Top of the evening to you, gentlefolk. With just one day to go before the transfer window calls it a night, things are really heating up this winter. We at Sportskeeda’s are here to ensure that you don’t miss any of the best transfer news, or the juiciest transfer rumours and gossip being flung around the top leagues of Europe. Hell, if we were an insurance company, our tagline would be a really clever variation of “We’ve got your back”
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We are not, they are not paying me to make taglines so.. “We’ve got your back, buddy”
Serie A
Kostas Manolas wants to quit Roma
Kostas Manolas is NOT a happy Greek. The central defender was left out of Roma’s 3-2 defeat at Sampdoria, and his relationship with the temperamental manager Luciano Spalletti seems to have reached critical breaking point – or as agents call it, bonus-earning time!. Manchester United, Internazionale and Chelsea have all been heavily linked with the defender, and there might even be a move from those three before the window closes tomorrow! Whoever wants him will have to shell out more than 40 million, though. Can’t you just hear the cash registers jingling!
Before you ask me what Inter Milan are doing being mentioned alongside Manchester United and Chelsea, Gigi Buffon apparently said that Inter are better than even Real and Barca.. on current form. Yeah. Me neither.
Fiorentina want “the next Robert Lewandowski”
Fiorentina are on the move, as they so often are, and are hell bent on closing the deal for “the next Robert Lewandowski”, Lech Poznan (the guys behind that really stupid celebration that Manchester City once copied for a bit) talent Dawid Kownacki. The young Pole, all of 19 years old, can play as both striker and winger – and La Viola could really use a sensation in one, or both, positions.
Here’s more of the starlet, in case you think your club should show some interest in him as well
Bundesliga
Hamburg close to signing Gremio midfielder
Hamburg want to be big again. And they believe firmly that the key lies in Brazil. And Ronaldinho’s old club. Gremio’s 22-year-old defensive midfielder, Walace, may not exactly inspire paeans to his attacking prowess, but every good team building exercise needs a strong foundation.
Borussia Dortmund star to leave?
Borussia Dortmund must be really fed up with this. Having seen cross-state rivals and big bullies Bayern Munich rip them apart every transfer season – for giggles, as they say in Bavaria – they may be all set to lose their talismanic (yet oft-injured) skipper Marco Reus to an embattled Arsene Wenger.
Bojan joins Mainz on loan
- Stoke City’s... I mean former La Masia wunderkind and “could-have-been-messi-2.0”... Bojan Krkic has joined Mainz on a season-long loan. Is Mark Hughes’ grand master plan of turning Stoke City to Stoke-alona unravelling at the seams?
Just how good was Bojan, though, eh?
Premier League
Napoli don’t want to sell Manolo Gabbiadini
Southampton are having a right old see-saw time of it as they try to sign Napoli’s Manolo Gabbiadini. The Italians had first stated that they wouldn’t accept anything less than 20 million of the good stuff for their front man, while the Saints were unwilling to budge a penny above 10.
The Neapolitans, though, showed they had the better negotiators when they got Southampton to shell out 17 mill., but apparently, their Chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis is absolutely peeved by the way they’ve played over the weekend (they drew 1-1 to Palermo and lost further ground to Juve) and doesn’t want to sell him. Or maybe he just really wants that 20 million pounds he initially asked for.
Sunderland to sign Bryan Oviedo
Sunderland are all set to make it an even jollier Everton reunion at Wearside by signing on Bryan Oviedo (to replace Patrick van Aanholt) and Darren Gibson (for kicks, I guess). Those two may also be joined by Leonardo Ulloa – who is unhappy with the lack of match action he is getting at fellow relegation contenders and former Champions Leicester City.
Branislav Ivanovic to leave Chelsea
Branislav Ivanovic does not have a future at Stamford Bridge – you, me, and Anonio Conte’s grandmother all know this. The Chelsea man is widely reported to have two options at his disposal – move further up the land to West Bromwich Albion and Tony Pullis, who has a happy reputation of bringing the best out of retirement candidates... or, move to China where a couple of clubs have expressed their interest.
“Ni hao” isn’t that hard to say, Branislav, don’t worry.
La Liga
Atletico Madrid want Alexis Sanchez
This is massive! Atletico Madrid are absolutely fed up with being thrown around the transfer market like a rag doll and are now all set to flex their fairly considerable financial muscle. This they aim to do by waving a 220,000 pounds-a-week salary cheque in the direction of a thoroughly disillusioned Alexis Sanchez and those cute little dogs of his. With this. Atletico aim to kill three birds with one stone.
Replace Griezmann. Check.
Convince Simeone to stay. Check.
Let the rest of La Liga know they are not going to let this season’s disappointing results keep them down. Check.
- You thought that was massive? Hah.
Barcelona to break world record for Andres Iniesta’s replacement
Barcelona, yes, those Blaugrana-wearing philosophy espousers, are all set to break the bank – and run Paul Pogba’s world record fee close - with a humungous offer for Kevin de Bruyne. You see, when you are negotiating with someone who is actually richer than you and doesn’t need to sell their assets, there is only way to go – and that figure is pegged somewhere around about a 100 million. Having seen de Bruyne play like a Boss under their favourite son, Pep Guardiola, they are convinced that the Belgian sensation will be worth all that, and much more besides.
Real Madrid target two strikers!
Real Madrid fans, do not fret – we’ve got your back, too. Your club has been in the news for wanting to break the bank over two strikers, one of whom is truly world-class and the other.. well, he’s got the potential to be world-class. Read all about it HERE and HERE
Rest of the World
Dimitri Payet joins Marseille
Dimitri Payet, also known as ‘snake’ to West Ham fans, has finally listened to that inner child within him and returned to Marseille. It took Olympique Marseille several hundred tries and 25 million in good ol’ cash to pry him away from the grips of a very angry West Ham United. Joining him there is popular Instagrammer and occasional footballer Patrice Evra, who’d much rather challenge himself and get some game time than sit on his arse, do fun things on Instagram, and win a scudetto without breaking a sweat at Juve.
Alexandre Pato to sign for Tianjin Quanjin
Oh! Alexandre Pato. After deciding at the beginning of the season enough is enough and having signed up at Villareal ready to test himself and play some proper, top-level football again, he has reevaluated his life choices and has decided he would rather make some more money than do this to his body. So he’s gone and attended a medical halfway across the world at Tianjin Quanjin where he will make quite a lot more moolah than he was at the little Spanish club.
Villareal will get a sweet €18 million out of it though, so no one is going to be in tears. Except those of us who glimpsed the true potential of Alexandre Pato.
*sighes, wipes away a lone tear*
