The transfer window may not open again until January 1 2018 but that hasn’t put an end to plenty of speculation throughout Europe.
Here, we take a look at three big stories dominating the headlines on Saturday.
Will any of the following deals happen?
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Barcelona are desperately trying to reduce their huge bill and will look to offload the likes of midfielder Andre Gomes, Turkish star Arda Turan and striker Paco Alcacer in the January transfer window, according to Marca.
Blaugrana’s reported budget is around €507million a season, however, the Catalan club have overspent on wages by a sum of €105m – with funds lavished on players’ salaries in the 2017/18 season forecasted to consume 84 per cent of their anticipated annual outlay.
If it wasn’t for the world-record sale of Neymar, the club would have been in the red, the Madrid-based newspaper have reported.
As such, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu has work to do in balancing the books – a tricky task given he has had to tie down stars like Andres Iniesta and convince Lionel Messi to put pen-to-paper on a deal that has been in the works since the summer.
The obvious solution is to move on fringe players in Ernesto Valverde’s squad like the aforementioned and rely on the club’s famed La Masia academy to develop the next generation of Camp Nou stars.
In spite of Barcelona’s superb start to the season, changes are likely to happen in the January window and expect a number of players to leave the club.
Portuguese ace Gomez, who signed for the La Liga giants at the beginning of last season, has struggled of late to nail down a first-team place and could be the most high-profile name to leave with Juventus and Manchester United both rumoured to be interested in the 24-year-old’s services.
Barcelona are looking to free-up funds.
Jose Mourinho is reportedly tracking Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro, with a view to making a move for the midfielder at the end of the season.
According to Diario Gol, the Portuguese boss is an admirer of the Brazilian star and the 25-year-old’s ability to operate in a number of positions.
United are looking for a long-term replacement for Michael Carrick and reports suggest the club are concerned contract talks with Marouane Fellaini have not progressed as quickly as they would have liked.
That could open the door for the Red Devils to move for Casemiro, who has proved the critics wrong at the Bernabeu and established himself as a reliable player in Zinedine Zidane’s team.
The former Porto star is very much part of Real’s plans moving forward and is contracted to the Whites until 2021, but still, a bid from United would certainly unsettle a player who is tailor-made for the lightening quick style of the Premier League.
A transfer in January looks extremely unlikely, though, but expect this story to run and run next summer.
Casemiro is a key man for Los Blancos.
Everton are ready to recall striker Henry Onyekuru in January and end his loan spell at Anderlecht, according to Het Nieuwsblad.
The 20-year-old Nigerian was signed by departed boss Ronald Koeman back in July for £7m from Eupen but immediately sent out on loan to the Belgian side.
However, the Toffees are short of much-needed firepower up top and feel the forward, who has netted six league goals in 11 outings this term, deserves a crack at the first-team sooner than was originally thought.
Interim boss David Unsworth is known for giving youngsters a chance to shine on the biggest stage and Everton have apparently begun talks to terminate his loan stint early.
It’s no secret that the failure to replace Romelu Lukaku properly in the summer played a huge part in Koeman’s demise at Goodison Park, that along with new signing Sandro struggling to adapt to English football and Wayne Rooney’s days as an out-and-out striker behind him – despite the five goals he has netted so far.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Oumar Niasse – who has gone from the brink to becoming a key player – are the only other genuine striking options available to the Toffeemen so reinforcements are needed.
Onyekuru is in red-hot form and seems more than ready to take his chance in the Premier League, having also impressed in the Champions League this term.
It is a win-win for the Merseysiders to bring him back into the fold.
Onyekuru has been banging in the goals for Anderlecht.
