The January transfer window might seem like a distant memory, 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.
Things have really been heating up regarding Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland's transfer situation.
ESPN sources were told that the Norwegian's father, Alf-Inge Haaland, and agent, Mino Raiola, held talks with both Real Madrid and Barcelona on Thursday.
This seemingly puts the Spanish giants ahead of the racing pack trying to sign the prolific Dortmund frontman, but Barcelona are also ensuring they have plans ready if they fail to convince the 20-year-old to join them.
This news comes courtesy of two reports from Sport, stating that the Catalans see Internazionale star Lautaro Martinez as their "Plan B," while the Spanish outlet adds Barca are considering Tottenham Hotspur talisman Harry Kane as another option.
Barcelona worked on signing the former last summer, but failed to reach a deal with Inter. The Serie A club is now in financial difficulty, though, so the belief is that they might be willing to listen to lower offers than the €111 million they are said to have previously expected. However, there are some doubts within Barca about whether he is the marquee signing they need, according to the report.
Perhaps that is where Kane comes in, and Barcelona are aware that Spurs would rather see the 27-year-old move abroad than join another Premier League side. They have done their research on the England captain and are said to be impressed by his performances, skill set and professionalism. And with plenty of rumours swirling about the striker's future, he might be tempted by a prospective move to Camp Nou.
Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo also focus on Barca's desire to sign a new striker, reaffirming that Haaland is their No.1 target. However, in addition to Kane and Martinez, they add more possible alternatives to the list of backup options in the event that a deal for Haaland proves impossible.
Martinez's striker partner at Inter Romelu Lukaku is said to be a player to the liking of coach Ronald Koeman, while Real Sociedad's Alexander Isak, as previously revealed by ESPN, is also being tracked. Juventus' Paulo Dybala is also listed as an option, albeit "he's not an out and out striker," while Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay, both out of contract in the summer, have been linked with moves to Camp Nou on and off since the start of the season.
With all of this said, it should be reiterated that Haaland remains the priority for Barcelona as long as they have a chance of signing him.
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19.45 BST: While Tottenham Hotspur have been reluctant to let go of midfielder Harry Winks in the past, the Mirror reports that the north London club are now willing to entertain offers for the 25-year-old, with Atletico Madrid, Sevilla FC, Valencia and Everton all reportedly keen on signing the 10-cap England international.
17.29 BST: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he still has to decide on Manchester United's best goalkeeper and added that Dean Henderson and David de Gea will both play for the team between now and the end of the season.
Sky Sports reported in February that Henderson wants to remain at his boyhood club but will not stay if it means another season as No. 2.
Despite a number of high-profile mistakes by De Gea this season, Solskjaer had remained loyal to the former Atletico Madrid keeper for United's biggest games. But with both keepers now fit and available for the visit of Brighton this weekend, United manager Solskjaer said he will use both Henderson and De Gea in the coming weeks rather than announce one as his first choice.
"I have the great option of two top goalkeepers and it's a pleasure to have them here," Solskjaer said at a news conference on Friday. "We've got nine games, plus five in the Europa League hopefully to go, I'm sure you'll see both of them playing in goal for us.
"I understand the question and the narrative in the media, there's always tension where there can be potential tension and controversy, that's why everyone wants to hear a comment from me. But I've got great options with both of them. It will be decided on merit and we have to think who's going to give us a win on any given day.
"With Dean and David, the two keepers will probably be needed in these last nine games and they know we value them both really highly. It's difficult to leave one of them out, but it's easy to give the nod that they'll play."
16.45 BST: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that young striker Liam Delap, who has been linked with interest from Real Madrid, will be promoted to the first-team squad next season.
Delap, 18, has been starring for City's U23 side this season, scoring 19 goals in the Premier League 2. The son of former Stoke midfielder Rory Delap made his senior debut last September, when he scored in the 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Bournemouth.
On Monday, the Daily Star reported that scouts from Real Madrid have watched Delap and have urged the Spanish giants to sign him. However, Guardiola told a news conference on Friday that he plans to bring him into the first-team fold at the Etihad.
"Liam is doing incredibly well - we are in touch with Enzo Maresca [City's Elite Development Squad manager] to see how the player are developing," he said. "Next season he will be with us, training with us every day."
Guardiola also backed City's youth system when asked about the possibility of signing Erling Haaland this summer. He said: "We have enough players in the first team right now and interesting players in the Academy. It is a big challenge, for the situation in the world, because of the economic problems in world football, we are not going to sign any striker for next season."
