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Transfer Talk: Chelsea's rumoured next boss Maurizio Sarri targets four former Napoli charges

The transfer window is open, and Transfer Talk has the latest rumours making the rounds. Follow along with our daily blog throughout the summer.

TOP STORY: Sarri targets four Napoli stars to follow him to Chelsea

Maurizio Sarri's move to Chelsea appears to be approaching the finish line after protracted negotiations, and the Italian wants to raid his soon-to-be-former club for four players.

Sarri has been replaced at Napoli by Carlo Ancelotti, but club president Aurelio De Laurentiis will not release him until compensation is agreed. Still, that has not stopped Sarri from notifying his future employer of his targets and a projected £76 million raid on Napoli's roster, reports the Mirror.

Dries Mertens is the star of the quartet and could move in a £27m deal, while fellow forward Jose Maria Callejon is wanted at £21m. Sarri then wants to bring his influence to bear on the Blues' back line with right-back Elseid Hysaj for £23m and veteran centre-back Raul Albiol for £5m.

Further targets could include Juventus centre-back Daniele Rugani and midfielders Matias Vecino of Inter Milan and Jean-Michael Seri of Nice. Sarri's overhaul would also lead to a number of sales, with Alvaro Morata, Davide Zappacosta, Danny Drinkwater and Willian potentially sacrificed.

LIVE BLOG

22.50 BST: That's going to do it for Friday's live edition of Transfer Talk. Thanks very much for joining us, and be sure to check back in a few short hours when we return with the latest gossip pulled from Saturday's back pages.

21.35 BST: Italian transfer guru Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Radja Nainggolan's impending move to Inter will see the Belgian midfielder's contract extended by a year to 2022, with an option for a further year, and is expected to undergo a medical on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

20.20 BST: Manchester City are closing in on the signing of Napoli midfielder Jorginho, the Manchester Evening News reports, after the sides have negotiated for weeks following City's £40 million bid for a player the Italian club values at £60 million.

19.05 BST: Manchester United are interested in Real Mallorca's 21-year-old right-back Joan Sastre, according to Sport, who report that the player has also attracted the attentions of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Villarreal.

17.45 BST: It's a DONE DEAL! Roma have announced the signing of 19-year-old Dutch international Justin Kluivert from Ajax.

16.45 BST: More on that Real Madrid story: Marca says that Zorya Luhansk goalkeeper Andriy Lunin is in the Spanish capitali ahead of completing a move to Real Madrid worth €8.5 million plus €4m in add-ons.

It is uncertain whether the young keeper will be in the first team or the second team next season with Marca claiming that Los Blancos are also trying to bring Alisson from Roma.

16.25 BST: Oops...

16.20 BST: Former Arsenal goalkeeper -- to use that phrase loosely -- Emiliano Viviano has joined Sporting Lisbon from Sampdoria.

16.15 BST: Reports in Turkey say that Galatasaray and Cardiff are battling it out to sign Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic.

The Serbia international spent the second half of last season on loan at the Bluebirds, helping them secure promotion back to the Premier League.

16.05 BST: Staying in Italy, and CalcioMercato say that RB Leipzig could take Hakan Calhanoglu off AC Milan's hands.

15.50 BST: TuttoMercatoWeb believe Chelsea are "sprinting" towards a transfer for Juventus defender Daniele Rugani, while they continue to rival the Old Lady for Russia star Aleksandar Golovin.

15.35 BST: Some transfer news from the south coast...

15.30 BST: While many players are heading out of Sporting Lisbon this summer, one player who could return is Islam Slimani.

Record report that Leicester are looking to sell the Algeria striker, with his former club rumoured to be interested.

15.00 BST: Are Chelsea closing in on a move for Roma defender Kostas Manolas? Corriere dello Sport think so, and say that the Greece international is a top priority for Maurizio Sarri should he become manager.

14.50 BST: After announcing he will leave Arsenal this week, Jack Wilshere could sign for West Ham, Sky Sports say.

14.35 BST: Former Tottenham director of football Damien Comolli, now of Fenerbache, is looking to bring current Spurs winger Georges-Kevin Nkoudou to the club, according to reports in Turkey.

Nkoudou was signed by Tottenham on deadline day in the summer of 2016, but has failed to make the grade under Mauricio Pochettino, spending the second half of last season on loan at Burnley.

