EPL Transfer News: Latest English Premier League News, Rumours & Chatter

Which club has joined Manchester United in chasing Thiago? What's the latest news in the Gonzalo Higuaín-Arsenal link? Is John Obi Mikel really leaving Chelsea? 

Here's the latest English Premier League transfer news, rumours and chatter. 

Don't hesitate to comment below with your thoughts. 

Thiago, Barcelona CM, Age: 22

UPDATE: June 22, 2013

"

Thiago's preference is to stay at Barcelona though assurances are required that he will get more playing time than last season. [guardian]

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) June 22, 2013"

Chelsea and Manchester United are trying to take advantage of Thiago's €18 million buyout clause, according to ESPN.co.uk. 

"

Mundo deportivo reports Thiago's agent are meeting United officials!

— RedCity (@RedCityOfficial) June 20, 2013"

When Barcelona extended Thiago's contract by two years in 2011, they added a €90 million buyout clause but the youngster's management negotiated a secondary €18 million buyout clause, which would be activated should he not play 30-plus minutes in 60 percent of his games.

"

Thiago clause clarified: He played 36 of 60 games last season (exactly 60%) but needed to play over 30 minutes in 60% of games. He didn't.

— Ben Hayward (@bghayward) June 19, 2013"

"

So the buyout clause of Tello (10), Bartra (12), Thiago (18), Montoya (20) combined is 30M less than Adriano (90)? Take a bow @sandrorosell!

— La Masia (@Youngcules) June 18, 2013"

The additional buyout clause makes sense from Thiago's camp but why did Barcelona 1) allow it and 2) set it as low as €18 million?

This was back in 2011, so Thiago didn't have the leverage he has now.

It's another head-scratching administrative blunder from Barça upper management, who compete with Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City to see who can handicap themselves the most whilst still being successful. 

Joan Gaspart is thinking to himself: "see, I'm not the only idiot in Catalunya."

"

Pepe G: "Tito (Vilanova) met Thiago before the EURO and asked him to be patient and stay at Barcelona."

— Jonas Giæver (@CheGiaevara) June 18, 2013"

"

Thiago has scored the two goals for Spain in the U21 Euro final. Tito is covering his eyes and loudly singing LALALALA.

— Offside Barcelona (@BarcaTheOffside) June 18, 2013"

Wayne Rooney, Manchester United DLF, Age: 27

Martin Lipton and David Maddock at Mirror Football are reporting that Wayne Rooney will begin discussions with David Moyes about his future at Manchester United. 

Lipton and Maddock are suggesting that Rooney's discontent is directed at Moyes' predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson:

"

Rooney is still hurt and angered by former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s public declarations that the England star asked for a transfer at the end of last season.

The striker vehemently refutes the claim.

He wants new United boss Moyes to tell him that the situation was caused by a misunderstanding, and that he is still wanted at Old Trafford.

"

"

Right. Don't shoot the messenger. I asked if Higuain is done as reported by Sky. I was told. "It's close". "Rooney next". Blimey.

— Geoff Arsenal (@GeoffArsenal) June 21, 2013"

Gonzalo Higuaín, Real Madrid CF, Age: 25

UPDATE: June 22, 2013

"

Gonzalo Higuaín has agreed a 4-year contract with Arsenal.

— Real Madrid News™ (@RMadridCF_News) June 22, 2013"

John Percy at The Telegraph is reporting that Gonzalo Higuaín will be Arsène Wenger's latest signing.

"

Gonzalo Higuaín: Of 122 players w/ 10+ goals in Europe's top 5 leagues in 2012/13, only 6 had a better conversion rate than Higuaín (27.8%)

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 20, 2013"

Olivier Giroud, who failed to convert 87.5 percent of his goalscoring chances, will find himself on the outside looking in if Wenger persists with the 4-2-3-1. 

"I'd rather play as a central attacker," Lukas Podolski said via ESPN FC. "I am not a classical winger."

Podolski started 78.8 percent of league games as a left attacking midfielder and it will increase to the high 80s should Higuaín become a Gunner. 

Will Podolski be happy? No. 

Also, what about Theo Walcott?

"I've learnt my trade out on the wing," said Walcott via BBC Sport. "I signed as a striker and playing up front is important."

"

Breaking News: Gonzalo Higuain agrees to personal terms with Arsenal http://t.co/qCCISo60Oq

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) June 20, 2013"

Edinson Cavani, Napoli CF, Age: 26

BBC Sport are reporting that Manchester City will refuse to pay a premium for Napoli forward Edinson Cavani.

Napoli are requesting £53.6 million which is typical procedure for opposing clubs when they negotiate with City, a club with seemingly unlimited resources. 

It makes no sense to pay that amount when he doesn't even want to play for City. 

"

Edinson Cavani's dad on Marca TV: "The dream of my son is to play for Real Madrid. "

— Leyla Hamed (@leylahamed) June 13, 2013"

Luis Suárez, Liverpool DLF, Age: 26

Jamie Carragher provided some insightful analysis on keeping Luis Suárez at Liverpool.

