Review all the day's transfer news, rumours, gossip and done deals as Arsenal looked to seal the signing of Nicolas Pepe from Lille.
The Gunners also continued to press on with their interest in Kieran Tierney, but one move that has been shelved is Gareth Bale’s lucrative transfer to China after Real Madrid pulled the plug on the deal yesterday due to the negotiated fee with Jiangsu Suning.
Manchester United meanwhile are reported to have agreed a deal with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, although a fee still needs to be agreed with Lazio to sign the midfielder, while confusion arose over the club’s interest in Bruno Fernandes as the club presses on with its squad revamp this summer. Review all the news below.
Welcome to The Independent's transfer live blog where we'll bring you the latest news, rumours and done deals throughout the summer as the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United look to pull off a number of major signings before the 8 August deadline.
We begin this morning with the latest on the future of Nicolas Pepe, whose move to Arsenal may not be as straightforward as initially thought.
The Gunners have agreed a £72m deal to sign Pepe and hope to announce the move this week, but French outlet La Voix du Nord - who initially broke the news of Arsenal's move for the 24-year-old - now report that Paris Saint-Germain have matched their offer in an effort to hijack the deal.
Arsenal still believe they will win the race for the Ivory Coast international, with one of the player's close friends posting a mocked-up image in Instagram last night of Pepe wearing the red and white of Arsenal, but this latest development may yet see him remain in Ligue 1 as PSG can blow the Premier League side out of the water when it comes to offering Pepe more money.
That said, Arsenal are still confident that Pepe will choose the Emirates Stadium over the Parc des Princes, and have offered Pepe a lucrative £9m-a-year contract over five years to make him one of the highest earners behind Mesut Ozil.
If they manage to get the move over the line, it will become the club's new record transfer, surpassing the £60m spent on Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang in January 2018 and becoming the third time that Arsenal have set a new record in the last three years.
Real Madrid have offered €160 million (£144m) for Paul Pogba.
That's according to Sport, who believe Zinedine Zidane could now land his compatriot to upgrade their midfield.
Quite how Gareth Bale's supposed failed move to China impacts that bid remains uncertain.
Bayern Munich are eagerly pursuing Manchester City winger Leroy Sane and hope to complete a deal before the transfer window closes, according to the Daily Mirror. Sane, believed to be valued at around £90m, has been told he does not feature in Pep Guardiola's starting XI, the paper adds.
On top of that, Bayern head coach Niko Kovac has been openly discussing the prospect of signing Sane and has told German media that he is "very confident" of landing the 23-year-old this summer.
If Sane does leave the club, City will launch a move for Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal to replace him.
The 22-year-old has a €75m release clause and Spanish newspaper AS claims that City are willing to trigger it in order to plug the gap that Sane's departure would leave.
But the move depends on the German leaving the club before the Premier League transfer deadline of 8 August, and should Bayern attempt to prise him away from the Etihad after that date - given the Bundesliga window does not shut until 2 September - City will resist offers.
Gareth Bale is furious with Real Madrid after club president Florentino Perez pulled the plug on his move to China.
Bale had agreed a deal with Chinese Super League outfit Jiangsu Suning after being forced out of the club by manager Zinedine Zidane, only for the club to perform a U-turn at the last minute on Sunday and cancel the deal.
It's understood that Perez was unhappy with the terms of the transfer as Madrid were allowing the Wales international to leave on a free transfer, six years after paying a then-world record £89m for him.
But The Sun reports that Bale and his camp have been incensed by the sudden denial given that it's the club who are forcing him out, leaving his future in limbo.
Manchester United's busy summer has eased up somewhat in recent weeks following the early business to sign Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but the club remain active in the transfer window in their hunt for a new midfielder.
With a move for Bruno Fernandes very much in the pipeline, it appears that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will target a second central midfielder should Paul Pogba leave the club, and top of that list is Serbia's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport claim that United have come to a "verbal agreement" with the Lazio midfielder over a summer move, having held talks with his agent Mateja Kezman, the former Chelsea forward.
However, a fee is yet to bee agreed between the clubs, though Lazio are aware of the growing interest in the 24-year-old.
Addressing the interest in his star midfielder, Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi said of Milinkovic-Savic:
"My thoughts are that I’d like Milinkovic-Savic to stay. But I also believe the club has to consider offers when they come in and then make a decision.
“Milinkovic is 24 now, he’s no longer a kid. I can give him advice, he is at our disposal and hasn’t missed a training session, but then I don’t know what will happen."
United also remain in the hunt for Sporting midfielder Bruno Fernandes, although conflicting reports emerged around the progress of talks between the two clubs.
It was initially claimed that the 24-year-old was due in Manchester on Monday to undergo a medical at United's Carrington training base.
But The Express claims that this is not the case, and with a fee yet to be agreed with Sporting, United are not yet ready to put the Portuguese through a medical.
Newcastle are closing in on long-term target Stanley Nsoki from Paris Saint-Germain, according to the Newcastle Chronicle, but the Magpies will have to match the Ligue 1 side's £13.5m valuation of the left-back.