14.00 BST: Sky Sports News have an update regarding the future of Fulham's Tom Cairney...

13.50 BST: Marco Silva could link up with Andre Carrillo again at Everton, according to O Jogo.

Carrillo has impressed at the World Cup with Peru despite their group stage elimination.

13.35 BST: Telefoot report that Tottenham are leading the chase to sign on-loan Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, who is also attracting interest from Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.

13.15 BST: Nottingham Forest are keeping up their pursuit of young Portuguese talent, with The Telegraph reporting they are nearing a deal to sign Monaco winger Gil Bastiao Dias.

Forest recently completed the club-record transfer of Joao Carvalho from Benfica as Aitor Karanka looks to lead them back to the Premier League.

13.10 BST: Il Tempo say that Leicester are in pole position to sign Lazio left-back Jordan Lukaku.

The Belgian, brother of Manchester United striker Romelu, has also been linked with a move to Southampton.

12.20 BST: The father of Mexico star Hirving Lozano has confirmed ESPN's report that Barcelona are monitoring the situation of his son.

12.15 BST: BILD say that Huddersfield are set to sign Borussia Dortmund defender and World Cup winner Erik Durm.

12.00 BST: Different reports from Spain in recent days have claimed that Barcelona had stepped up the negotiations to bring the signing of Arthur Melo forward to this summer, and now Brazilian oulet UOL says that the clubs have already reached an agreement in principle with the Catalans ready to pay €3 million extra for Gremio to let the midfielder leave ahead of schedule.

In March, Barcelona agreed a purchase option to sign the Brazilian talent this July in a deal worth €39m including add-ons but the original plan was for Arthur to stay in his homeland until January 2019.

11.50 BST: Veteran right-back Juanfran will continue at Atletico Madrid one more season after the club confirmed an agreement to extend his contract until June 2019.

Juanfran is the latest Atletico player to commit his future to Diego Simeone's side after earlier this month they also announced new deals for Antoine Griezmann, Lucas Hernandez and Jose Maria Gimenez.

11.40 BST: Corriere dello Sport say that officials from West Ham are due in Rome today to finalise their move for Lazio forward Felipe Anderson.

In turn, Lazio hope to wrap up a deal for Portugal winger Gelson Martins.

11.30 BST: Reports in Turkey say that Leicester are eyeing a move for Kasimpasa and Egypt star Trezeguet.

11.15 BST: As Jorginho edges closer to a move to Manchester City, there are unconfirmed reports of notable City fan Noel Gallagher having a laugh...

11.05 BST: Mundo Deportivo reckon Barcelona could move in for Liverpool target Nabil Fekir.

Lyon have been adamant that the France forward will not be sold this window.

10.55 BST: It has been a while since Gareth Bale was last in the headlines, so it seemed only natural that is future was discussed again as the summer went on.

AS believe Manchester United are ahead of Bayern Munich in the queue to sign the forward, and they could make Bale the highest-paid player in the Premier League.

10.40 BST: De Telegraaf claim that Dusan Tadic will complete a €17.1 million move to Ajax from Southampton.

10.30 BST: Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly has told TuttoMercatoWeb that wants to stay at the club and work with new boss Carlo Ancelotti, and expects former coach Maurizio Sarri to be a hit at Chelsea should he join.

He said Chelsea can "look forward to seeing some beautiful football, because Sarri is a great coach. I hope he can win something, but he'll need to be given time because a coach like him will change Chelsea's game."

10.10 BST: Barcelona and Spain left-back Jordi Alba has reiterated his desire to stay at the club during a press conference.

"I'm very happy at Barcelona and if it depended on me, I would stay here forever.," he said. "It depends on my level of performance and it was very good throughout last season, which was a great campaign for us. It depends also on the club's decision but if it is up to me, I will not be leaving Barcelona."

Alba had been linked with a move to Tottenham in the past week.

10.00 BST: Sami Khedira says he's staying at Juventus as he welcomes the signing of Emre Can in Gazzetta dello Sport.

09.45 BST: Sevilla's director of football Joaquin Caparros has been talking to AS about the club's transfer plans for the window.

He insists they have received no offers for Ever Banega and Steven N'Zonzi, while he was coy talking about the future of Barcelona and Manchester United target Clement Lenglet.

09.35 BST: A major tournament is not complete without Real Madrid being linked to a star player from it.

AS are linking them with a move for Mexico star Hirving Lozano, who scored in a 1-0 win over Germany in the first round of group games.

