Friday's transfer news: Man Utd, Arsenal and Real Madrid rumours as Barcelona break silence over Neymar move
Review the day's transfer news - the window remains open in Spain and across Europe, with some big deals ready to be pushed through
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La Liga is back tonight with FC Barcelona taking on Athletic and the debuts of Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie De Jong for the Blaugrana - two of the biggest signings this summer.
Lionel Messi is not thought to be ready, but one of the biggest deals from 2017, Ousmane Dembele, will hope to convince and avoid talk of another big move for himself any time soon.
Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain continue to negotiate the sale of Neymar, with Barcelona and Real Madrid fighting it out for the Brazilian.
Transfer deadlines
Italy’s Serie A is the next big transfer deadline. The Italian window shuts on 23 August.
The transfer window in La Liga, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 meanwhile shuts on 2 September.
For a comprehensive review of the English transfer window: click here.
Welcome to the Independent's live transfer news this Friday.
There is plenty going on around Europe as La Liga returns.
Barcelona, themselves, remain active in the market with their pursuit of Neymar with Real Madrid also keen on the PSG star.
We'll keep you up to date with the latest rumours and done deals.
Flamengo have pulled out of the running to sign Mario Balotelli.
The Italian striker is without a club since leaving Marseille after last season.
And Brescia could be the front-runners now after the Brazilian side ended their interest due to the 29-year-old's £4m wage demands.
Hirving Lozano is on the brink of a £38m move from PSV to Napoli.
The notorious image rights have been an issue in the deal to bring the Mexican to the San Paolo.
Votebal International and Tuttomercadoweb believe a medical will take place on Monday or Tuesday before 'Chucky' becomes the most expensive player in the club's history.
Harry Maguire snubbed a move to Manchester City to join United this summer.
The former Leicester star was offered £278,000 per week by City to move to the Etihad.
The Star claim Maguire is earning almost £100,000 per week less at Old Trafford.
Juventus are still working to sell Paulo Dybala ahead of the European transfer deadline, with the club yet to receive any firm offers for the Argentine.
Both Manchester United and Tottenham were linked with a move for the 25-year-old. Although Spurs came closest to landing his signature, complications regarding the player’s image rights put a halt to the deal being finalised.
Juventus remain open to letting the striker leave this summer, but would like to secure a replacement before sanctioning a sale.
“The market is open and there is interest, but there are no names closer to a sale,” Fabio Paratici, the club’s sporting director, said.
Jordan Ibe is on the radar of Celtic and Napoli.
The Bournemouth winger is out of favour on the south coast and could now look to move on.
Eddie Howe is reluctant to sell, claim the Sun, with Neil Lennon eager to sign Ibe on loan.
If Dejan Lovren is allowed to leave Anfield it will be particularly ironic in the week that Liverpool travel to St Mary’s to play Southampton. Jurgen Klopp is happy to let the defender sign for Roma. His departure would mark the end of an era.
It is still tempting to refer to Southampton as Liverpool’s feeder club. In the past five years Lovren, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Nathanial Clyne, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk have made the journey from the south coast to Merseyside. All but the latter two predated the German manager and only Mane and Van Dijk have been unqualified successes. The pre-Klopp signings were the products of a confused and disjointed recruitment policy. The 52-year-old has overseen a much more coherent and targeted transfer strategy.
Deciding that Lovren is surplus to requirements at this moment is taking a risk, however. The decision not to reinforce the squad in the transfer window has the potential to backfire. The Croat is fourth choice centre back but Joe Gomez’s fitness has not been proven over a prolonged period after his long layoff with an ankle injury. Lovren might not possess the quality or the temperament that Klopp needs and a £15 million fee would look good on the balance sheet but it does leave the defence short of depth.
Read more below
Roma are close to signing Dejan Lovren.
The Liverpool defender will cost around €25m (£23m) with the Croat falling down the pecking order at Anfield.
The makeup of the deal could see Lovren join initially on loan with an obligation to buy.
Paul Pogba's brother Mathias has commented on the Man United star's future.
"Zidane is one of the greats and I think that if the club give him what he wants, he won’t have a problem, but if they don’t give it to him, he’s going to have a hard time because what he wants is not going to happen, because right now it’s a little late," Mathias said in an interview with El Chiringuito.
"My brother is missing and I think he needs another midfielder. Of course Florentino [Perez] can get him, nothing is impossible in life. I don’t think he’s worth 200 million, but now the football world is like that, Manchester are going to ask for a lot, but not 200.
"It’s a delicate situation but the player has his personal goals, if you have to leave, well, that’s it. If you can’t stay and play where you are, you can stay and you’re done. I can’t assure you that he is going to stay at United.
"We know he wanted to move, but he’s not to blame. He’s waiting. He works hard and we’ll see what happens. In football you never know. Until September 2 everything can happen. My brother’s dream is to win the Champions League."
Jack Butland will look to move abroad to revitalise his England hopes.
The Stoke goalkeeper wants to push for a place in Gareth Southgate's squad for Euro 2020.
And he remains concerned that playing in the Championship will hurt his chances.
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