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15.58 BST: Arsenal may have to consider transferring young stars such as Bukayo Saka in order to raise the funds to sign Martin Odegaard and other new players to overhaul the squad, according to The Times.
Odegaard has impressed at Arsenal since joining on loan from Real Madrid in the winter transfer window, and all parties are reportedly keen for that move to be made permanent in the summer if the right deal can be struck. However, signing the Norway international would likely cost Arsenal a transfer fee of around £35m.
The Times reports that Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke is reluctant to invest a significant amount on transfers if Mikel Arteta's team do not qualify for the Champions League. That would mean that Saka and another of the club's most promising young talents -- such as Emile Smith Rowe or Gabriel Martinelli -- could be made available in order to raise funds.
15.06 BST: Jose Mourinho has insisted he will not "play that game" of speculating on Harry Kane's future and added the striker should "be happy with the moment he is living" for England and Tottenham.
The 27-year-old stoked rumours he may consider leaving Spurs after the 2020 European Championships when asked about reports linking him with a move to Manchester United, Manchester City or Real Madrid.
"I'm fully focused on doing the job on the pitch from now until the end of the summer, and then we'll see where we go from there," he said in response.
Kane, who scored twice on international duty as England won all three World Cup qualifiers, is under contract until 2024 with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy reluctant to entertain selling the England captain.
"I cannot play that game. I have to focus on what is for us," Mourinho said at a news conference on Friday. "Of course I am always pleased when my players go to national teams and do well.
"So, I am happy that he does well for England, I am happy that England wins obviously. I cannot play that game of what the people say, what the people don't say.
"I focus on what he did for us in the last match against Aston Villa, I focus on the effort that I saw him put on the pitch for England against Albania and Poland and I focus on the match against Newcastle when I'm pretty sure that playing very well, well, or not so well, scoring two, one or nil, he will be there for the team."
13.52 BST: Paris Saint-Germain hope to announce Neymar's contract extension in the coming weeks but sources told ESPN's Julien Laurens there is still no breakthrough in securing Kylian Mbappe's long-term future.
Both Neymar and Mbappe have contracts at PSG until 2022 but while Neymar has agreed an extension, discussions over Mbappe's deal have proven more complex. One of the theories for the holdup put forward by sources is that there is a discussion over whether Mbappe could agree to sign a contract for a shorter length than Neymar, and play one more season at the club before moving on elsewhere.
PSG owners, Qatar Sports Investments, have no intention of letting Mbappe run his contract down so he could move for nothing next summer, which would mean ending the impasse over a new deal or being open to offers for the France international this year.
Liverpool and Real Madrid have continually been linked with Mbappe in the transfer gossip columns, though the Premier League side's main focus would be clarifying Salah's future at Anfield before pressing ahead with a search for his replacement.
12.47 BST: Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl expects striker Danny Ings to still be at the club next season despite reported interest from Manchester City.
Ings is out of contract at the end of next season and he is yet to open talks over a new deal at St Mary's. The former Liverpool striker has been linked with City as a replacement for Sergio Aguero, who will leave the Premier League leaders at the end of the season, but Hasenhuttl expects his star forward to stay for at least one more year.
"[Ings] had a fantastic season last season and since then he had a few injury problems and didn't score that much, but he is still a very good striker," Hasenhuttl said. "If he's good enough to be an option for them, I don't know. I expect him to stay with us because he knows what he has with us. He has one more year on his contract.
"This will be an interesting situation for him. If one of the big clubs wants him, it is always difficult for us to keep a player with us -- this is normal. But I do not see this scenario in the summer to be honest."
11.59 BST: Eddie Howe has agreed in principle to become Celtic's new manager, according to The Scottish Sun.
The 43-year-old is expected to be officially announced as Neil Lennon's successor next week after signing a contract worth £2m a year.
Howe made his name by taking Bournemouth up to the Premier League and keeping the small club in the top flight for five seasons, before they were finally relegated last year. Now, he is set to be charged with stopping Steven Gerrard retaining the Scottish league title for Rangers next season.
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11.22 BST: Barcelona may opt against making a move for out of contract Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum this summer in order to give Ilaix Moriba more playing time next season.
Wijnaldum, 30, can leave Liverpool for free when his deal expires in June and he has long been linked with a reunion with Barca coach Ronald Koeman, who he previously played under with the Dutch national team.
However, the emergence of Ilaix since the turn of the year could see Barca end their pursuit of Wijnaldum.
Sky Sports report Wijnaldum "has been waiting on new Barca president Joan Laporta's comprehensive financial audit to see if they will make him an offer -- but that is now in doubt amid debts of more than £1 billion."