09.30 BST: Radja Nainggolan says he was forced to leave Roma against his will, but tells Gazzetta dello Sport that he is delighted to move to Inter and be reunited with Luciano Spalletti.

"Inter wanted me more than anybody, I can only thank them," he said. "Now I get to work with Spalletti again, who is a great coach and I'm delighted to work with him again. I will always have the Giallorossi colours and fans in my heart, I leave after having given everything for Roma over these years. The decision to leave wasn't down to me, it's a decision taken by the club which I've respected."

Davide Santon and Nicolo Zaniolo set to move in the opposite direction.

08.59 BST: Real Madrid have been impressed with Mexico midfielder Hector Herrera, who played under Julen Lopetegui at Porto, says Mexican outlet Reforma (via Record).

08.45 BST: Barcelona are closely monitoring the situation of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Liverpool target Nabil Fekir, say Mundo Deportivo. The Catalans were expected to sign Antoine Griezmann during the current transfer window but they have been forced to look for alternatives target after the France international decided to turned down their offer and sign a new deal at Atletico Madrid.

08.33 BST: Footmercato reports Tottenham Hotspur have made a €25m offer for Nice forward Alassane Plea. The former Lyon striker, 25, is the Premier League side's Plan B with Manchester United's Anthony Martial their priority.

08.29 BST: Porto and Mexico defender Miguel Layun is of interest to Arsenal, AC Milan and Marseille, according to Spanish newspaper AS.

08.00 BST: Morning, and welcome to another day of transfer action. Arsenal have been busy buying the best Unai Emery and friends can come up with for under £50m, but Swedish paper Expressen claim discussions have taken place between the club and representatives of RB Leipzig star Emil Forsberg over a £47m deal.

PAPER TALK (By Jack Rathborn)

Juventus aim to complete Cancelo deal to follow Can

Emre Can's move to Juventus is official, and the club will waste little time in making their next signing.

Joao Cancelo will be the Old Lady's fifth summer capture, according to Tuttosport, with the Portuguese following Can, Mattia Perin, Mattia Caldara and Leonardo Spinazzola.

The Turin-based paper claims the deal is done, with Valencia receiving €38m plus an undetermined amount in bonuses.

Juve aim to bring in €35m from Udinese for Rolando Mandragora, Emil Audero and Alberto Cerri. That will, in part, go towards a big-money move for Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who has starred at the World Cup for Serbia.

Juve will not be done there though, with reports in Italy adding Aleksandr Golovin and Adrien Rabiot to their list of names, while Matthijs De Ligt could arrive if Medhi Benatia or Rugani leave.

And finally (for now), any offers for Miralem Pjanic will be knocked back, following interest from Barcelona and Chelsea.

Spurs eye World Cup star Rebic

Tottenham are keen on Croatia's World Cup star Ante Rebic, with the Eintracht Frankfurt forward scoring the opener in the 3-0 rout over Argentina on Thursday night.

Bild believes Spurs will pay £26m for the 24-year-old, which would mean a quick sale for the German side after activating their option to after a successful loan from Fiorentina last term.

Tap-ins

- Tuttosport claims AC Milan and Inter Milan will meet today to discuss a deal for Suso. Milan could demand Marcelo Brozovic as part of the deal in the opposite direction.

- Chelsea could pay the release clause for Kostas Manolas in three days, according to Corriere dello Sport. The Greek defender impressed with Roma last term, notably scoring the winner in the incredible comeback win in the Champions League against Barcelona, and now the Blues could move under the possible orders of managerial target Sarri.

- Borussia Dortmund will tempt Chelsea into a quick sale for Morata a year on from his big move from Real Madrid, says Talksport. The Spanish striker struggled as the season developed and ultimately failed to make the World Cup squad. Sarri's arrival may therefore spell the end of his brief stay in London, with Gonzalo Higuain linked with the Blues.

- Everton want to tempt Middlesbrough into selling Ben Gibson by offering Mo Besic as part of a swap deal. The Northern Echo claims the Toffees want £12m for the Bosnian midfielder, but could be convinced to package him in a deal to bring Gibson to Goodison.

- Fenerbahce will make a move for Chelsea midfielder Marko Van Ginkel, claims Talksport. After a fine loan spell at PSV under Phillip Cocu, the Dutch manager is set to take over at the Turkish giants and would like to bring the Chelsea star with him.