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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: Dortmund see Chelsea‘s Werner as Haaland replacement
Borussia Dortmund have identified Timo Werner as one of four potential successors to Erling Haaland if and when the Norway international leaves the club.
That is according to SportBild, which reports that the Germany international is a “surprising solution” for the club surrounding a departure with Haaland.
21-year-old Haaland has attracted interest across Europe this summer, but the Bundesliga outfit kept hold of the striker with rumours of a €75 million release clause in the player’s contract next season, which would allow him to leave the club.
With BVB manager Marco Rose expecting the forward to leave the club, Dortmund executive Michael Zorc has been tasked with finding a replacement that would fit the style of the coach and Werner has emerged as a possibility. However, the Chelsea striker is said to be on €20m-a-season on his current deal, meaning a pay cut would be necessary if he were to switch to the Signal Iduna Park.
Rivals Bayern Munich have also been linked with a move for the Blues forward, who hasn’t seen so much game time for the club since the arrival of Romelu Lukaku at Stamford Bridge. He joined Thomas Tuchel’s side only last summer, signing for roughly £50m from RB Leipzig after scoring an impressive 28 goals in 34 Bundesliga appearances. However, he couldn’t quite live up to that sort of form for his new club, scoring just six goals in 35 Premier League outings.
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PAPER GOSSIP
– Internazionale striker Lautaro Martinez is set to sign a new contract with the club after rejecting moves to Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid in the summer. Fabrizio Romano reports that the 24-year-old is going to extend his contract with the Serie A club until 2026 with an increase in pay.
– Several Premier League clubs have joined Inter in monitoring a possible signing of Bologna’s Mattias Svanberg. Calciomercato reports that a lot of clubs are on the trail of the Sweden international midfielder, who turns 23 in January.
– Sevilla FC are eyeing a move for Torino striker Andrea Belotti, according to Tuttosport. The 27-year-old only has one-year left on his current deal with the club and a renewal for the captain is yet to move forward. Sevilla are hoping to land the Italy international in an aim to challenge for the LaLiga title next season.
– Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Tottenham and Inter are all interested in a move for defender Matthias Ginter, according to Calciomercato. The 27-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season with Borussia Monchengladbach with a renewal looking unlikely.
– Chelsea are looking to tie up new contracts for Jorginho and N’Golo Kante on top of deals for Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, according to Fabrizio Romano. Jorginho and Kante both have contracts that expire in 2023 and the Blues will want to avoid being caught up in a contract dispute. Tuchel is currently tasked with sorting out contracts in the defence too, with three of his defenders’ deals all expiring at the end of the season.