The winter transfer window is now in full swing! As usual, Transfer Talk has its finger on the pulse when it comes to which rumours are picking up steam. Check out all the latest deals here.
TOP STORY: Atleti stadium move forcing Griezmann sale
We might be smack bang in the middle of the January transfer window, but Manchester United already have one eye on what they will be doing next summer and that’s planning an eye-catching move to sign Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid.
According to the Telegraph, the sale of Atletico’s star turn Griezmann could be necessary due to the club’s costly move into their new 67,000-seat Wanda Metropolitano stadium next season.
United, named the world’s richest football club by Deloitte on Thursday, are one of the few sides that could reasonably afford to pay Griezmann’s reported £86 million release clause.
The only real problem this presents for Jose Mourinho is how he finds room for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and potentially Griezmann in his team!
LIVE BLOG
11.42 GMT: Is all well with Sergio Aguero at Manchester City? Well, according to Goal, the striker and his representatives held lengthy discussions with Pep Guardiola in Manchester on Thursday night. While the nature of the talks is unknown, the meeting does suggest that perhaps Aguero’s future at City may be up for debate…
11.30 GMT: DONE DEAL Bari have signed Antonio Floro Flores on loan from Chievo with a mandatory purchase clause if they are promoted to Serie A…
Floro Flores è del Bari ➡ https://t.co/ZZ5cJ1cTHX pic.twitter.com/GJr5cus4TV
– FC Bari 1908 (@fcb1908) January 20, 2017
11.13 GMT: Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka has played down talk of Leicester being interested in signing Gaston Ramirez, telling a news conference this morning: “With Gaston, I don’t know anything because the club hasn’t received anything official from any club.”
11.07 GMT: Lyon coach Bruno Genesio is confident Memphis Depay‘s move from Manchester United will be completed in time for the Dutchman to play against Marseille on Sunday.
Lyon manager Bruno Génésio: “I am very much hopeful that I will be able to play Memphis Depay against Marseille on Sunday night.”
– Get French Football (@GFFN) January 20, 2017
10.54 GMT: West Brom boss Tony Pulis has confirmed the club have received an offer from Stoke for Saido Berahino, but it does not meet their valuation of the striker. “Yes we’ve had a bid from Stoke for Saido but it’s nowhere near what we want,” Pulis said.
10.41 GMT: DONE DEAL Jake Livermore may have left Hull this morning, but the Tigers have just sealed the loan signing of Omar Elabdellaoui from Olympiakos, the Greek club have confirmed…
Δανεικός στη Χαλ ο Ελαμπντελαουί https://t.co/i9LjDILuWs #olympiacos #announcement pic.twitter.com/KQ0uQHSeGg
– Olympiacos FC (@olympiacos_org) January 20, 2017
10.30 GMT: Ivan Rakitic says he wants to commit his future to Barcelona despite continued speculation linking him with Manchester City. “I want to sit down with the club because I want to renew my contract and stay here for many years,” he said. Story here.
10.27 GMT: Sources have told ESPN FC that West Ham’s 19-year-old midfielder Marcus Browne is set to join Wigan on loan.
10.21 GMT: DONE DEAL Leicester have loaned out Harvey Barnes to MK Dons for the remainder of the campaign…
Young #lcfc midfielder Harvey Barnes has joined MK Dons on loan until the end of the season – https://t.co/mKF6Kdd2ES
Good luck, Harvey! pic.twitter.com/jQKr8b81Ts
– Leicester City (@LCFC) January 20, 2017
10.04 GMT: There’s a new twist in the Dimitri Payet saga, according to the Daily Mirror, with West Ham weighing up making a complaint to FIFA over Marseille’s pursuit of their unsettled midfielder. The Ligue 1 club have reportedly made contact with their former player about a move, much to the Hammers’ dismay.
09.53 GMT: Henri Lansbury is edging closer to completing his move from Nottingham Forest to Aston Villa, with Steve Bruce just confirming in his news conference that the midfielder has passed a medical with the club.
09.44 GMT: Hull boss Marco Silva has spoken about the club’s decision to let Jake Livermore move on to West Brom…
�� | MS: “Jake was an important player for us, but it was a good proposal for him and a good proposal for the Club.”
– Hull City (@HullCity) January 20, 2017
09.39 GMT: And sticking with Middlesbrough, manager Aitor Karanka has warned Adama Traore not to risk losing his place in the team by getting carried away with Chelsea’s reported pursuit of him. “Maybe in two or three months, he will not be playing and Chelsea disappears and everybody disappears,” he said. Story here.
09.24 GMT: Patrick Bamford has told Sky Sports he may have been “a bit naive” to think he would ever be able to break into the Chelsea first team after ending five years on loan with a permanent move to Middlesbrough. “My dream was to play for Chelsea — maybe I was bit naive,” Bamford said. “I still have that dream.” Story here.
09.08 GMT: News of a DONE DEAL at West Brom, who have just completed the signing of midfielder Jake Livermore from Hull on a four-and-a-half-year deal… Story here.
�� Welcome to West Bromwich Albion, @29_JL!#WBA pic.twitter.com/DJHplmWGo0
– West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) January 20, 2017
08.59 GMT: Vincent Janssen may be struggling to make an impact at Tottenham but he’s determined to succeed at the club, having rejected the chance to sign for Galatasaray this month. “He decided to turn down all interest,” Janssen’s agent Patrick van Diermen told Omroep Brabant. “Galatasaray came with an offer but Vincent will stay with Tottenham Hotspur.”
