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European Paper Talk: Manchester City in battle for Lille's Nicolas Pepe

Nicolas Pepe Lille
Image: Nicolas Pepe is reportedly a Manchester City target

With less than two months remaining until the January transfer window opens, the rumour mill is beginning to gather speed once more.

Our friends at Football Whispers have scoured the continental media to round up the latest transfer news from across Europe.

Spain

Lille winger Nicolas Pepe, who has eight goals and five assists in 12 Ligue 1 games this season, is a Barcelona, Juventus, Roma and Manchester City transfer target. The Ivory coast attacker is currently valued between £35-44m but will not be sold in January. (Mundo Deportivo)

Barca are also tracking Corinthians centre-back Leo Santos, with the 19-year-old defender on Real Madrid's radar too. (Mundo Deportivo)

Santiago Solari, who has overseen three straight wins since becoming caretaker manager of Real Madrid following Julen Lopetegui's sacking, will remain in place at the Bernabeu at least until Christmas. (Marca)

Ousmane Dembele is in hot water at Barcelona after missing a training session on Thursday. The Frenchman was unable to train due to gastroenteritis but he failed to inform the club, who spent an hour and a half trying to locate him. (RAC1)

Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring Barcelona's second goal against PSV Eindhoven
Image: Ousmane Dembele reportedly missed a training session

Italy

Reported Manchester United transfer target Milan Skriniar has shrugged off the £121m price tag placed on him by manager Luciano Spalletti, insisting he isn't thinking of a move and confirming he is ready to negotiate a new deal at Inter Milan. "I don't know if he was joking or not! As I've said before, I don't think about my price tag. I just focus on my work and doing the best I possibly can," he said. "We've been playing every three days, so there hasn't really been time to discuss the new contract. We'll talk more when everything calms down a bit, nothing to worry about." (Inter TV)

Also See:

Premier League strugglers Fulham are interested in signing Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko. The Frenchman, whom the Blues signed from Monaco in the summer of 2017, is currently on loan at AC Milan but has started just two Serie A games for the Rossoneri. (Calciomercato)

Tiemoue Bakayoko
Image: Tiemoue Bakayoko is on loan at AC Milan from Chelsea

Turkish giants Galatasaray are eyeing a move for Liverpool midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri. The versatile Swiss international only signed for the Reds this summer but is disappointed with his playing time at time at Anfield, having started just two Premier League games to date. (Tuttomercatoweb)

Napoli are trying to secure a deal for highly rated Brescia midfielder Sandro Tonali. Brescia are demanding £35m for the 18-year-old, also wanted by AC Milan, Inter and Juventus, but Napoli are hopeful of negotiating a deal which would include loaning him back to the Serie B side. (Il Mattino)

Roma sporting director Monchi is considering loaning out Patrik Schick in January. The 22-year-old Czech forward has made just two starts for the Giallorossi this season and is yet to score. (Calciomercato)

Germany

Stuttgart are lining up a move for former Cologne striker Anthony Modeste. The 30-year-old Frenchman joined Tianjin Quanjian in June 2017 but cancelled his contract with the Chinese Super League club this summer due to unpaid wages. (Bild)

France

Nicolas Pepe has been asked about the rumours linking him with some of Europe's biggest clubs. "A preference between Dortmund, Bayern and Arsenal? These are all big clubs," the Ivory Coast star said. "I did not know about these rumours. But that's nice, of course." (Telefoot)

Paris Saint-Germain will look to loan out gifted 18-year-old midfielder Yacine Adli, who was linked with Arsenal over the summer, in order for the youngster to gain first-team experience. (L'Equipe)

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