January Transfer Rumours 3

Yeah... Bastos leaving would be a boon to Lyon. He's been decent, but nothing special. He makes too much money and he's 29 going on 30 in 2013. They wants to move Lisandro and Gomis too if they can lol.

Bayern Munich are after Isco for a summer move.

Isco has Madrid all over him.... lost cause for Bayern.

Really, since when? And where will Madrid play him

Been on him for a long while. In fact, if it wasn't for Mou, we would've bought Cazorla instead of Modric... He's actually a winger mostly. This is Isco's first year as a AM. The idea is to move either Ozil or Isco to RW permanently. Di Maria's days are very much numbered here. He's been benched.

We're playing Modric as a AM right now and he's been very average so far this season. With Alonso likely leaving this summer (no extension offered by Madrid), you're probably going to see Modric moved back next to Khedira.

Messiah "Aggerswagger" wrote:

peerIess wrote:

Messiah "Aggerswagger" wrote:Perfect player for that role in our midfield. I imagine he'll play as an inside forward for this season at least until we get rid of deadwood and fix the situation in midfield. God Im praying to every deity to make this happen. Close this effing deal Ayre

A better central all-around midfielder is needed first, in my opinion. I would rather Liverpool Football Club paid £8M for Sebastian Rode than £8M for Philippe Coutinho.

Rode wouldn't even cost £8M.

I know that, but I'm just saying that is what I would rather see. His contract expires in 2014.

According to L’Equipe, Arsenal are planning an approach for Bastia starlet Florian Thauvin. He is under contract until 2014, but a bid of £4.2million is said to be in the offing.

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Bayern Munich are attentive to the situation of Turkish winger Arda Turan, according to Spanish daily El Mundo Deportivo.

Turan is keen to leave the Vicente Calderon for a new challenge at the end of the season, despite Atletico Madrid’s impressive season so far.

The Turkey international will not be short of options, with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea having been linked with making a move for him.

A switch to Bayern Munich could be another option however, and in Germany Turan would link up with a coach who knows his talents well from La Liga.

Former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola has been appointed to take over at the Allianz Arena from next season and were Turan to sign for the Bavarians, he would play under the Catalan tactician.

Atletico Madrid have not given up hope of keeping Turan beyond the summer however, and Champions League football next season may help.

The 25-year-old’s contract at the Spanish giants runs until 2015. He joined the club in the summer of 2011.

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In-demand Real Betis midfielder Benat has yet another suitor, in the former of wealthy French side Paris Saint-Germain, according to Seville-based daily Estadio Deportivo.

Benat has picked up a number of interested parties in England, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all mooted to be keen.

Betis have been firm in their stance that Benat will not leave for less than his release clause of €20M, despite a contract which is due to expire in 2014.

Such an amount would present relatively little problem for PSG though, who appear to have almost unlimited funds for squad building.

The race for the 25-year-old looks set to be one of the storylines of the summer, with no end of sides ready to enter the reckoning for the Spanish international schemer.

Benat has helped Betis sit fourth currently in La Liga and Pepe Mel’s men are firmly in the hunt for a Champions League spot next season.

Mel may have cause to hope that securing Champions League football may persuade Benat that his future lies at Betis, at least for one further year.

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Sky Sport Italia is reporting that Inter have rejected an offer from Liverpool for forward Philippe Coutinho.

The same source claims the offer was in the region of €8 million, which is well below Inter’s valuation of the player.

Earlier this month, the Neroazzurri had rejected a proposal from Premier League strugglers Aston Villa.


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Manchester United had representatives in attendance when Benfica met FC Porto recently to spy on one of the Lisbon side’s defenders.

According to Diario de Noticias, the Red Devils have been running the rule over Benfica’s Ezequiel Garay – and they have been impressed with what they have seen from the 26-year-old.

Indeed, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men look ready to submit a bid for the Argentine, although they may hold fire until the summer transfer window.

Garay has appeared in 14 SuperLiga games for Benfica so far this season and is firmly established as an essential member of coach Jorge Jesus’ side at the Estadio da Luz.

The Argentina international joined Benfica in 2011 from Real Madrid, having failed to establish himself at the Bernabeu.

Under contract until 2015, Benfica are sure to ask top dollar for Garay when Manchester United make their approach.

The English giants are believed to be willing to pay around the €18M mark for the centre-back, who is comfortable as both the right-sided or left-sided central defender.

