LIVE Transfer Talk: Man United to wait for Trippier?

The summer transfer window is closed for the top leagues in Europe! After a summer full of international football, countless clubs waited until the last minute to pull off their transfers. See all the major deals here and check out how we graded the biggest signings. But just because the window is shut until January, that doesn’t mean the rumours won’t keep coming.

TOP STORY: Man United to wait for Trippier; Martial, Van de Beek stay

Manchester United completed the €15m signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus but otherwise it was a pretty quiet Deadline Day for them.

United had hoped to land a right-back to compete with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Sport1 says they saw a €21m bid for Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier rejected, with LaLiga’s champions holding out for his €40m release clause.

As a result, United’s Portuguese right-back Diogo Dalot was blocked from making a loan move to Borussia Dortmund.

United also stopped midfielder Donny van de Beek from finalising a loan move to Everton, Another United midfielder who could have moved was Jesse Lingard but West Ham never made a bid as, according to TalkSPORT, they weren’t willing to match the £25m asking price. While L’Equipe reports that Anthony Martial turned down a move to Lyon on Deadline Day too. The 25-year-old began his career at Lyon but wasn’t keen to return to Ligue 1.

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12.09 BST: Goalkeeper Ederson has signed a new five-year contract with Manchester City.

Ederson, 28, is the fifth senior player to agree new terms in 2021, following in the footsteps of Kevin De Bruyne, Fernandinho, John Stones and Ruben Dias.

“This was an easy decision for me,” he told mancity.com. “There is nowhere else I’d want to be. To be part of one of the best squads in world football and to compete for trophies year in year out is what every footballer wants, and that is the opportunity you’re given at City.

“We have an outstanding manager. Working with him has been one of the great experiences of my career and I am a better player for it. We have achieved so much in the last four years, and I am confident we can continue to bring more success to the Club in the coming seasons.”

12.01 BST: Erling Haaland remains Manchester United’s priority transfer target next summer, despite the club’s financial outlay to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus, sources have told ESPN’s Mark Ogden.

Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in Haaland, who can trigger a release clause in Borussia Dortmund contract at the end of this season which is reportedly set at €75m.

But although the deal to sign Ronaldo was financed outside of United’s original summer transfer budget, sources have told ESPN it will not impact on next year’s recruitment plans and the ongoing effort to win the race for Haaland.

11.20 BST: Why on earth are Barcelona allowing Antoine Griezmann to move back to Atletico Madrid on loan, then for just €40m next summer?

10.36 BST: Bild reports that Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are in pole position to land Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland next summer.

Haaland, 21, has a €75m release clause which comes into effect in 2022 and every single club in Europe capable of paying that is interested in signing him.

City failed to land Harry Kane this summer, so a decision will have to be made about whether they go back in for him or move for Haaland.

09.32 BST: Harry Kane insists his “conscience is clear” after attempting to force through a move from Tottenham to Manchester City and believes the saga has not damaged his reputation.

The 28-year-old asked to leave Spurs before the start of Euro 2020 in the belief he had a gentleman’s agreement with chairman Daniel Levy that he would be allowed to depart if a suitable bid came in. However, Levy’s valuation stood in excess of £150m and he proved reluctant to consider parting with Kane, given he has three years remaining on his current £200,000-a-week contract.

City intimated they would be willing to pay around £100m to sign Kane but never made a formal offer approaching Levy’s asking price, despite the England captain attempting to break the impasse by reporting back late for pre-season testing earlier this month.

Kane subsequently confirmed he was staying at Spurs “this summer” and despite an earlier frosty reaction when missing Tottenham’s opening weekend win against City — during which supporters pointedly chanted: “Are you watching Harry Kane?” — he was greeted warmly by fans upon his first start in Sunday’s 1-0 Premier League win over Watford.

