the holders of six trophies all at once, Upamecano will come into a team that hardly needs improving. One thing is for certain, though: he has the tools to succeed at the highest level.
Karlsen: What Bayern will get from Upamecano after beating Europe's elite to sign him
13.14 GMT: Juventus are considering making a move for Barcelona wunderkind Ansu Fati to replace the ageing Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Sport.
Ansu, 18, has scored 13 goals in 43 appearances for Barca since making his debut in August of 2019, and he became Spain's youngest ever goal scorer last September.
The teenager's Barcelona contract is due to expire at the end of next season, as does Ronaldo's deal at Juventus, by which time he will be 37. Both players are represented by agent Jorge Mendes.
Ansu had scored five goals in 10 club appearances this season before suffering a serious knee injury in November which is likely to rule him out until the summer.
12.06 GMT: Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte is a target for Spanish champions Real Madrid, the Daily Star reports.
Laporte, 26, had been a cornerstone of Pep Guardiola's success at City since joining the club in January 2018 from Atheltic Bilbao.
However, this season the Frenchman has seen first-team opportunities harder to come by following the arrival of Ruben Dias and the revived form of John Stones.
According to the Star, Madrid are monitoring Laporte's situation with a view to signing him in the summer. However, his contract at the Etihad runs until 2025, meaning it could require a big transfer fee to enable a move.
11.15 GMT: Bayern Munich have announced that RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano will sign for them in the summer on a five-year contract.
The 22-year-old was also linked with Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United but will is remain in Germany by joining the reigning Bundesliga champions on July 1.
Upamecano reportedly has a release clause worth €42.5m, which Bayern has activated in principle.
Bayern this week won their their sixth title in 12 months after claiming the FIFA Club World Cup, but are on the verge of losing defender David Alaba this summer as a free agent after he rejected Bayern's offer of a new five-year deal.
ℹ️ #FCBayern have agreed to sign Dayot #Upamecano from 1st July 2021 🤝
— 🏆🏆🏆FC Bayern English🏆🏆🏆 (@FCBayernEN) February 14, 2021
📰 https://t.co/h1HtzEKVDG#MiaSanMia
10.53 GMT: Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid are among the teams interested in Celta Vigo midfielder Renato Tapia, according to Diario AS.
Tapia joined Celta on a free transfer from Feyenoord last summer and it has proved a shrewd piece of business. He has impressed in La Liga, starting all 22 of Celta's league matches this season including the recent 2-2 draw at Atletico.
The 25-year-old is a Peru international, and started two of his county's matches at the 2018 World Cup.
AS reports that if a club pays Tapia's €30m release clause, he would become the most expensive sale in the Galician club's history.
10.00 GMT: Manchester United fended off competition from Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich to agree a first professional contract with promising youngster Shola Shoretire, sources have told ESPN's Rob Dawson.
The 17-year-old forward's representatives fielded enquiries from some of Europe's biggest clubs before the player agreed professional terms with United on Monday.
Shoretire was convinced to commit his long-term future after conversations with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and head of first team development Nicky Butt, who highlighted the progress of fellow academy graduate Mason Greenwood under his watch.
Shoretire, who has scored five goals for the Under-23s this season, has started training with the first-team and has been earmarked for a senior debut in the next 18 months.
Plans to hand youngsters experience in the Europa League this season have been complicated by strict coronavirus protocols that prevent players from different bubbles mixing easily, with United's first-leg clash against Real Sociedad in the Europa League round of 32 moved from Spain to Juventus' Allianz Arena.
PAPER TALK (by Nick Judd)
Messi sends Miami a message
The French press would have you believe that Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain is a done deal if the Argentinian can be tempted away from Camp Nou, but Sport believes he could be keen on a move to David Beckham's Inter Miami CF instead.
Sport base this argument on Messi sending a signed shirt to Marcelo Claure, one of Inter Miami's owners. Claure responded with thanks on Instagram, adding: "I am sure our paths will cross."
Of course, this could be a case of Sport putting two and two together and coming up with five, but Messi has already revealed in a separate interview that MLS is an attractive proposition for the future.
Messi's contract at Barca expires on June 30, and Inter Miami may hope he fancies a change of scenery and head to the U.S., rather than move across Europe to either PSG or Manchester City, or even stay in Catalonia.
United battle Barca, Madrid for Kounde
Manchester United are desperate to partner Harry Maguire with Sevilla FC defender Jules Kounde next season, but they face stiff competition from Barcelona and Real Madrid, according to the Sun.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer isn't convinced by the long-term potential of either Victor Lindelof or Eric Bailly and is on the hunt for a top-level centre-back.
Twenty-two-year-old Kounde has emerged as a top target for the Reds, particularly given Solskjaer missed out on the signing of Dayot Upamecano, who will join Bayern Munich in the summer.
Sevilla value Kounde at around £60 million after a superb season in La Liga after having joined from Bordeaux in 2019. He has played 63 matches in that time, and last year won the Europa League.
Not surprisingly, Barcelona and Real Madrid are also keen on Kounde, who is emerging as one of Europe's most sought-after players.
Pochettino lining up move for 'friend' Lloris
Mauricio Pochettino is in constant contact with Hugo Lloris and is lining up a big summer move for the Frenchman, according to Football Insider.
Ever since leaving Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain boss Pochettino has stayed in regular contact with his former keeper and now, with Lloris coming towards the last year of his contract, Pochettino is hoping to tempt him to the French capital.
The Argentine boss is keen to hand the 34-year-old keeper a starring role at the Parc des Princes. The two had a close relationship while at Spurs and Pochettino is hoping Tottenham's poor form under Jose Mourinho might further help his cause to land the Spurs skipper.
Lloris has been in poor form in the past seven days, first in the FA Cup against Everton and again against Manchester City this weekend, and he may just fancy a new start under his old mentor.
Tap-ins
- Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Tottenham Hotspur haven't been impressed with Gareth Bale since his move from Real Madrid, and that Bale's parent club will look to sell the Welshman when he returns from London as expected at the end of the season. Both Bale and Isco face the exit door, says Romano. Isco has been in and out of the side this season and recently faced criticism for taking his time getting ready to come on as a substitute. Madrid are hoping to free up their wage bill this summer, and the departures of both Bale and Isco would help them.
- While Chelsea were one of many clubs keen on signing Dayot Upamecano, they're now turning their attentions to his teammate Ibrahima Konate, according to the Sun. The 21-year-old defender has made 75 appearances for the Bundesliga side and has 11 Under-21 caps for France. Chelsea aren't alone in their admiration, though, with Manchester United among the other clubs looking at him as an option this summer.