Arsenal moves ahead of the pack for Gilberto Mora, the 17-year-old Mexican wanted across Europe

The January transfer window is still a few weeks away, but the chatter is already building across much of Europe. One name in particular is turning heads given how young he is: Gilberto Mora, just 17, who has genuinely caught Arsenal's attention.

According to TEAMtalk, the Gunners have reached out to the board at Xolos de Tijuana to open talks on a possible transfer for the Mexican in January. They're not the only ones interested: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Benfica are all watching his situation closely too. His release clause is set at $28 million, a figure that shows just how quickly his value has climbed for a player who is still a minor in some countries.

Another name who could be on the move this winter is Rayan Cherki, the French attacking midfielder at Manchester City. PSG is keeping close tabs on him, whether for January or with next summer in mind, and sees him as a piece that would fit perfectly into their style of play. The key factor here, per TEAMtalk, is the Premier League's financial fair play sanction against City: in Paris, they're waiting to see if that ends up pushing the 23 year old Cherki to look for a way out of the Etihad.

Moves with summer in mind

Not everything is about January. Inter Milan is already planning ahead for June and has its sights set on Mateo Kovačić, the 32 year old Croatian midfielder whose contract with City is set to expire. Tuttosport reports that starting in January, Kovačić will be free to negotiate with clubs outside England, and that Parma's Adrián Bernabé is also being mentioned in Italy as an alternative.

Something similar is happening between the posts. Bayern Munich has added Nick Pope, Newcastle's goalkeeper, to its list of experienced keepers in case 40 year old Manuel Neuer decides to hang up his gloves or move on next summer. According to Sky Sports Deutschland, the idea in Munich is that the 34 year old Pope could be the ideal successor to Jonas Urbig once he takes over as the starter between the posts.

There's movement on the defensive side in Spain too. AC Milan is closely following Alejandro Balde, Barcelona's left back, since Ruben Amorim needs reinforcements after Pervis Estupiñán's injury. And if Barca ends up approving that departure, Mundo Deportivo notes the Catalans would then go shopping for a center back, a need made more pressing by Andreas Christensen's injury as well.

Meanwhile, at Real Madrid, a situation is starting to draw attention: that of Endrick. The 20 year old Brazilian forward has played just four minutes in LaLiga under Jose Mourinho, and that's already got several clubs paying close attention. According to Cadena SER, Aston Villa is emerging as a candidate to take him on loan in January, while Arsenal and Roma are also keeping a close eye on how his situation at the Bernabeu develops.

Among the smaller rumors, Liverpool is moving forward on a new contract for winger Rio Ngumoha, just 18, while Bayern midfielder Aleksandar Pavlović turned down an offer from Manchester City over the summer. Freiburg, meanwhile, could hold off interest from United and Arsenal in January for forward Igor Matanović, Bournemouth wants to secure its position against interest from Madrid and Chelsea in Alex Scott, and United, despite Amorim's interest in sending him on loan to Milan, plans to hold on to Leny Yoro.