LIVE: Ramsey high on Barca's shortlist
The winter window opened Jan. 2, and as always, Transfer Talk has its finger on the pulse when it comes to all the latest rumours and gossip. See the latest deals here.
TOP STORY: Barca look to the Emirates
Any manager wise to the workings of the market will know that good form results in unwanted transfer speculation, with even a club such as Arsenal no exception. With the Gunners leading the Premier League, the Express reports that Barcelona are considering a £50 million summer move for Aaron Ramsey.
Luis Enrique is said to be a “big fan” of the Wales star’s displays at the heart of Arsene Wenger’s midfield, while Barca could also seek Everton’s John Stones for a similar fee as they are determined to “come back with a bang” after serving their FIFA transfer ban.
Arsenal might then step up plans to prepare for a Ramsey departure with a £52m double move for Borussia Monchengladbach’s Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka (£37m) and Paris Saint-Germain’s Adrien Rabiot (£15m) this month, according to the Star — that’s despite Wenger’s hinting on Saturday that he is not worried about the size of his squad, given Mohamed Elneny’s imminent arrival.
LIVE BLOG
12.49 GMT: Liverpool have reached an agreement to bring Alexandre Pato to Anfield, the Mirror quotes Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla as saying. Liverpool will pay around £11 million to secure a deal in January, the report says.
12.15 GMT: Suggestions that Fiorentina midfielder Mario Suarez could be on his way to Watford show no sign of abating, with AS reporting that the Hornets have made an offer to the former Atletico Madrid man. But they are apparently not the only club to have done so — Ligue 1 Marseille are in the frame, too.
11.48 GMT: And speaking of Villa and out-of-favour players, here’s another — striker Libor Kozak could be on his way to Serie A, with Genoa in the market for him, Gazzetta dello Sport reports.
11.30 GMT: Aston Villa defender Philippe Senderos is weighing up a return to Switzerland after more than a year without first-team action. “Maybe the Swiss Super League is the ideal solution for me,” he said. “I’ll try anything as I want to play matches again. I know I still have several good years ahead of me.”
10.51 GMT: Sky Sports are reporting that Nacho Monreal is to sign a new contract with Arsenal that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2019.
10.07 GMT: Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri seems excited about new signing Demarai Gray, who moved from Birmingham last week. “He can play as a winger. He’s fast with good skills. He dribbles very well and one-on-one he’s good. He can cross and shoot. He’s perfect for us,” he said.
Claudio Ranieri welcomes ‘perfect’ @Demarai7 signing ahead of #TotLei: https://t.co/PPoWrrFTat pic.twitter.com/Bfqii28JBt
– Leicester City (@LCFC) January 10, 2016
09.42 GMT: Sheffield Wednesday are expected to sign Crystal Palace loanee Jack Hunt on a permanent deal in the coming days.
09.05 GMT: Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew is targeting only one area in this window — a new striker. He said: “We’ve been linked with a couple of midfield players — but there will be no midfield players coming to this club. But we are looking for an offensive player, a striker-type player, someone who’s going to contribute to a goal tally, which is an area we’d like to improve a little bit. We’re chasing one or two and, hopefully, before the end of January we’ll secure someone.”
08.10 GMT: Benik Afobe is expected to have a medial today ahead of a £10 million move to AFC Bournemouth from Wolves.
HOWE: We have agreed a deal to sign #wwfc striker Benik Afobe. More here – https://t.co/4G3JLpklLz #afcb pic.twitter.com/TS0nZQP8wE
– AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth) January 9, 2016
07.14 GMT: We open today’s Transfer Talk with news that struggling Swansea are poised to make a £4 million bid for AC Milan midfielder Nigel de Jong.
The Sun says that Jermain Defoe and former striker Wilfried Bony are also of interest to the Swans.
PAPER ROUND
United forward prospects
Manchester United needed a late Wayne Rooney penalty to edge past Sheffield United on Saturday in the FA Cup, which once again highlighted their need for pace and inspiration across the forward line. Gareth Bale has been heavily linked after the arrival of Zinedine Zidane as manager at Real Madrid, but the Mirror reports that the Wales star will “snub” United this January, with his agents “on standby, rather than in full negotiating mode” regarding a summer move.
Romelu Lukaku is set to opt against a move to Old Trafford, with The Sun reporting that the £50m-rated Belgian striker wants to join either Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain — but one man who could be on his way to United is Yoshinori Muto.