"The thing about keeping unhappy players is an issue as Torres wasn’t the same player for about 18 months and that’s certainly what you don’t want," Carragher said to Mark Ogden at The Telegraph. "But with a character like Luis Suárez, I don’t think that would be an issue and if Liverpool were to keep him, I’m sure he would be as committed as ever."

Carragher added: 

"

At times, Torres wasn’t giving his best on the pitch for Liverpool and that is why it was a mistake to keep him. But I do believe that Suárez is a slightly different character to Fernando Torres. 

It is not out of Liverpool’s hands because Luis is under contract. He only signed it 12 months ago. So it’s not in Luis’s court, it’s in Liverpool’s court. It’s up to them to choose what they want to do.

"

"

Even this 5-year-old girl from Belfast has faced up to the realisation that Luis Suarez is leaving #LFC pic.twitter.com/b5n1A41q8s

— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) June 20, 2013"

Hulk, Zenit St. Petersburg RF, Age: 26

Hulk will leave Zenit St. Petersburg after figuring out that going to the most racist club in arguably the most racist nation in the world wasn't a fun experience. 

"France is a possibility but there are others," said his agent Jose Caldeira to Eurosport via talkSPORT when asked about Hulk leaving. 

Receive the ball on the right flank, cut in and shoot. Rinse and repeat. 

• One goal from 17 shots in the UEFA Champions League.

• Two goals from 20 shots in the UEFA Europa League.

His performances at the FIFA Confederations Cup so far haven't justified his transfer value of £40-60 million.

"

I know some are claiming Neymar's overrated and the rest are getting annoyed about that but if anyone's overrated on that pitch, it's Hulk.

— Merteswagger (@RuuAndThatsAll) June 15, 2013"

John Obi Mikel, Chelsea DM, Age: 26

John Obi Mikel will end his association with Chelsea in order to move to Galatasaray, as reported by Sky Sports.

"I have played at Chelsea for a long time and it's now time for me to leave," Mikel said to Sabah via Sky Sports. "All that is left is for the clubs to reach an agreement."

When you think about it, Manchester United may have felt slighted by Chelsea stealing Mikel away but not only did the Red Devils get compensated but they avoided having to wait, wait and wait for the Nigerian to resemble an elite footballer. 

The Blues signed a No. 10 with world-class upside and then went about changing him into a holding midfielder which was bad management. 

Instead of staying the course, he wants to leave? C'mon now, what was the point in Chelsea giving him chance after chance? 

Here's a twist to the story: apparently, the quotes attributed to Mikel are made up. 

"

#cfc say quotes attributed to Mikel claiming he will join Galatasaray are not his. Club say he has "not spoken on this subject".

— James Olley (@JamesOlley) June 20, 2013"

"

Super Eagles midfielder John Obi Mikel has denied comments attributed to him that he is close to a move to Turkish side Galatasaray.

— Nigeria Newsdesk (@NigeriaNewsdesk) June 20, 2013"

Aleksandar Kolarov, Manchester City, LB/LWB, Age: 27

Simon Jones at The Daily Mail believes Juventus are open to the idea of signing Aleksandar Kolarov. 

Having shredded Kolarov in numerous one-on-one encounters, Seamus Coleman will be hoping the Serbian sticks around. 

"

It restores one's faith in the P League to see a £60,000 player (Coleman) give such a roasting to one who cost 300 times as much (Kolarov)

— James Corbett (@james_corbett) March 16, 2013"

When Kolarov was at Lazio, he was a defender who played the game at a high-octane pace, so logically you'd thought moving to the Premier League would be a great fit. 

However, he's been mediocre for most of his Manchester City career and last season, he was a liability.

"

10m € bid from Juventus for Kolarov? Juve, should I come to drop him? #SellHim #MCFC

— Khokan DATTA (@khokanDATTA) June 20, 2013"

Guillherme Siqueira, Granada LB, Age: 27

According to The Daily Mail's Riath Al-Samarrai, Guilherme Siqueira is being lined up as Leighton Baines' replacement. 

Presumably, Al-Samarrai is assuming David Moyes will take Baines to Manchester United, but what about Patrice Evra and Alexander Büttner?

Should Baines leave, wouldn't Bryan Oviedo be next-in-line?

Siqueira's defensive statistics are solid: 2.2 tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game.

However, don't solely base your judgement on those numbers because his defending has progressively declined. 

He is prone to losing it as exemplified with three red cards in the past year. 

You can make the case that he is a better penalty taker than he is a defender (9/10 from 12 yards out since 2012).

"

Granada full-back Guilherme Siqueira has confirmed he wants to leave this summer and hopes the club will let h... http://t.co/Pr73MFMgSW

— La Liga FANS (@LaLigaFans) June 8, 2013"

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Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, Fox Soccer and Squawka.com