After securing the signing of Joelinton for around £40m last week, the club are pressing on with the transfer business after a disruptive start to the summer.
Everton are still keen on signing Wilfried Zaha despite Crystal Palace turning down a proposed £50m offer at the weekend, the Daily Mirror says.
The Toffees may have to get closer to £60m to prise the forward away from the Eagles.
It was initially thought that Everton would include up to two players in their efforts to sign Zaha, but the first offer is understood to have been a cash-only bid that was rejected by Palace.
Arsenal have flirted with the idea of signing Zaha this summer, but after failing to persuade Palace into lowering their valuation they have switched targets to Lille's Nicolas Pepe.
Breaking: Manchester United have left Romelu Lukaku out of their squad that will travel to Oslo today for their pre-season friendly against Kristiansund.
The striker has been the subject of intense interest from Inter Milan, but so far the Italian side have not been able to cough up the right fee to tempt United into selling the Belgian.
However, his omission from the squad and failure to mention why he has not been selected will intensify suggestions that an imminent departure is on the cards, although he was struggling with injury during the pre-season tour of Australia and Asia.
Alexis Sanchez has also been left out of the squad, although the Chile international only returned to training on Monday morning following his participation in the Copa America this summer.
Neil Etheridge could be making a return to the Premier League this season, with Aston Villa looking to bring in the Cardiff goalkeeper, according to Wales Online.
Meanwhile at Bournemouth, Harry Arter may be swapping the south coast for south west London with Fulham looking to bring in the midfielder, reports the Daily Mirror. The Cherries may be willing to sell Arter as they make space for Phillip Billing from Huddersfield.
Transfer round-up
Blaise Matuidi: The Juventus midfielder is keen on joining up with fellow France international Paul Pogba at Manchester United, the Corriere di Torino reports.
Tom Heaton: Aston Villa are interested in signing the Burnley goalkeeper but the £10million price tag is a stumbling block, according to the Birmingham Mail.
Ryan Kent: The Liverpool winger will not be allowed out on loan, with Aston Villa, Rangers and Leeds previously interested in a move reports the Daily Record.
The Gareth Bale saga continues to grow messier by the day.
After seeing his move to Jiangsu Suning blocked by the club on Sunday, Bale's agent Jonathan Barnett has renewed his criticism of Zinedine Zidane, claiming that the Frenchman has never liked Bale during their time together at Real Madrid.
This comes a week after he labelled the Madrid boss "a disgrace" for openly discussing his desire to see Bale leave the club, and rift is visibly forming between player and manager that could have a major impact on Bale's season if he remains in the Spanish capital.
Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye is in Paris today to undergo a medical ahead of his move to PSG.
The Senegal international was spotted in the French capital on Sunday and is expected to complete a £28.7m move from Goodison Park once he signs a four-year contract to head to Ligue 1.
The Guardian reports that Everton boss Marco Silva attempted to persuade the 29-year-old into staying with the club for another season, but the allure of PSG won through and the deal will go through providing he clears his medical without any hiccups.
Another player who has emerged on Arsenal's radar is Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira, who is being linked with a free transfer this summer after being deemed surplus to requirements in Turin.
The Germany international was pictured at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday for the pre-season friendly between Arsenal and Lyon, and reports in Italy suggest that Arsenal are inching towards a free transfer for the 32-year-old that would add considerable experience to Unai Emery's squad.
Breaking: Newcastle United have announced the double-signing of Kyle Scott and Jake Turner, who join from Chelsea and Bolton Wanderers respectively.
Twenty-one-year-old midfielder Scott arrives after 12 years in the Chelsea youth ranks, and has been tipped to make his United States breakthrough in the near-future after choosing to switch allegiance from the Republic of Ireland to the US.
Goalkeeper Turner meanwhile has spent time on loan from Bolton with Stalybridge Celtic and Darlington, and was part of the matchday squad in Bolton's final Championship match of the 2018/19 season.
David Moyes (remember him?) has offered his thoughts on Manchester United's transfer policy, and unsurprisingly his comments are pretty critical of the club who sacked him from his cream job.
However, given United's scatter-gun approach in the transfer market in recent years, it's easy to see why the former United boss is at a loss to explain what direction the club are trying to go in.
Here's what Moyes had to say:
Emmanuel Adebayor is on the lookout for a new club, with the former Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham striker a free agent after leaving Turkish side Basaksehir in the summer.
Adebayor last played in the Premier League in 2016 during a loan spell with Crystal Palace, but The Sun reports that three clubs are looking at the 35-year-old in the form of West Ham, Sheffield United and Watford.
West Ham are looking for a replacement for Andy Carroll, who was released at the end of the season, but the trio of Premier League teams do face competition from Scottish champions Celtic, who are also keen on the Togolese striker.
The summer transfer window closes at 5pm on Thursday 8 August for all Premier League and Championship clubs, with the rest of Europe having until 11pm CET on Monday 2 September to complete their summer transfer business.
