Chelsea has opened talks with Benfica on a transfer for Enzo Fernandez. 

Chelsea would like to upgrade their midfield in January and have identified Fernandez as their top target.

Fernandez’s contract expires in 2027 and has a release clause of €120 million, with Benfica thought to only be willing to sell for the full amount. 

Real Madrid are prepared to spend over $100 million to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund.

Liverpool has been widely considered as the other club most likely to sign Bellingham. Bellingham is also receiving interest from Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Madrid would view a $100m fee as a sensible figure and hope that the good relationship between club president Florentino Perez and Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke could help clinch the deal.

Real Madrid views Bellingham as an ideal addition in midfield to play with Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde.

Pele has passed away at the age of 82 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Pele had been treated for colon cancer since 2021 and had been hospitalized with multiple ailments over the last month.

Pele won three World Cup tournaments with Brazil and 10 league titles with Santos, his club team, as well as the 1977 North American Soccer League championship with the New York Cosmos. Pele came out of retirement at the age of 34 to spend three seasons with the Cosmos.

Pele helped create and promote what he later called “o jogo bonito” — the beautiful game — a style that valued clever ball control, inventive pinpoint passing and a voracious appetite for attacking.

Chelsea have agreed to sign David Datro Fofana from Molde FK for $13.15 million.

The striker has enjoyed a fruitful recent season with Molde in the Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football, contributing 15 goals and five assists in 24 matches.

Graham Potter has been looking to bolster his attacking ranks with a shortage of forward options available to him.

Arsenal have submitted an opening bid of around €65 million for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhailo Mudryk.

Mudryk is Arsenal's top target of the January window.

Shakhtar, however, is valuing Mudryk at €100 million.

Arsenal are keen to strengthen their attacking options after losing striker Gabriel Jesus for up to three months following knee surgery on an injury sustained while playing for Brazil at the World Cup in Qatar.

Liverpool have agreed to sign Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven for $45 million, beating out Manchester United in the process. 

The Dutch club said in a statement: "PSV and Liverpool FC have reached an agreement on the proposed transfer of Cody Gakpo. The 23-year-old attacker will leave for England imminently where he will be subjected to the necessary formalities ahead of the completion of the transfer."

Gakpo, 23, emerged as a star of the World Cup in Qatar by scoring three goals for the Netherlands before their quarterfinal elimination at the hands of eventual champions Argentina.

Wolves have signed Matheus Cunha from Atletico Madrid on loan with an obligation to buy for €50 million. 

The former Sion, RB Leipzig and Hertha Berlin player moved to Atlético in the summer of 2021 and scored seven goals last season but has struggled for playing time this term.

Lionel Messi has reached a verbal agreement with Paris Saint-Germain on an extension for at least one more season.

Messi's contract with PSG was set to expire in June 2023.

PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi also said on Dec. 8 he was confident the Argentina captain would stay with the Ligue 1 champions.

"He's very happy; you can see that with the national team," Al-Khelaifi said in an interview with Sky Sports. "So what we agreed together -- that after the World Cup, sit down together. But both sides -- our side of the club and him -- are very happy, so we will talk after the World Cup."

Recent reports indicated Inter Miami were confident they would sign Messi after the World Cup.

Chelsea have appointed Christopher Vivell as the club’s new technical director. 

Chairman, Todd Boehly, said: “We are delighted that Christopher is taking up this important leadership role at the club.

“His work in Germany and Austria speaks for itself. We are confident he will continue on his impressive trajectory here at Chelsea.”

Vivell said: “Chelsea are building the most exciting project in global football and I’m extremely proud to be joining the club. There is so much potential for the club to continue to succeed, develop and grow.

“Under the new ownership, Graham Potter and the broader sporting team, there is a clear and sustainable philosophy underpinned by performance analysis, data and innovation, and I am looking forward to playing a part in that.”

Vivell spent five years with Leipzig’s sister club RB Salzburg as head of scouting and recruitment, overseeing the signings of Erling Haaland and Karim Adeyemi during his time in Austria.

Pep Guardiola has said his time at Manchester City "will not be complete" unless he wins the Champions League.

Guardiola recently signed an extension through 2025.

Guardiola has won nine domestic trophies since arriving in 2016 but said the target during his next two-and-a-half years is the Champions League.

"It's not the only one but I admit it's the trophy we want and my period here will not be complete if we don't win it," Guardiola told a news conference on Wednesday.