Transfer news LIVE: Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal rumours plus Alexis Sanchez, Neymar latest
Follow LIVE coverage from today's Champions League draw in Monaco
Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free
Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
Join us for LIVE coverage and updates as the European transfer window nears its deadline, with a number of huge deals still in the pipeline.
Real Madrid officials are said to be in Paris to negotiate a fee with PSG for wantaway forward Neymar. And World Cup 2018 star Mario Mandzukic is currently in talks with Paris Saint-Germain.
Meanwhile, Manchester United are reportedly on the verge of concluding a deal with the out-of-contract striker Fernando Llorente, who was released by Tottenham this summer. Follow all the latest news, rumours and done deals below:
Transfer window deadlines:
The transfer window for Premier League and Championship clubs has closed. For teams in League One and Two, as well as the German Bundesliga, the window is open until 5pm on Monday 2 September.
For teams in Serie A, it closes at 7pm. And for teams in La Liga and Ligue 1, it closes at 11pm. And for teams in Scottish football, it closes at midnight.
Breaking news in Italy claims that Manchester United defender Chris Smalling could be on his way to Roma.
According to Sky Italia reporter Fabrizio Romani, Roma have agreed a fee with United to take the England centre-back on loan for the rest of the season, though there will be no obligation to buy come next summer. It's claimed that Smalling has already agreed the move, which could see a potential departure go through in the coming hours.
Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri, still recovering from a bout of pneumonia, could yet be passed fit to make his debut for the Turin side when they face his former club Napoli in Serie A on Saturday.
According to photographs published by Italian media on Wednesday, the 60-year-old is both back on the training ground and, possibly, smoking cigarettes again as he recovers from the illness which sidelined him earlier this month.
Sarri, who missed last week's opening match at Parma but has been in constant touch with his players throughout, was widely reported to have watched a practice on the touchline on Wednesday.
The Corriere della Sera also published a selfie taken by a young fan standing next to Sarri who was holding a packet of cigarettes in his hand. According to the Italian news agency ANSA, this left the club's leadership "disappointed".
Juventus announced on Aug. 21 that Sarri was suffering from a bout of pneumonia and would miss the first two games of the season including the Napoli match.
Juventus forward Mario Mandzukic has turned down a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the Croatia international is happy in Turin and has little interest in moving to France.
PSG are eager to bolster their attacking options with both Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe out injured.
Fresh off the United States' victory in the Women's World Cup, could Carli Lloyd be entertaining thoughts about a career change?
The 37-year-old soccer star nailed a 55-yard field goal during a joint practice between the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens last week. And on Wednesday she was peppered with questions about a possible NFL future.
"It's gone from just having fun kicking to, 'Will she play in the NFL?' At first I was just laughing about it but the more that I spoke with my husband, he's all for it and my friends and family, they're really encouraging me to potentially take up this opportunity," said Lloyd, who is in Philadelphia with the national team for a victory tour match against Portugal on Thursday night.
It's not the first time she's hit a long field goal. During the World Cup qualifying tournament last fall, she got a 45-yarder at the Cowboys' practice facility in Texas.
Lloyd is well known for her kicking ability. In the World Cup title match in 2015, Lloyd scored three goals including a blast from midfield to give the United States a 5-2 victory over Japan.
But she acknowledged that kicking in the NFL is very, very different from scoring from 50-yards out — like wearing pads and facing 300-pound opponents.
"You can't really touch a kicker, but it happens. I'm not naive to that. But there is that part of it, no doubt. And there's challenges as far as being with all males and the locker room and there's a whole range of things, and I get that," she said. "But I'm not afraid to step up in front of the whole world and actually do it."
The Neymar transfer saga is moving closer and closer to a conclusion, with PSG and Barcelona representatives engaging in discussions in Paris yesterday, according to reports in Spain.
Former and potential future colleague Gerard Pique has revealed that he has discussed a return to Spain with the Brazilian:
Bolton captain Jason Lowe says he is looking forward to focusing on football again after the Sky Bet League One club was saved from liquidation.
Football Ventures (Whites) Limited took over Bolton on Wednesday after the English Football League gave administrator Paul Appleton 14 days to either sell them or prove they could be funded for the rest of the season.
"It's a huge relief - excitement again, optimism, rebuilding, a fresh start," Lowe told Sky Sports News.
"All the emotions have been lifted and I'm so happy it's finally done.
"It's been a hell of a roller coaster ride for everyone - the media, the fans, the staff, the players. Everybody who's worked behind the scenes, local communities that rely on the football club.
"Yesterday was a good day and hopefully we can start the rebuilding process to see where we go."
Everton boss Marco Silva feels his summer signings need more time to settle but praised their performance against Lincoln.
Moise Kean was one of four players to make their full debut in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. The striker, signed from Juventus this month, was one of five changes to the team as fellow new recruits Fabian Delph, Alex Iwobi and Djibril Sidibe also made their first starts for the Blues.
Iwobi was on the score sheet along with Lucas Digne, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Richarlison as Everton won 4-2 at Sincil Bank and progressed to the third round, where they will travel to Sheffield Wednesday.
"The players making their first starts did well. We are talking about quality players," said Silva.
"They need time, more time to reach best physical condition, also. But they did well and for sure in the future we will see more from them."
"Fabian did really, really well. It's no surprise to me, he has the capacity to do that. Of course Alex as well did really good, Moise Kean in some moments did well also. I know Sidibe when he's more settled in our team will help also."
"The attitude was good. But we don't talk about just one or two players, I think we as a team did well too."
So, Neymar back to Barcelona looks to be very close indeed.
Sky Sport Italia claim a deal has been agreed, but how will Valverde fit them all in?
Luis Suarez appears most vulnerable, with Antoine Griezmann and Lionel Messi also essential to this side.
Arsenal manager Unai Emery insists Mesut Ozil will still be at the club after the European transfer window shuts.
Ozil has yet to feature for the Gunners this season due to safety concerns and then an illness, which kept him out of last week's defeat at Liverpool, and there has been speculation over his future.
But Emery insists the German, who has been declared available for Sunday's north London derby, will still be an Arsenal player after Monday night's continental deadline.
"We are not speaking about the possibility for Mesut to leave," he said.
"We finished here our transfer window and in Europe it is going to finish on Monday.
"We cannot sign another player but we have some players who have a possibility to leave in the four days before the transfer window closes.
"The club is working, some players know the situation and my focus and the team's focus is to prepare for the match on Sunday and exclusively on Sunday."
Nice has completed its first big transfer under Jim Ratcliffe's ownership, signing Denmark forward Kasper Dolberg from Ajax.
The French club says the 21-year-old Dolberg "embodies both the future and the present."
Ajax says it will get 20.5 million euros for Dolberg, who was under contract for three more seasons.
Dolberg missed Ajax's Champions League playoff win on Wednesday to pass his medical in Nice.
Nice, coached by France great Patrick Vieira, missed out on European soccer by placing seventh in the French league last season.
Ratcliffe's chemical company Ineos completed a takeover of Nice this week. Ineos also owns the cycling team of Tour de France champion Egan Bernal and has tried to buy English club Chelsea.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments