Transfer gossip live: United in for Chelsea star, Liverpool want Virgil van Dijk and Thomas Lemar to Arsenal latest
All the latest transfer news live plus gossip and rumours
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Welcome to the Independent's coverage of the transfer rumour mill with the January window now just a matter of days away.
With more money than ever in the game and fresh from a record-breaking summer there is every chance that next month's window will be the biggest in history with everyone attempting to chase down Manchester City.
The runaway leaders were the summer's biggest spenders splashing over £200m on new arrivals but Pep Guardiola isn't likely to stop there with a title there for the taking. A new centre-back is the priority for the champions in waiting while Benjamin Mendy's long-term injury could see the Spaniard chase a left back too.
13 Premier League transfers that could happen in January
Show all 13Crosstown rivals United were busy in the summer too but will want more as they bid to close the gap with Jose Mourinho keen on an attacking wide player and a new full back. Don't rule out a move for Arsenal's Mesut Ozil either.
Liverpool are likely to spend too but will be more focused on keeping the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah from the clutches of others while the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and Everton, now under Sam Allardyce's stewardship, also likely to be busy movers and shakers.
We will have all of the latest news, rumours and transfer gossip right here throughout the day so stay with us right here.
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Roy Hodgson has revealed his desire to retain Yohan Cabaye as the Crystal Palace midfielder enters the final months of his contract.
Until a new contract is agreed Palace will remain at risk of losing him for free at the season's end, but Hodgson expects their director of football Dougie Freedman to soon give the 31-year-old his attention.
"If you say to me would I like Yohan Cabaye to keep working here with me, then of course the answer is 'Yes'," he said ahead of Saturday's fixture at Leicester. "I'm a big admirer of his and he's doing a fantastic job.
"But his situation with the club will be discussed with Dougie and the chairman (Steve Parish) and then they'll bring me in on the discussion at the appropriate time.
"There's no doubt he's one of the players we have who are bonafide, quality, Premier League players who can keep us in the league, and that group needs assisting by being boosted, not pruning down in any way.
"I'd be surprised if the people who watched us play weren't impressed by his performances in the middle with Luka Milivojevic; they've been very, very good together. I've been impressed and I'd be surprised if others weren't too.
"I'm pretty certain he won't go anywhere this season and at the moment that's the only thing in the forefront of my mind: the 2017/18 season, keeping us in the league. I can't allow my energy or my enthusiasm for the job to be dented in any way by thoughts of 2018/19."
There's no doubt what the weekend's big game is.
Here's Miguel Delaney on Manchester City vs Tottenham.
Antoine Griezmann will be allowed to leave Atletico Madrid if the right opportunity comes along for the France forward, according to coach Diego Simeone.
"Of course he can leave at some point, like Diego Costa and Arda Turan did in their day," Simeone told L'Equipe.
"I love watching my players grow, and if one of them tells me that they have the unique opportunity of playing for a certain team, after they did everything they could for me, like Griezmann has done, I'll say it's not a problem.
"I know that he needs to grow."
Diego Maradona has told Real Madrid they should offload Gareth Bale and replace him with Kylian Mbappe.
Maradona, who starred for Argentina when they won the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, believes Real should cut their losses with Bale.
The Wales star cost Madrid a then world-record fee of £80million in 2013 but has missed the majority of this season through injury, while Mbappe is part of Paris St Germain's prolific strike force that includes Neymar and Edinson Cavani.
Maradona made his feelings clear in an interview with Spanish newspaper AS when he said: "Bale? Let them sell Bale or give him away, although (Real president) Florentino (Perez) is less likely to give him away... but I think they had to sign Mbappe."
Renato Sanches won't be cutting his disappointing loan spell at Swansea, according to Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes.
"I have talked to Hasan Salihamidzic [Bayern's sporting director] over the last few weeks about our players on loan and that we have to take good care of them.
"Like [Serge] Gnabry at Hoffenheim or Sanches at Swansea. I assume that he talked to him on the phone, but there were no talks about getting him back now in the winter. So that rumour surprises me.
"I consider Sanches a great talent, truly. But talent is one thing - the others are daily work, discipline, integration and being a team player.
"The young people have to be led and supported. And sometimes you have to do that forcefully."
Oliver Kahn claims Sir Alex Ferguson is still mad with him for not joining Manchester United towards the end of his glittering career.
United were struggling to replace Peter Schmeichel and Ferguson made an approach for the Bayern Munich goalkeeper in 2003.
Kahn, who was Germany's captain for their 2002 World Cup final defeat to Brazil, admits he regrets not giving the Premier League a go before he retired in 2008.
"Sir Alex Ferguson is still mad at me today," Kahn told German newspaper Bild.
"He thought that I would move to Manchester United in 2003 or 2004, but I was more interested in trying to define an era at Bayern.
"Looking back, I should have done it then. It would have been a nice challenge for me."
Pep Guardiola has admitted Manchester City are looking to add another central defender to their squad in the forthcoming January transfer window, but only if the right player can be found.
City will start with Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala partnered at the back when Tottenham Hotspur visit the Etihad on Saturday, with John Stones and Vincent Kompany unavailable through injury.
Mangala’s career at the club appeared to be nearing its end during the summer but Guardiola has been forced to draft the centre-back back in given his squad’s lack of alternatives.
Jose Mourinho has hinted he could be tempted into the January transfer market after defender Eric Bailly was ruled out for up to three months with an ankle injury.
The 23-year-old Ivory Coast international has not played since the match against Chelsea on November 5.
And the Manchester United manager confirmed the worst on Friday.
Mauricio Pochettino says he doesn’t blame Kyle Walker for moving to Manchester City, and that Tottenham Hotspur cannot expect every player to agree with their long-term strategy - but insisted such attitudes will not influence or change their plan.
The full-back moved to the Etihad in a £53m deal in the summer, amid a period that saw a lot of discussion about whether many of Spurs’ greatly desired squad would look to move on in similar circumstances, and faces his old side for the first time this Saturday.
Pochettino said he is looking forward to seeing him again and accepts his decision, but stressed again how Spurs are on schedule.
Ross Barkley looks set to be at the centre of plenty of headlines over the next month or so.
Once a talented young midfielder, Barkley is now merely a talented midfielder and with manager Sam Allardyce opening the door to his departure, what will happen next is pretty hard to predict.
Here's Ed Malyon's take:
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