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Liverpool would like to sign Sevilla defender Federico Fazio during the current transfer window, but will need to offer in excess of €6M for the Argentine.

According to Seville-based daily Estadio Deportivo, Liverpool have put Fazio at the top of their list of potential defensive reinforcements after learning he could leave Los Rojiblancos for the right price.

Liverpool have indicated they are willing to pay €4M for the defender, but Sevilla have insisted such an amount is not good enough.

Indeed, the Spanish giants turned down an offer of €6M from Bundesliga

And to have any chance of making progress with a swoop for the Argentina international, Liverpool must better the German side’s bid.

Fazio has played in 12 of Sevilla’s La Liga matches so far this season, chipping in with three goals for good measure too.

Capped twice for Argentina, the 25-year-old is only under contract with Los Rojiblancos until 2014 however.

Graeme Bailey ‏@GraemeBailey
We understand Newcastle United have agreed a fee with Montpellier for Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa - full story to follow...

Awaits a Remy like twist though

Sky Sports understands that Newcastle United have agreed a fee with Montpellier for star defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa. The 23-year-old French international is now set to fly into England next week for talks with the club's management to finalise a deal.

sportsczy wrote:Been on him for a long while. In fact, if it wasn't for Mou, we would've bought Cazorla instead of Modric... He's actually a winger mostly. This is Isco's first year as a AM. The idea is to move either Ozil or Isco to RW permanently. Di Maria's days are very much numbered here. He's been benched.

We're playing Modric as a AM right now and he's been very average so far this season. With Alonso likely leaving this summer (no extension offered by Madrid), you're probably going to see Modric moved back next to Khedira.

That would be a pretty good formation, though I doubt we'll get him while Moe is here, or utilize that formation properly with them "leave the center completely empty, and hoof the ball from defense to the attack" tactics we currently employ. I'm afraid it's gonna be another Sahin/canales situation all over again if Mou stays.

sportsczy wrote:Isco has Madrid all over him.... lost cause for Bayern.

Out of all the possible destinations for Isco, just don't see R. Madrid being the ones that land him.

Also they could very well qualify for the Champions League again, and he is from Malaga. So he might just be happy staying put as is. Not sure why everyone is so sure he will leave

windkick wrote:

sportsczy wrote:Isco has Madrid all over him.... lost cause for Bayern.

Out of all the possible destinations for Isco, just don't see R. Madrid being the ones that land him.

Also they could very well qualify for the Champions League again, and he is from Malaga. So he might just be happy staying put as is. Not sure why everyone is so sure he will leave

He has a 22 mil release clause. He wants a big contract and a big club. Can't blame him. Everyone is on him.

For sure, definitely the most sought after youngster right now.

windkick wrote:For sure, definitely the most sought after youngster right now.

Especially because of the reasonable release clause... you have other guys like Neymar and Goetze. But you can't really go and get those guys without hassle.

I didnt know Arda was so highly rated outside of Spain

Yohan Modric wrote:

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In-demand Real Betis midfielder Benat has yet another suitor, in the former of wealthy French side Paris Saint-Germain, according to Seville-based daily Estadio Deportivo.

Benat has picked up a number of interested parties in England, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all mooted to be keen.

Betis have been firm in their stance that Benat will not leave for less than his release clause of €20M, despite a contract which is due to expire in 2014.

Such an amount would present relatively little problem for PSG though, who appear to have almost unlimited funds for squad building.

The race for the 25-year-old looks set to be one of the storylines of the summer, with no end of sides ready to enter the reckoning for the Spanish international schemer.

Benat has helped Betis sit fourth currently in La Liga and Pepe Mel’s men are firmly in the hunt for a Champions League spot next season.

Mel may have cause to hope that securing Champions League football may persuade Benat that his future lies at Betis, at least for one further year.

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Wish we can make a move Benat, but sadly it won't happen.

He is perfect for us, we desperately need another midfielder in the pivot.

Shanghai Shenhua striker Didier Drogba continues to be linked with a move back to Europe, amid reports that he has the option to end his contract with the Chinese club early, but he says he has not agreed a deal to go anywhere. The likes of Juventus and AC Milan have been linked with the former Chelsea man, but he insists they must first speak to Shanghai.

Genoa president Enrico Preziosi has confirmed that Switzerland international Reto Ziegler is a target for the club.

