10 Biggest Summer Transfer Rumours so Far
Here are the 10 biggest summer transfer rumours for all you football junkies.
This article will breakdown the latest transfer chatter, analyse the transfer rumour, and access its validity.
Here’s some of the gossip: the latest on Neymar, the Robert Lewandowski situation, Barcelona’s search for a centre-back, etc.
Feel free to comment below with other summer transfer rumours not included in this article.
Christian Eriksen, CAM/DLF, Ajax
1 of 10Christian Eriksen has been tracked by various major clubs but Liverpool have frequented Ajax enough to be named as a suitor by their technical director Marc Overmars (from De Telegraaf via The Telegraph).
Christian has technique of the highest order; he moves well without the ball, his football IQ is very high and he can accurately predict his teammates' runs, which enables him to deliver a pin-point through ball.
Eriksen is a great transfer target but Vitesse's Marco van Ginkel is a more complete midfielder.
Kevin Strootman, DM/B2B MF, PSV Eindhoven
2 of 10Kevin Strootman has opened the door to setting up an exit from PSV Eindhoven (via Charles Perrin at The Express).
Strootman really reminds me of the Stuttgart Sami Khedira in that Kevin is at his best charging forward and being this robust box-to-box threat.
Like Sami, Kevin is average when forced into a limited deep-lying midfield role.
If Manchester United want that anchor, Strootman shouldn't be their man—it should be Nemanja Matic of Benfica [1].
Should United sign Kevin, they must start him as a box-to-box midfielder.
[1] If Benfica attempt to jack up Matic's transfer value (as they do with nearly all of their transfer targets), United shouldn't play ball and look elsewhere.
Arjen Robben, RAM, Bayern Munich
3 of 10Arjen Robben has laughed off suggestions that he's leaving Bayern Munich for either Inter Milan or Galatasaray (from Bild via Goal.com's Livio Caferoglu).
Being linked to the Nerazzurri is preposterous for two reasons.
Firstly, Massimo Moratti has made a conscious bid to cut the wage bill by either signing precocious young talents with resale value or going with experienced but cheap role players—Robben is neither.
Secondly, Andrea Stramaccioni is a firm believer in wing-backs who defend more than they attack. Does that fit Arjen's playing style? No.
Galatasaray isn't a good fit from a tactical perspective.
In order to incorporate Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder with Burak Yılmaz—one of the best finishers in Europe right now—Fatih Terim needs to play a midfield diamond.
Is Robben willing to do the same grunt work Selcuk Inan and Hamit Altintop did in the second leg against Schalke? No.
Víctor Valdés, GK, Barcelona
4 of 10According to Miguel Ángel Lara at Marca, Víctor Valdés will be paid an absurd €10 million per season, should he accept Anzhi Makhachkala's offer.
If Valdés played against France every week, then sure, give him that contract.
Frankly, he doesn't perform at that high standard consistently enough.
He's also error-prone and his save percentage (65.9) is not world class.
Mats Hummels, CB, Borussia Dortmund
5 of 10Marca (via Bild) believe Borussia Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels is a target for Barcelona in the summer transfer window.
1. He extended his contract to 2017 (source: BVB.de).
2. Mats has underperformed this season, ranking as kicker's 10th best defender and Bild's eighth best defender.
3. Why would Barça buy him when they don't even know how he'll function after tearing his ankle ligaments?
4. Hermann Hummels, Mats' dad and agent, told Die Welt (from Marca):
"I haven't been contacted by Barcelona, but I have heard rumours of the sort. Every ambitious footballer wants to play for a team like Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester United one day, but that doesn't mean he'll be on his way soon.
"
5. Instead of handing Marc Bartra a start every few months, give him an extended run in the first XI, and see how he goes.
Robert Lewandowski, ST, Borussia Dortmund
6 of 10In an exclusive for the Daily Mail, John Edwards claimed Manchester United would sell Wayne Rooney to fund a transfer for Robert Lewandowski.
Never mind Wayne's seemingly telepathic connection with Robin van Persie, or that the soon-to-be Premier League champions are stocked with centre-forwards. Edwards has not factored one player giving Robert a reason not to call Old Trafford home: Shinji Kagawa.
The Japanese international did not enjoy playing with Lewandowski at Borussia Dortmund and it was one of the worst kept secrets in the Bundesliga.
Anyone who followed BVB or was a Kagawa fanboy/fangirl could tell something was awry by his body language towards the Pole.
Shinji put on a fake smile, embraced Robert and pretended everything was fine.
When in reality, Kagawa wished Lucas Barrios was still the starting No. 9.
In SK's twisted thinking, he believed Robert was selfish (per Mirror Football) [1], even though Lewandowski is a complete forward who scores and creates.
The most selfish player at Dortmund was Shinji.
Mr. Edwards, you are telling me and United fans around the world that the Red Devils want to reunite Kagawa with Lewandowski? C'mon man, that makes no sense.
Robert to Bayern Munich? Now, we're talking about a transfer (risky move for RL) that may come to fruition.
Raphael Honigstein at The Guardian detailed how Bayern were in pole position to land Lewandowski.
[1] Kagawa later claimed he was misquoted which is total BS.
How does a journalist from Nikkei fabricate the Barrios angle, Lewandowski not passing the ball enough and Shinji's belief that he would have scored more goals without the Polish forward?
Also, why didn't Kagawa just say "no comment?"
Edinson Cavani, CF, Napoli
7 of 10Edinson Cavani's dad said there was a "50 percent possibility" of his son signing with Real Madrid (from Marca TV via Miguel Delaney at ESPN FC).
Just one caveat: Napoli will only sell for €60 million.
Edinson, who has scored 22 league goals this season, is a world-class forward but he isn't worth €60 million.
By the way, what about Gonzalo Higuaín, Karim Benzema and Álvaro Morata?
Yaya Toure, CM, Manchester City
8 of 10The only reason why Yaya Toure is being linked with a move away from Manchester City is because of his agent making some absurd demands (via The Sun from Jamie Jackson at The Guardian).
Yaya has dismissed the idea of joining Paris Saint-Germain (per talkSPORT) and with his contract running till 2015, City are in control for now.
Toure hasn't been box-to-box at all this season with him bailing on his defensive responsibilities week after week (hence why he only averages 1.1 tackles per league game).
Radamel Falcao, CF, Atlético Madrid
9 of 10Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone has accepted that star striker Radamel Falcao may be sold in the summer, according to talkSPORT.
A Falcao-Sergio Agüero partnership could be one of the most lethal partnerships (on paper) in the world.
Why would Chelsea buy Falcao when they already have the solution to Fernando Torres in Romelu Lukaku?
Neymar, LF, Santos
10 of 10BREAKING NEWS: Neymar is still staying in Brazil. But, every day the media spins the story as if there's a new development.
Can we just all agree that his agent Wagner Ribeiro is a master of creating publicity? Let's look at some of his past deals...
Kaká to AC Milan; Robinho to Real Madrid; Lucas Moura to Paris Saint-Germain; and now Neymar (in all likelihood, to Barcelona).
There's a piece in FourFourTwo (the magazine) by Paulo Passos, which chronicles a day-in-the-life of Ribeiro.
Some fascinating anecdotes like Ribeiro communicating with Leonardo (PSG director of football) over WhatsApp; Wagner receiving death threats because he takes the star players away from the fans, who see the footballers as family; him dealing with a client breaking down over the phone because he wasn't getting paid; and other details you wouldn't know about an agent if you didn't read Passos' article.
For the Aussies reading this, it's page 72 in the April edition of FFT Australia.
Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, EPL Index, Fox Soccer and Squawka.com.
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