Asked if the whole episode had tarnished his reputation, Kane told TalkSPORT: “No, I don’t think so. I think anyone involved in the football industry knows the ins and outs. I was quite calm with the situation, but when you’re in it and you know the truth, then your conscience is clear.

“There’s always going to be noise. My whole career I’ve had ups and downs from when I’m young to where I am, that’s just part of the parcel of it. A lot of people that know me will say I’m a professional athlete who’s dedicated my life to this game and that’s what I’ll continue to do. My focus is forward now, the aim has always been to win silverware with Tottenham and it’s been that aim every year.”

09.05 BST: LaLiga president Javier Tebas has taken a swipe at Paris Saint-Germain after the transfer window closed.

The transfer window ended with PSG keeping Kylian Mbappe despite Real Madrid’s attempts to acquire the France star for €200m, even in the midst of financial issues that see them around €900m in debt.

Tebas, who has spoken out against “state clubs” Manchester City and PSG [owned by United Arab Emirates and Qatar] before, says the numbers just don’t add up. He wrote on Twitter: “State clubs are so dangerous to football’s ecosystem just as the Super League. We were critical with the Super League because it destroys European football and we are just as critical with PSG. Losses Covid+300m; TV revenues in France -40%, and +500m in salaries? Unsustainable.”

08.47 BST: Saul Niguez, who signed for Chelsea on loan from Atletico just before the transfer deadline, has explained the reasons for the move.

The Spanish midfielder told Marca: “I was happy in the team [Atletico] as always. The only thing is that I felt I was stuck by not being able to play in my position [central midfield]. My head could not accept my new role of playing in a new position [right-back]. Chelsea promised me that I would train in my position, and we will see when it comes to playing.”

On the deal almost not going through, he added: “At 23:57 I was giving a last look at the contract and it had to be reviewed there [London]… I was like [Manchester United’s David] De Gea [amid his failed 2015 move to Real Madrid]. I thought ‘this is not going through and that’s that’. It’s been a long afternoon and evening.”

Chelsea hold an option to sign Saul next summer for a set fee.

“I want to go there, try this experience and see what happens,” he said. “I don’t want to think beyond that. I want to go there and find the player I want to be and not the Saul I’ve seen in the past two years. I was frustrated not to see what I could achieve. For me this has been the most difficult decision of my life.”

08.30 BST: Real Madrid made a new offer worth €200m to Paris Saint-Germain for the rights to Kylian Mbappe but received no reply and are now resigned to putting their bid to land the star forward on hold, sources close to the LaLiga club have told ESPN.

The transfer window in Spain and France closed on Tuesday and talks remained deadlocked, with the two clubs unable to find common ground on a fee for the 22-year-old.

However, sources in Paris denied that a new bid had been made Tuesday and confirmed that Mbappe would be staying at PSG this season.

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PAPER GOSSIP (by Danny Lewis)

– Juventus are already looking forward to next season’s transfers, as has been suggested by Calciomercato. Having been unable to bring in a big-name striker this time around, the Turin giants have their eye on a future move for Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic. In different conditions they would have moved for the Serbian this summer, and they’re working to ensure he will be with them next term.

– Marseille may have kept hold of Boubacar Kamara for now, but there will still be questions around the Frenchman’s future with his current contract coming to an end in 2022. As Foot Mercato have observed, the 21-year-old will not have his future dictated to him. With that in mind, he may open to talks with interested clubs in January when he will be free to discuss a move.

– Tottenham Hotspur confirmed that Serge Aurier has left the club after the Ivory Coast international’s contract was mutually terminated. This leaves the right-back free to find a new club at any point now he is a free agent and comes after Spurs signed Emerson Royal from Barcelona.

– The Athletic reports that Tottenham also made a £30m bid to sign Wolves winger Adama Traore, but had it rejected. Wolves were reportedly holding out for £50m.

– Lyon are set to complete a free transfer for former Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng after he completed the second part of his medical and agreed terms on a two-year contract, says Fabrizio Romano.

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