Wednesday 5 December 2018 10:40, UK
While in England the focus is on the midweek Premier League fixtures, there's plenty of news and transfer gossip emerging around Europe. So we asked our friends at Football Whispers to bring you the latest from across the continent.
Tiemoue Bakayoko could be staying in Italy rather than returning to Chelsea. AC Milan would like to make his loan move permanent. (Calciomercato)
Gary Cahill could be joining him. Maurizio Sarri is rumoured to be pushing the defender, who's only made one lone substitute appearance in the league this season, towards joining Gennaro Gattuso's team. (Tuttosport)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic might not be on his way back to Italy after all. A loan move from LA Galaxy to AC Milan until the end of the Serie A season had been rumoured but negotiations have stalled and the parties are moving towards abandoning the idea completely. (Sportitalia)
President of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina, has spoken out on a national discussion about young Italian players, saying Serie A clubs should play them more. "It's not true that we don't have Italian talents," he said, "but the difference is that in other countries they are developed, whereas we ignore them. It's time to change." (Corriere dello Sport)
Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe was once an Arsenal transfer target. Arsene Wenger almost tempted the teenager to north London in 2017 but Mbappe eventually decided to take a different path. "He was a gentleman about it and wished me good luck," the 19-year-old said. (France Football)
Edinson Cavani is not happy with life at Paris Saint-Germain. He believes his lack of playing time is because he is not part of the Brazilian clique - which includes Thiago Silva, Neymar, Dani Alves, and Marquinhos - rather than for footballing reasons. (L'Equipe)
Mateo Kovacic could be joining Chelsea on a permanent basis. Real Madrid have decided to sell the Croat in the summer, who is on loan at Stamford Bridge this season. However, Madrid are said to want more than the €30m (£26.7m) they originally spent on him to buy him from Inter Milan in 2015. (AS)
Brahim Diaz could be the player filling the gap Kovacic leaves behind. Madrid are keen on bringing in the Manchester City youngster and would like to get the deal done in January. The 19-year-old is also a PSG transfer target, with Diaz's contract expiring in the summer. (AS)
Christmas cheer has been interrupted in the Bundesliga by plans to play matches on the December 23 for the first time in the league's history. Augsburg will host Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim host Mainz. Wolfsburg coach Bruno Labbadia held a crisis meeting over the decision, and the sporting director of Kiel, who play Hamburg in Bundesliga 2, is concerned playing so close to Christmas could affect his players' concentration. (Sport Bild)
