Chelsea star not convinced by contract offer, update on Barcelona's interest in Erling Haaland and more: Fabrizio Romano Exclusive

The transfer market is about to enter its decisive phase. January will be an important month for many clubs as they look to make some good decisions and conclude valuable business.

The last major deal was concluded by Everton: Rafa Benitez will soon have Vitaliy Mykolenko, left-back coming from Dynamo Kyiv for €21 million. His contract will last for five years and his medical examinations have already been completed. Lucas Digne could soon leave to make room for him - pay attention to possible offers.

In Spain, it is a key moment for Barcelona. Important choices will have to be made in the transfer market and financial availability remains limited. Selling players will become essential - Samuel Umtiti and Philippe Coutinho are on the list of players who could leave the club in January, while Alex Collado will go on loan without a buy option to Granada.

There is no confirmation on the willingness to sell Marc-André ter Stegen as Barcelona continue to protect him and believe in him. There are also many rumors about Frenkie de Jong and a possible transfer to Manchester United in January, but so far, there have been no contacts. Ralf Rangnick would like a defensive midfielder more than a creative midfielder next month because, in that position, Manchester United currently do not lack quality. Not even Paris Saint-Germain have approached Barcelona for de Jong, so the situation remains calm.

The other de Jong, Luuk, has serious chances of leaving Catalonia in January. There has been talk of an exchange between Alexis Sanchez and Luuk de Jong with Inter, but there has been no confirmation from either of the two clubs involved in this possible swap deal.

Xavi's priority for Barcelona is Ferran Torres: the Manchester City winger is the manager's first choice and the player is understood to be more than attracted by the chance of joining the club. The dialog between Barcelona and Manchester City has already begun - the starting request is €60 million, but the Catalan club will try in every way to reach an agreement to give Ferran to Xavi. So much will depend on the players who can leave, so it's not a done deal yet.

And Erling Haaland? The meeting between Barça president Joan Laporta and agent Mino Raiola had been scheduled for days: the two met in Turin, in a famous hotel in the center. Erling is definitely a Barça dream but like many other top clubs, nothing has been decided and nothing will be discussed in the next one or two months. Haaland's decision will come in the coming months of 2022 when all the clubs involved put forward their plans.

Barcelona and Chelsea could make important decisions in January

Barcelona currently do not have the opportunity to bid for Erling Haaland, but they still spoke to Raiola to keep their excellent relations and also about possible other opportunities such as Ajax right-back Noussair Mazraoui and PSG midfielder Xavi Simons. They are also waiting to see if it will be possible to enter the race for Haaland in the summer of 2022.

Karim Adeyemi, the jewel of RB Salzburg, has been approached by Barcelona, Inter Milan and Liverpool, but is priority would be a transfer to Borussia Dortmund, who have an important contract proposal ready for June 2022 and a plan to make him a star of the club in the coming years. Negotiations are still ongoing; there is still no full agreement between the two clubs, but BVB are leading the race to sign Adeyemi next summer.

In the Premier League the focus is on the most important contracts. Thiago Silva will soon sign his new agreement with Chelsea until June 2023 so as to be able to play the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Brazil as a protagonist still in the Premier League, at the highest level of European football.

Antonio Rudiger, on the other hand, is in a very different situation: he would like to stay at Chelsea, the negotiations continue because he is in love with the club and the relationship with Thomas Tuchel is excellent. But Chelsea's economic offer does not convince Rudiger, which is why there is a serious possibility that he may leave as a free agent next June. Real Madrid have already moved to ask for information, while FC Bayern have no intention of paying the salary requested by Rudiger. Beware of Paris Saint-Germain, who have appreciated Rudiger for years and will be on the lookout for a new defender in the summer of 2022.

The situation of Pierre Aubameyang at Arsenal is very peculiar. There is great tension between all parties involved after his off-field problems led to him being stripped of captaincy. The striker now works alone and not with Mikel Arteta's group. Aubameyang is obviously not happy and it also has to be said that Arsenal expected better behavior from such an important player.

In January, it will be possible to look for a solution on the market but his very huge salary makes everything complicated. Last August, Juventus refused the idea of buying him as they had reservations about his wages. Arsenal are waiting to clarify everything as soon as possible. Meanwhile, they are already looking for a new striker and it remains to be seen if they get their man in January or next summer.