Ziegler is owned by Serie A champions Juventus but is currently on loan to Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow and that risks complicating any deal for the 27-year-old left-sided player.

"We spoke with Juve about Ziegler," said Preziosi, when asked about the player who spent four years in Genoa playing for city rivals Sampdoria.

"They will talk with the Russian side and we will see if everyone can agree."

Preziosi also confirmed an interest in Juve pair Simone Padoin and Luca Marrone, while the Bianconeri are thought to be keen to take Genoa striker Ciro Immobile in the other direction.

"Immobile is an important player for us even if Juve have spoken about a possibility," he added.

"We spoke about Padoin and Marrone but the Bianconeri have not really put many players on the table."

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AC Milan say Manchester City will have to drop their asking price if they want to sell Mario Balotelli to them.

Vice-president Adriano Galliani admits the Italian giants are interested in signing the City striker - but not for the £31m he claims the Premier League champions are demanding.

Balotelli, who is a Milan fan, has long been linked with a return to Italy, where he progressed through the ranks at Inter Milan before joining City in 2010.

Galliani said: "At the end of Friday Manchester City was still saying 37 million euros. We'll see on Monday. At that price, Balotelli will stay at Manchester City."

Balotelli's agent, Mino Raiola, spent time at Milan's headquarters on Friday, reportedly discussing a possible move.

Galliani is more hopeful of bringing Milan idol Kaka back to San Siro and is in talks with the Real Madrid player about reducing his salary.

Ryan Nelsen has already agreed to leave Queens Park Rangers to take over as coach of FC Toronto and Harry Redknapp expects the defender to head out of Lotus Road at the end of February or start of March.

Juventus director Giuseppe Marotta has admitted the club are in discussions to sign Athletic Bilbao forward Fernando Llorente.


"We are always looking to the future and monitoring players, which includes Llorente, who is out of contract," Marotta told assembled reporters.

"We are at an advanced stage."

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On Vidal:

"It’s no surprise that Bayern want Vidal, but there have been no offers. We are, in any case, more accustomed to buying than selling,” he concluded.

Surag wrote:Juventus director Giuseppe Marotta has admitted the club are in discussions to sign Athletic Bilbao forward Fernando Llorente.


"We are always looking to the future and monitoring players, which includes Llorente, who is out of contract," Marotta told assembled reporters.

"We are at an advanced stage."

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On Vidal:

"It’s no surprise that Bayern want Vidal, but there have been no offers. We are, in any case, more accustomed to buying than selling,” he concluded.

Hmm... That's a somewhat strange quote on Vidal. It seems to suggest that Juventus aren't looking to sell. Then again, it's far from ruling it out...

I know Pogba may have the higher ceiling, but I don't think he's quite ready to step into a squad that should be regularly challenging for the Scudetto and European honors. Besides, Juve need cover for their first choice midfield three.

Rumours have been swirling over the past couple of days that Liverpool are preparing to submit a 6 million euro offer to Ajaccio for Guillermo Ochoa.

Initially, these rumours of a Liverpool bid for Ochoa began in Mexico and were reported by French site RMC on Saturday evening.

The highly-rated 27-year-old keeper is thought to be Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers’ preference to replace Pepe Reina if the Liverpool number one should leave Anfield.

Mirror: PSG will offer Wenger a £200k per week deal to take over the French club this summer

RealGunner wrote:Mirror: PSG will offer Wenger a £200k per week deal to take over the French club this summer

That more than Guardiola at Bayern?

Yohan Modric wrote:Rumours have been swirling over the past couple of days that Liverpool are preparing to submit a 6 million euro offer to Ajaccio for Guillermo Ochoa.

Initially, these rumours of a Liverpool bid for Ochoa began in Mexico and were reported by French site RMC on Saturday evening.

The highly-rated 27-year-old keeper is thought to be Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers’ preference to replace Pepe Reina if the Liverpool number one should leave Anfield.

Fifa 07 legend

Last I heard Malaga was trying to sign Isco to an extension that would up the release clause to 40 million. Not sure if that will materialize.

I don't know - I want him to come here - but if I was him and I was making a footballing decision (assuming I was already set on leaving) I'd go to Bayern. New project with an all time great coach who is guaranteed to use him properly.

Right now we're a mess. In the summer we'll be a bigger mess.