Power Ranking January's 20 Hottest Transfer Rumours: Julian Draxler to Arsenal?
Bleacher Report presents a power ranking of January's 20 hottest transfer rumours.
What has Schalke's Julian Draxler done to trigger a potential move to Arsenal? Is Andres Iniesta set to stay at Barcelona? Which German club is chasing Diego Costa? What does Manchester United have to give up to sign Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus?
Feel free to comment below.
Konstantinos Mitroglou
1 of 20
Olympiacos striker Konstantinos Mitroglou is an Inter Milan transfer target, according to SportMediaset via Football Italia.
Mitroglou, who averages a Josef Bican-esque 1.3 goals per game, is attracting widespread attention due to his phenomenal goal scoring this season.
When Kevin Mirallas was in the Greek Super League, he scored 20 goals in 25 games.
Upon moving to Everton, he has scored six times in 38 league games.
So, keep that in mind when you evaluate Mitroglou's goals.
Mitroglou to Inter? Unlikely.
The club don't any problems in the No. 9 position because Rodrigo Palacio has scored seven times and created four goals in 12 league games.
Tim Cahill
2 of 20
New York Red Bulls and Socceroo striker Tim Cahill is open to a loan move in January, a scenario dependent on how his body.
"In the last loan period, three or four clubs came in and one was really close to signing me," Cahill said, via Tom Barclay at The Sun. "It was from the Premier League and it went all the way up to the wire."
Cahill added:
"I'm definitely going to get a lot of shouts again now and there will always be people knocking at the door. But I have to assess where my body’s going to be for the next World Cup for Australia and also my fitness leading in Brazil.
"
Maybe an impact sub role for Everton?
Anderson
3 of 20
Manchester United midfielder Anderson will be loaned to Fulham for match fitness, according to Charles Perrin at The Express.
Anderson needs to go to a club that is willing to play him in his natural position, No. 10, not as a defensive midfielder or as a box-to-box midfielder.
Fulham have two blue-collar midfielders in Scott Parker and Steve Sidwell, so the chances of Anderson winning a starting position are slim.
John Guidetti
4 of 20
Feyenoord are thinking of signing Manchester City striker John Guidetti, according to Gerrit van Leeuwen at Sky Sports.
Guidetti, who scored 20 goals in 23 games on loan at Feyenoord during the 2011-12 season, is fighting his way back from a debilitating illness.
Feyenoord's current No. 9, Graziano Pelle, has netted 37 league goals in 40 league games since joining the club in 2012, so while Guidetti loves Feyenoord, he needs to find a club where he is assured of a starting spot.
Edin Dzeko
5 of 20
Arsenal will target Manchester City's Edin Dzeko as cover for Olivier Giroud, according to Jamie Sanderson at The Metro.
OK, so Dzeko's problem of not being a first-choice striker at City will be solved by being the backup to Giroud? Right?
That makes no sense.
Mattia De Sciglio
6 of 20
Arsenal are tracking AC Milan's Mattia De Sciglio, who can play right and left-back, as a potential successor to Bacary Sagna, according to talkSPORT.
De Sciglio only returned to training last month after injury, so a January transfer is out of the question.
Milan are going young and while Ignazio Abate is holding down the right-back position, the club are not likely to relinquish such a great prospect like De Sciglio.
Nani
7 of 20
Juventus are looking to gamble on Manchester United winger Nani, according to talkSPORT.
Juve play with wing-backs, so signing Nani is bizarre because he does not have the defensive prowess to fulfill what Antonio Conte seeks in his players.
Nani has yet to score or create a goal in the Premier League this season.
Leighton Baines
8 of 20
David Moyes will need to spend £20 million to bring former Everton player Leighton Baines to Manchester United, according to David Wright at The Daily Star.
Surely the poor form of Marouane Fellaini, one of Moyes' boys at Everton, will serve as a reminder to Moyes to let it be when it comes to buying former players.
If Moyes wants a replacement for Patrice Evra, why buy Baines when Alexander Buttner can step in?
Kevin De Bruyne
9 of 20
Chelsea outcast Kevin De Bruyne could be moving to Atletico Madrid in January, according to HLNBE via Paul Gorst at The Mirror.
De Bruyne's compatriot and Chelsea teammate Eden Hazard has implored De Bruyne to leave.
"If we want to get the best out of Kevin, I think that it's best if he leaves," De Bruyne said, from VRT via The Guardian. "For sure, playing at a World Cup without having been in action for a year, I think that's very difficult."
Atleti play a compact 4-4-2, so it doesn't work to De Bruyne's advantage, who spent most of last season at Werder Bremen in a centre attacking midfield position.
Salomon Kalou
10 of 20
Roma will try and sign Salomon Kalou from Lille, according to Nick Lustig at The Daily Star.