To cut costs and keep the wage bill down, Barca, therefore, could give preference to the talent they already have in-house, with Ilaix one of several youngsters given first-team minutes already this season.
The Spain youth international, 18, has made seven appearances for Koeman's side this season, scoring one goal. He is out of contract in 2022 but sources have told ESPN the club are keen to extend his terms.
10.37 BST: Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho has signed a new contract, the club has announced.
Leicester said in a club statement that the 24-year-old has committed himself to the Foxes until "at least" 2024, capping off a great month for the Nigeria international.
Iheaacho has scored seven goals in his last four appearances for Leicester, including a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over Sheffield United, and on Friday he was named the Premier League's Player of the Month for March.
09.48 BST: Erling Haaland has reportedly made his preferred destination clear, with Spanish outlet AS claiming that the striker's father Alf-Inge has told Real Madrid's executive director Jose Angel Sanchez that his son would favour Madrid over Barcelona, Manchester City or Liverpool during their meeting on Thursday.
However, the newspaper adds that Madrid "won't enter the auction that [agent Mino] Raiola wants to organise" for the player and will only make a formal offer to Borussia Dortmund if the Bundesliga club's sporting director Michael Zorc is open to talks.
According to AS, Madrid would pay "a fair price" for Haaland which "under no circumstances" would rise to €150-175m -- believing that at this stage of their respective careers, only Kylian Mbappe is worth that kind of fee.
For his part, Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has said he's "tired" of having to deal with questions about Haaland, telling a news conference on Friday ahead of Madrid's La Liga match with Eibar.
"I get tired of saying the same thing, but everything that happens outside -- and what's more, he isn't my player -- I won't say if it's good or bad, I won't get into it. What interests me is thinking about tomorrow's game. I get tired of saying it, but if you or your colleagues ask me again about other players, I'll say the same thing, so maybe save the question and ask a good football question.
"The rest, what will happen next year, I don't know. Everyone does what he wants [at Real Madrid]. I don't get involved. My job is preparing my players well for tomorrow's game."
09.00 BST: Liverpool are facing a conundrum over the future of Mohamed Salah this summer, sources told ESPN's James Olley. There is a growing sense within the Liverpool squad that Salah is eyeing a new challenge elsewhere, and intermediaries who have worked closely with the club previously have privately expressed the belief that a transfer might be possible.
The situation will be influenced in part by how Liverpool finish the season, needing to stop an alarming slump in the Premier League yet chasing a third Champions League final appearance in four years. Sources added that the Reds are relaxed about the situation, given the 28-year-old's contract has two years left to run and there has been no obvious deterioration in the forward's form or commitment to the club, with Salah the joint leading scorer with Tottenham's Harry Kane in the Premier League this season with 17 goals.
Missing out on Champions League qualification would increase financial pressures as a result of the coronavirus pandemic -- Liverpool earned €111m from the competition when they won it in 2019 -- with Jurgen Klopp's side seventh in the Premier League, five points off the top four. Those pressures are also felt elsewhere, particularly at Real Madrid and Barcelona -- two possible destinations for Salah.
- Multiple reports of late have suggested that Aston Villa have increased Jack Grealish's potential transfer to £100m in an effort to keep interested clubs from targeting the 25-year-old. Football Insider reports their willingness to stick to that may be tested, as the England international is Manchester City's main priority ahead of the summer transfer window, and they're lining up a huge bid.
- Everton are hoping to complete an ambitious move for Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, whom Carlo Ancelotti has worked with in the past, reports Football Insider. The Senegal international, who turns 30 years old in June, has been valued at £89m or more, but that fee is expected to drop by at least £30m, meaning the Toffees will be waiting in the wings to see if they can reunite Ancelotti with the defender.
- Wolfsburg midfielder Maximilian Arnold has been discussing the rumours around a possible move to Bayern Munich with Sky Sports Deutschland. Having recently signed a five-year contract, the 26-year-old told them: "I don't know what will happen in the future. But when you sign such a long contract, you've put a lot of thought into it. But you can't shut yourself off from anything. If you get a nice offer, you will probably give it some thought too. It's the same with me. But I won't give up on VfL Wolfsburg so easily."
- AC Milan and Napoli are both showing an interest in signing Spezia centre-back Martin Erlic, as has been suggested by Calciomercato. The 23-year-old Croatian has been one of the side's standout players this term, which has been enough for the Rossoneri to firm up their interest that initially started last year.