08.46 GMT: Former Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti says there are no plans for Lionel Messi to join the club, although he claims the Nerazzurri’s new owners are planning a big-name signing in the summer. “I never heard Messi’s name mentioned. While they may be planning a big signing for the future, they never discussed the Argentinian,” Moratti told ANSA. Story here.
08.27 GMT: Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce is turning to an ex-player of his to help him in his battle against relegation, with the Daily Mirror reporting that Sunderland left-back Patrick van Aanholt now tops his wanted list, with the Eagles having struggled to match Patrice Evra‘s wage demands. Allardyce is also apparently on the lookout for an extra full-back and a centre-back this month.
08.15 GMT: Could Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang be leaving Borussia Dortmund in the summer? Apparently so, according to the player himself, but not necessarily to his dream club Real Madrid. “It’s possible that a club could reach an agreement with Dortmund in June and I’ll go,” he said. “But, you know, there is not only Real Madrid in this world.” Story here.
08.03 GMT: Good morning all and welcome to Transfer Talk — our first stop today takes us to Lyon, where president Jean-Michel Aulas is looking forward to Memphis Depay signing for the club from Manchester United, with just the final touches to the deal needing to be sorted. “It was a dream, because he corresponds exactly with the player we were looking for,” he said. Story here.
Chicharito could face Gio Dos in L.A.
In a move that would surely have Mexico fans watering at the mouth, MLSSoccer.com is citing an AS report that claims that El Tri teammates Javier Hernandez and Giovani Dos Santos could be city rivals in Los Angeles.
How you ask? Well Hernandez, whose goals tally at Bayer Leverkusen has taken a hit this campaign compared to last, is reportedly the subject of interest from 2018 expansion franchise Los Angeles Football Club. “Chicharito” — a former Man United and Real Madrid player — has just seven goals to his credit in all competitions for the Bundesliga side and has been a hot name in the transfer rumour pages of late.
Fellow Mexico international Dos Santos has been with the LA Galaxy since 2015, after a high-profile move from Villarreal to Major League Soccer, and has flourished in America’s top flight, scoring 18 times in 41 appearances for one of the league’s premier franchises.
The report concedes that no move for Hernandez would be made by the fledgling franchise before a coach is hired, but afterward, perhaps it’s time to start dreaming of a scintillating rivalry in the City of Angels.
Young to be tempted by China move?
Just when Chinese Super League clubs were supposed to be tightening their belts amid new financial restrictions, Shandong Luneng is rumoured to be ready to offer Ashley Young £16m in wages over three years if he quits Manchester United.
The 31-year-old has been pushed to the fringes under Jose Mourinho, with West Bromwich Albion, Watford and Swansea City among the Premier League clubs said to be monitoring his situation at Old Trafford with interest.
But the Daily Mirror reckons Young also has admirers in the Far East where he could link up with ex-Fulham boss Felix Magath and former Premier League strikers Graziano Pelle and Papiss Cisse.
United, for their part, are said to be willing to sell former England international Young if they can recoup a fee of around £10m for a player they paid a reported £17m for in 2011.
Bournemouth coming for Begovic
Antonio Conte is having a tough time keeping his Chelsea squad together this month. Oscar and John Obi Mikel have departed for China, Diego Costa is said to want to follow suit and now Asmir Begovic is the subject of interest from Bournemouth.
The Premier League leaders rejected an opening offer of £10m for Begovic, the Daily Telegraph claims, but could be open to the Cherries returning with a bigger offer. Conte, understandably, wants his trusted No. 2 goalkeeper to stay until the summer, but would grant him a move if he really wanted one due to the fact that Thibaut Courtois is well established as the club’s first choice between the posts.
Another option, the report adds, is that Bournemouth put their interest on hold until the end of the season. But that could be problematic due to the possibility of Everton and West Ham, both credited with interest last summer, returning.
Tap-ins
– Thirteen-year-old Finley Burns has a notable distinction next to his name, as the Times reports that Manchester City have paid a record transfer fee to Southend United for the (very) young man’s services. The move was finalised last week, but no fee was included in the announcement. However, the outlet claims that City could pay more than £250,000 for the academy recruit if he signs a professional contract to play at the Etihad.
– Piece by piece, Everton have been upgrading their squad — adding Ashley Williams and Yannick Bolasie in the summer and more recently Morgan Schneiderlin and Ademola Lookman. But Standard Liege striker Ishak Belfodil won’t be joining them at Goodison Park, the Guardian reports, due to manager Ronald Koeman’s uncertainty as to whether the Algerian would provide an improvement on what is already available.
– Leicester City remain hopeful of agreeing a £10m deal to sign Gaston Ramirez from Middlesbrough, according to the Daily Mail, that would include a big pay-rise for the Uruguayan attacker. Although Boro boss Aitor Karanka is keen to retain Ramirez’s services, that fee for a player signed on a free transfer six months ago must be tempting.
– Sunderland’s Patrick van Aanholt and William Remy of Montpellier have emerged as defensive targets for Crystal Palace, the Daily Mail claims. Manager Sam Allardyce, who saw a move for Arsenal right-back Carl Jenkinson fall through, will also have to contend with interest from Marseille in France international midfielder Yohan Cabaye.
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