The Mirror is confident that United are closing in on a £12m January deal for the “Japanese Messi” after the Tokyo-born 23-year-old striker’s seven goals in 18 games for Mainz this season.
As for their chase for Felipe Anderson, Lazio director of sport Igli Tare confirmed his club rejected a ¬50m (£37.6m) offer from United in August but have not received a new bid since. The reason for that, according to the Star, is that the deal is being held up because the midfielder is entitled to five percent of the transfer fee — a “sticking point” despite Lazio’s reluctance to cash in, according to the paper.
Poor old Marouane Fellaini was subbed off to jeers in Saturday’s cup match before being told by Louis van Gaal that “good” United players cope with the pressure from fans, though the Mirror reports that the Red Devils have put a £24m price tag on Fellaini’s head. Good luck with that, Ed Woodward.
Sturridge heading for Anfield exit?
Jurgen Klopp has already hinted in his first few months at Liverpool that Daniel Sturridge’s threshold for pain isn’t quite up there with some of the game’s tougher players, but the injury-prone striker’s Anfield future now looks decidedly uncertain.
According to the Mirror, Klopp has become “increasingly frustrated” with the England forward’s repeated fitness problems and would consider offers in the region of £25m for the 26-year-old. It’s a tough call, as Sturridge is arguably worth double that price when fit and firing on all cylinders, but there is no guarantee he’ll find that consistency.
Meanwhile, the Mirror also reports that Klopp is set to be disappointed in his pursuit of Neven Subotic, with the Anfield coach’s former club Borussia Dortmund resisting attempts by the Premier League club to pry the 27-year-old centre-back away on loan until the end of the season.
Lewandowski sparks English rush?
Bayern Munich are set to lose coach Pep Guardiola to the Premier League this summer, and the Bundesliga champions look likely to face a tough task in convincing some of their star players not to join him in England.
Robert Lewandowski has enjoyed a superb season at the Allianz Arena — including a world record five goals in nine minutes — but the Independent reports that the “restless” Polish striker “wants a new challenge” and is “considering his future.” That could “spark an auction” among Manchester United, City and Chelsea, with bids around the £70m mark.
As for Lewandowski’s Bayern teammate Mario Gotze, the World Cup winner has ruled out leaving Bayern for Liverpool this winter and said he has not heard anything from Klopp.
“I can rule out a move to Liverpool this winter,” Gotze said. “I don’t know where the rumours about Klopp and me are coming from. I have not heard anything. You should ask Klopp if he wants me at Liverpool. If he wants me, he should approach me.”
City join Hazard race
It might be easier to make a list of the top European clubs Eden Hazard hasn’t been linked with in the past week, with reports across the continent suggesting the Belgian winger is on the move from Chelsea. The Sun suggests that the latest club to join the race for the 25-year-old is Manchester City, who will battle Real Madrid and PSG to the tune of £80 million. You wonder exactly who Guardiola would have to bench, were he to become City’s next boss this summer, but it would be a nice headache to have.
Things haven’t quite worked out for Wilfried Bony at City, despite a number of injury problems for No. 1 striker Sergio Aguero, and the Mirror suggests Swansea City are considering a “shock” move for their former forward.
Berahino to Spurs finally on?
Saido Berahino to Tottenham — heard that one before? You probably did last summer, as Spurs missed out with four late bids for the West Brom striker and the Baggies stood firm on the 22-year-old. Berahino has largely sulked through the first half of the season, and the Star reports that Spurs will return with yet another £20 million bid this month to try to finally land him.
The Mirror suggests forgotten winger Andros Townsend will be used as bait to lure the Baggies into a deal, with £10 million plus the 26-year-old wide man thought to be enough. If Spurs’ bid for Berahino once again falls flat, the same paper adds that Mauricio Pochettino could make a surprise loan move for Chelsea outcast Loic Remy.
Tap-ins
– Chelsea striker Radamel Falcao looks set to stay at Stamford Bridge for the rest of the season after Monaco ruled out taking him back early. Meanwhile, Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu said the club have yet to receive an offer for Alex Teixeira, despite speculation linking the attacking midfielder with Chelsea.
– Alan Pardew has ruled out signing a defender or midfielder to strengthen Crystal Palace’s chances of succeeding in the FA Cup after a 2-1 win at Southampton and reiterated that his only transfer target is a striker.
– The Mail reports that Everton will make a £21 million January move for Dynamo Kiev winger Andriy Yarmolenko, as the Toffees are worried the 26-year-old will attract big suitors if he impresses with Ukraine at Euro 2016.
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