Kalou worked under current Roma manager Rudi Garcia at Lille leading to 16 goals and six assists in 37 games.
Should Kalou join Roma, he will be competing with Adem Ljajic, Alessandro Florenzi and Gervinho for a wide forward role.
Will Kalou be willing to give up a guaranteed starting spot at Lille?
Moussa Dembele
11 of 20
Moussa Dembele is frustrated at Tottenham Hotspur and will force a transfer away, according to Darren Lewis at The Mirror.
"The coach [Andre Villas-Boas] has explained that he makes a tactical choice, he wants more defensive players in midfield," Dembele said. "I can't be satisfied with it, of course, I just want to play as many games."
Dembele has started eight league games and four UEFA Europa League games, so what is his problem?
Either he has been misquoted or he has yet to fully explain his grievances with Villas-Boas.
If the latter is an option, Dembele should be doing it behind close doors.
Stephan El Shaarawy
12 of 20
Roberto La Florio, the agent of AC Milan forward Stephan El Shaarawy, said a move to Galatasaray wouldn't be ruled out.
"If Galatasaray are interested then obviously we would consider any offers made," La Florio said, from Radyospor via Ben Jefferson at The Express. "However, for the time being El Shaarway is keen to continue at AC Milan."
El Shaarawy has a high ceiling for success, so Milan won't entertain offers unless it is an astronomically inflated bid.
Ramires
13 of 20
Barcelona are targeting Chelsea midfielder Ramires, according to John Cross at The Mirror.
Ramires embodies what Jose Mourinho sees in a midfielder: box-to-box running, determination, strong tackling.
Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel don't have all of the aforementioned traits, so it would be inexplicable for Mourinho to let go of Ramires.
Blaise Matuidi
14 of 20
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi has yet to agree a contract extension and has become a prime transfer target for major Premier League clubs, according to Ben Burrows at The Mirror.
Matuidi is a pivotal player in PSG's midfield, winning back the ball 61 times in 13 league games.
Chelsea, a team using Frank Lampard as a defensive midfielder, should be chasing Matuidi's signature.
Sergio Aguero
15 of 20
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero continues to be a pie-in-the-sky transfer target for Barcelona, according to Ben Jefferson at The Express.
City have made the UEFA Champions League knock out stages for the first time in the Sheikh Mansour era.
Money isn't an issue for City and Aguero is paid handsomely to be one of the best No. 9s in the world.
This rumour is absurd.
Xabi Alonso
16 of 20
Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso will extend his contract thus ending a potential move back to the Premier League, according to Tom Conn at Inside Spanish Football.
Though, Football Espana is reporting that Alonso is not pleased details of his contractual commitments to Real have been leaked:
"TVE has revealed that the 32-year-old is demanding €7.5 million-a-year while ABC puts the figure at €5 million, something that is believed to have upset the player, who naturally guards his privacy in such matters.
The Spanish giants tried to tie Alonso down to new contract last year, but the player decided against it on a sporting level as he had been suffering from a painful groin injury for some time.
"
Marco Reus
17 of 20
Manchester United are seeking a trade that sees Shinji Kagawa go back to Borussia Dortmund and Marco Reus to United, according to James Ducker at The Times.
Unless United offer Kagawa and money, the deal is disadvantageous to Dortmund as Reus is in-form (seven goals and five assists in league-play) while Kagawa is playing on the left and acting as a second left-back.
Diego Costa
18 of 20
No Robert Lewandowski? Don't worry, Borussia Dortmund will replace him with Diego Costa of Atletico Madrid, if you are to believe Richard Arrowsmith at The Daily Mail.
The fact Costa wants to turn his back on Brazil to be a Spaniard shows the amount of love he has for Spain, so him leaving the nation doesn't add up.
Andres Iniesta
19 of 20
Manchester United will attempt to lure Barcelona star Andres Iniesta to the Premier League as his contract negotiation with Barca stalls, according to Ben Burrows at The Mirror.
However, Guillem Balague at Sky Sports says Iniesta, a one-club man, prefers to stay at Barca:
"But before you get all excited, I have to tell you that Iniesta is not listening to offers from anybody.
Barcelona are very confident it [contract renewal] is going to happen and they insist it will take place before Christmas.
"
Julian Draxler
20 of 20
Schalke's Julian Draxler is interested in joining Arsenal, according to Jeremy Wilson at The Telegraph.
"I have always said English teams are very big clubs and Arsenal is of course one of them," Draxler said. "You never know what happens in the summer but Arsenal is a very, very nice team."
Draxler is speaking out of turn, so it is clear his relationship with Schalke is strained.
He has now opened a Pandora's box where he will be linked with the Gunners until he signs a new contract staying with Schalke.
Statistics via WhoScored, Kicker, FFT Stats Zone, Squawka and Transfermarkt.
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