5 Players Sure to Leave the Premier League This Offseason

With the motives ranging from greed and money to desire and prestige, every window begins as a drawn-out circle of rumours and half-truths regarding player transfers and ends in a flurry of bank transfers.

Considering all the methods employed by agents to boost their clients' value, it's difficult to pick out some potential moves this early on. But as always, there are some changes of scenery that look almost inevitable.

Here we will take a look at five of the biggest names who are likely to be playing their football in other climes next season.

All stats are courtesy of transfermarkt.co.uk unless linked otherwise, while the "possible moves" sections are based on reports linking players to certain clubs and are a selected from those based on the likelihood of the move according to current reports.

Luis Suarez

When trying to feel sorry for Luis Suarez, those of us who are morally sound usually hit a wall when we remember the catalogue of unsavoury incidents that have manifested as the Uruguayan’s unshakable sideshow.

Sure, there are plenty of divers in the league and even another racist for him to compare himself favourably against, but other than perhaps John Terry, few try so hard to deflect the blame.

It’s a shame really. At 26, Suarez is a world-class striker—one of the very best. English football will feel sorely left out if he spends his prime years playing in another country.

It’s just that for every goal from the halfway-line or unstoppable jinking run past five opponents there is a dive here or a bite there to go with it.

Even worse, Suarez seems to be under the impression that the media are to blame for his failings.

Speaking to Ed Aarons of The Independent, he accused the press of treating him badly and not giving enough recognition to his footballing prowess. There is nothing to say about the first charge, but it’s fairly evident from the 2013 Player of the Year shortlists that there is no truth in the second.

Not sure of the relevance, but it’s certainly amusing that Suarez is apparently badly behaved enough to draw criticism from the President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, of all people.

Liverpool have repeatedly said that they will make the striker see out his contract, while manager Brendan Rodgers conceded that “every player has his price” but assured Massimo Marioni of Metro that Liverpool are looking to keep hold of their star player.

Still, Real Madrid are reported to be circling, according to ESPN, and while Liverpool's stance is thought to be that Suarez will not go for less than £50 million, that is not a price that Los Merengues would be put off by.

More importantly, no matter what the reasons are, Suarez has signalled his intent to leave and Liverpool will be hard pressed to keep a player of his quality against his will without the lure of Champions League football. That, and they’re hardly going to turn down another £50 million.

Possible moves include: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, according to Rob Draper of the Daily Mail, Juventus, via Gavin Brown of Metro and Bayern Munich, as per James Dickenson of the Daily Express.

Wayne Rooney

That mistakes can only be forgiven once is a mantra that a large number of Manchester United fans have adopted since Rooney’s second transfer request in three years. But, while the last time it happened money was thought to be a large factor, this time footballing reasons seem to be at the fore.

The England international, who is just three goals shy of 200 for United, became something of a peripheral figure under Alex Ferguson since it became apparent that the so-called dream partnership with Robin van Persie was not living up to the hype.

With Ferguson’s retirement, Rooney has been handed a lifeline in David Moyes, who despite having had a rocky history with the player has expressed how highly he thinks of the England international. Though, as with any statement like this in football, it has an equal chance of being a verbal commitment or a parting kiss.

Unlike Suarez, whom Liverpool fans would love to see remain at Anfield, United supporters are no longer as patient with Rooney as they once were. Two requests to leave, one of which looked to be financially motivated, coupled with a drop in his all-round performance culminated in the striker being half-cheered and half-booed during United’s trophy parade in Manchester last month.

Several clubs have been hovering in case of a fallout, the front-runner being Paris Saint-Germain.

As reported in the Daily Express by Tony Banks, PSG are thought to be lining up wages of £300,000 per week to go with a fee of £30 million to persuade Moyes to part ways with the player he sold to United for £25.06 million as an 18-year-old while managing Everton.

While Rooney is the kind of player that any manager would go out on a limb to keep, considering that he is long past his best form—though still notches a decent number of goals and assists—added to the deteriorating relationship with the fans, United may decide to take the money and bring in new blood.

Possible moves include: PSG and Real Madrid, according to Charles Perrin of the Daily Express

David Luiz

Opinions are deeply divided on the frizzy-haired Brazilian, who seems to be loved by Chelsea fans for his lively performances and despised by everyone else for his overzealous tackling, to say the least.

Initially, it looked as though David Luiz was a £21 million flop, whose defensive positioning was described by Gary Neville in The Times (subscription needed) as though it were being controlled by a child on a PlayStation.

A move under Rafael Benitez into midfield saw significant improvement, and it is now looking as though Luiz is more suited to a middle-of-the-park role, but Felipe Scolari picking Luiz ahead of Dante for Brazil's friendly against England on Sunday just adds to the confusion.

