Transfer news, rumours LIVE: Arsenal Aubameyang latest plus Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs
Latest transfer news plus gossip and rumours from the January window
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Your support makes all the difference.The January transfer window is nearing its climax with Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and more expected to be busy before the deadline.
Alexis Sanchez is finally a Manchester United player and made his debut as his new side swept aside Yeovil on Friday night. Jose Mourinho isn't stopping there though with a new central midfielder now on his shopping list. Arsenal are bedding Henrikh Mkhitaryan in but Arsene Wenger is keen to add at least one more new face before the window shuts with deals for Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and West Brom's Jonny Evans set to go down to the wire.
Manchester City are closing in on a new central defender with Athletic Bilbao's Aymeric Laporte set to arrive imminently while Chelsea's search for a new striker continues with talks over Roma's Edin Dzeko ongoing. Could Arsenal's Olivier Giroud arrive instead before the month is out?
We will have all the latest news throughout the day right here.
Follow the latest in the live blog below...
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Good morning and welcome to today's Independent transfer live blog.
Alexis Sanchez is now a Manchester United player after finally completing his move but the January transfer window still has plenty left to offer with clubs set to spend, spend, spend this month.
We'll bring you all the latest news, done deals and breaking rumours throughout the day right here so don't touch that dial.
Without further ado, off we go.
Let's start with Arsenal, shall we?
Borussia Dortmund manager Peter Stoger hopes a “solution” is reached “soon” over the future of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang amid links to Arsenal.
Arsenal are currently making moves to bring the forward to north London as a replacement for Alexis Sanchez, whose switch to Manchester United was confirmed earlier this week.
A £44m offer has been made but Dortmund are said to be holding out for £60m.
The signing of Alexis Sanchez has freed up Manchester United’s short-term transfer plans, with midfield now the priority area.
With the Chilean having been previously been expected to go to Manchester City, the Old Trafford hierarchy had wanted a winger, a striker and a star name but Sanchez effectively ticks all those boxes and allows different potential formations in attack.
United still want the new signing’s former teammate Mesut Ozil, whose Arsenal contract is up in the summer, but it is understood he would be seeking wages of over £300,000 a week.
Thomas Lemar, who is understood to be a transfer target for Liverpool, was left out of Monaco’s matchday squad on Wednesday night.
Leonardo Jardim, the Monaco manager, rotated his side for last night’s 3-2 Coupe de France defeat to Olympique Lyonnais, with Lemar among those rested.
The 22-year-old’s omission heightened speculation that he could move to Anfield this month, but it is understood that Liverpool remain unlikely to complete a deal for Lemar before the 31 January deadline.
Jose Mourinho has described Manchester City’s reasons for not signing Alexis Sanchez as sour grapes – or oranges, to be precise.
Sanchez had been expected to join City at the start of the January transfer window, only for the Premier League leaders to withdraw their interest and claim the player’s wage demands were excessive.
Mourinho disputed that on Thursday ahead of his side’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Yeovil Town by invoking a misremembered version of Aesop’s fable The Fox and the Grapes, in which he substituted the grapes for oranges.
Real Madrid are planning a summer of “major renovation”, centred around top target Neymar, whose move is to be funded by high-profile sales set to have a big impact on the Premier League.
Bernabeu sources say there has been a realisation of the need to overhaul the top end of the squad, and an awareness that the time of the BBC - Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo - has come to an end.
While president Florentino Perez did not bring in a major star in the last two summers and wanted to rectify that this year anyway, he now feels Neymar could be the signing that solves a lot of issues. The Brazilian would be both the massive name the president craves, but also young enough to make sense as the player that represents a new era. There is also an unusual confidence around the Bernabeu that it can be pulled off, despite Paris Saint-Germain’s expected refusal.
Miguel Delaney has the details:
Edin Dzeko will continue to feature in Eusebio Di Francesco’s side despite nearing a January switch to Premier League champions Chelsea.
Di Francesco has confirmed he has no plans to drop the forward amid uncertainty over the Bosnian's future at the Stadio Olimpico.
Speaking in the wake of Roma’s 1-1 with Sampdoria on Wednesday, the Italian praised Dzeko’s commitment to the cause and insisted the forward would remain in his starting XI until he leaves the club.
West Ham are expected to pull off a coup by signing Portuguese international Joao Mario from Inter.
The energetic midfielder was a €40m signing for the Italian giants after impressing at Euro 2016 and with Sporting in his homeland, but Inter manager Luciano Spalletti has increasingly struggled to find space in his team for the 25-year-old.
David Moyes has been desperate to sign reinforcements for his central midfield and has bounced from target to target.
But a preliminary agreement has been reached with the player and Inter, with sources expecting the deal to be sealed this week.
Chelsea's search for a striker has apparently seen them turn to Olivier Giroud.
The Blues are desperate for a new foil for Alvaro Morata and have identified Giroud, currently out of favour with the Gunners, as an option.
Edin Dzeko of Roma remains their No 1 choice but the Mirror suggest they could go for the Frenchman in the event talks for the Bosnian break down.
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