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: Bayern, Premier League clubs monitor Wirtz
Bayern Munich and several Premier League clubs are monitoring Bayer Leverkusen youngster Florian Wirtz, according to Fabrizio Romano. The 18-year-old has impressed in the Bundesliga this season, scoring two goals and adding three assists in just three appearances.
The report suggests that there is no release clause in the midfielder’s contract, which has five years left to run. Leverkusen are not in a position in which they need to raise funds by engineering a transfer, and the Bundesliga side have no plans to let him go.
The Germany international has seen a sharp rise in his career, making his debut for the national side in September and appearing in all three of Die Nationalmannschaft‘s three games during the international break, registering an assist against Armenia.
Wirtz is just the latest in a long line of players to come through at Leverkusen, who signed him from FC Cologne for the academy in January 2020. The last such highly touted prospect was Kai Havertz, who went on to win Chelsea the Champions League in his first season at Stamford Bridge last May following a £62m transfer.
PAPER GOSSIP
– Manchester United are in talks with Bruno Fernandes over a new contract, with the club hoping he extends by the end of the year. Fabrizio Romano reports that the 27-year-old wants to stay at the club, who’ve made contract renewals for the Portugal international and Paul Pogba a priority.
– Atletico Madrid are already looking ahead to January with the hopes of moving on three players in Hector Herrera, Ivan Saponjic and Sime Vrsaljko. That is according to Calciomercato, which reports that Diego Simeone is hoping to trim his squad slightly once the window opens again.
– Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe is hoping to make his loan move to Aston Villa permanent, according to the Sun. The 23-year-old is on his third short-term spell at Villa Park and is willing to put pen to paper in a move to the West Midlands.
– Internazionale are looking into the goalkeeper market in search of a replacement for Samir Handanovic. That’s according to Calciomercato, who reports that the 37-year-old has conceding a few questionable goals this season, with Inter looking at Ajax Amsterdam No. 1 Andre Onana as their top target.
– Internazionale are looking at a possible move for Robin Gosens should Ivan Perisic leave at the end of the season, according to Calciomercato. Perisic’s current contract runs out at the end of the season, and there has been no movement in talks over a renewal. Gosens would be the possible replacement on the left-hand side with his contract at Atalanta expiring in 2023, allowing room for negotiation between the parties.