However, despite the progress made—and those pile-drivers from 25 yards—the Returned One (Jose Mourinho), who is reported to be confirmed as Chelsea manager Monday, according to Oliver Kay of The Times, does not see Luiz as good enough in either position to be worth keeping at Stamford Bridge.

While Luiz’s agent asserted that he will not be moved during the summer and is a key player for Chelsea, comments made by the player to Charlie Wyett of The Sun don’t exactly give the impression of someone who is sure of his position at his current club.

When asked if he was looking forward to Mourinho arriving, Luiz only offered, “I don’t want to answer that question.”

The same article gives a somewhat questionable valuation of the 26-year-old at £35 million, a price that very few clubs would be willing to pay. A more conservative estimate of £22 million is quoted by transfermarkt.co.uk, which certainly seems more plausible.

If the rumours are true and Mourinho does want to cash in then Luiz would be foolish to put up a fight, which will alert any interested parties to what could be a relatively straight-forward deal.

Possible moves include: Napoli, according to the Mirror (h/t Daily Express) and Barcelona, via Barry Glendenning of the Guardian.

Nani

Long hyped as the replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese winger does having a strikingly similar background: Both were raised on Portuguese colonial islands; both rose up through the ranks of Sporting Lisbon; both went on to play as tricky wingers for Manchester United—but it’s about there where the similarities stop.

Although he has very quick feet and is loaded with confidence, despite these assets, Nani’s rare flashes of brilliance are so few and far between that he has come to be viewed as a bit of a flop at Old Trafford. Let’s just say that the confidence is sometimes misplaced, with Nani’s step-overs often ending with him tying himself in a knot rather than the defenders.

Some may argue that a player of his quality—however erratic—is a valuable name on the team sheet. However, that kind of irregularity can be damaging both to the player and his teammates and is not what a manager coming into a club as big as Manchester United wants in the dressing room.

Nani was the subject of inquiries from Zenit St Petersburg last year, but his wage demands were apparently too high, and the move fell through.

Before he announced his retirement, Alex Ferguson told the The Telegraph that all key players, including Nani, would remain at the club for 2013-14. However, as with any Ferguson remark, it is OK to be slightly cynical.

The issue is that Nani, although out injured for two months this season, does not play as much as he would want to. It is also not enough to justify his £90,000-per-week salary, while his contract runs out at the end of next season.

With The Mirror reporting that his advisors have been pushing for a hike to £130,000 per week, it appears that this could be the end of the road, were it not for Nani’s statement in the same article that he wants to re-establish himself in the United team.

Though that statement was made before Ferguson’s retirement, and Steve Bates of The Mirror reported Saturday that Monaco are hovering with a view to make a £20 million bid for the player whom David Moyes has apparently decided is surplus.

Recently promoted Monaco, who are bankrolled by a Russian tycoon, have had a massive outlay so far this summer, signing Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho. If he went, Nani would recognise Moutinho from his Sporting days, when the two played together under Paulo Bento.

For a player who has seemingly been out of favour for a couple of years now and is entering the final year of his contract with no extension in sight and a new manager arriving, it appears as though the time is nigh.

Possible moves include: Monaco and PSG, as reported by John Ashdown of the Guardian.

Gareth Bale

Other than perhaps the Falcao saga that was wrapped up a few days ago, the next destination of Gareth Bale has been the main focus of this year’s transfer speculation.

Bale has been terrorising defences with his pace for the past three years, but it’s only in the last season and a half that we’ve really started seeing how he is much more than a pacy winger/full-back.

Moved from the left to a central role behind the striker by Andre Villas Boas, Bale has repaid that faith in the best way possible: 21 goals and nine assists in the league this season (albeit with one own goal, but we’ll forget that).

Despite it sounding relatively simple, opposing defences just cannot work out how to deal with him when he picks the ball up in right midfield, drifts onto his left foot and scythes it into the far corner. Simple, but effective enough that his late-winning goals were the only thing that kept Tottenham Hotspur fighting for fourth until the final day of last season.

AVB and Daniel Levy know that they face a dogfight to prevent their star player and biggest commercial asset from swanning off to one of Europe’s elite, and it is one that they are not the favourites to win.

Had Spurs qualified for Europe it may have been different, but they didn’t, and the fact that Bale kept them within touching distance almost on his own illustrates the difference between Spurs and the competition.

Although the usual names of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are being bandied about, according to John Cross of the Mirror, it seems more likely that, if sold, Bale would go overseas.

Neither AVB or Levy will be keen at all on selling, but the chances that they will sanction a move to a domestic rival, considering Spurs’ intent for the future, are very slim.

Real Madrid looks probable, with a reported world-record £85 million bid ready to be tabled, as told by the Mirror, for the Welsh international. That total is £5 million more than Madrid spent on Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

Possible moves include: Real Madrid, Barcelona, according to Charlie Skillen of the Daily Mail, and PSG, via Mike McGrath of The Sun.