Power Ranking January's 20 Hottest Transfer Rumours: Iker Casillas Out?
Bleacher Report presents another edition of power ranking the 20 hottest January transfer window rumours.
Instead of only focusing on the English Premier League, the rumours included in this slideshow are spread across Europe.
Feel free to comment below with transfer rumours you've heard that are not included in this slideshow.
Zhang Xizhe
1 of 20
Celtic executive Peter Lawwell has revealed the club is trying to sign Beijing Guoan's Zhang Xizhe, according to The Scotsman.
Start expecting China's most promising players to be linked with Scottish Premiership teams because there is a 10-year, £20 million TV deal to broadcast Scottish Professional Football League games in China, per the Herald Scotland.
Zhang's representatives should send Celtic footage of his sensational performance in the 6-0 win over Sven-Goran Eriksson's Guangzhou R&F.
Zhang claimed a hat-trick, showing off his dead-ball prowess, converting a penalty and scoring a free kick.
A technically astute player who operates centrally but can play on the left, Zhang was included in the Chinese Super League Team of the Year. His passing at times is as crisp as Zvjezdan Misimovic. Zhang recorded a double-double in the CSL with 11 goals and 12 assists throughout the season.
Are there any concerns? Yes.
He wasn't as impressive in the Asian Champions League, which is a tougher competition than the CSL.
Dominic Adiyiah
2 of 20
Dominic Adiyiah, the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Shoe winner, is a free agent after his club Arsenal Kyiv went into bankruptcy, per Interfax-Ukraine: "Director General of FC Arsenal Kyiv Viktor Holovko has said that the club has dropped out of all competitions and that bankruptcy procedures have been launched."
Sources have told Goal.com's Saddick Adams that Adiyiah, a former AC Milan player, could sign on at Club Brugge, Freiburg or Lorient.
Adiyiah's career is going down the road of Nii Lamptey, once proclaimed the next Pele by Pele himself.
Moussa Dembele
3 of 20Fulham failed to hold on to their first Mousa Dembele, and now they are hoping their second Moussa Dembele, a 17-year-old French phenom, won't leave.
The only spelling difference between the two is the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder having one "S" in his first name instead of two.
Per Sky Sports: "The 17-year-old striker is reported to be attracting interest from Premier League heavyweights such as Liverpool and Manchester United after starring at youth level."
Dembele has scored five times in four U-21 games for Fulham this season.
He "has pace to burn, skill in abundance and an ability to get in behind the opposition defence," per FulhamFC.com.
Fulham manager Martin Jol believes Dembele will stay at the club.
"He's only 17 now, but he’s strong and scores goals every match," Jol said, via Charles Perrin at the Express. "The boy loves it here. The only thing we've got to do is in the next couple of years to keep him here."
The next Louis Saha?
Valmir Berisha
4 of 20Halmstads' Valmir Berisha, the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup top scorer, has revealed clubs around Europe are courting him.
"The clubs that have shown the biggest interest are Ajax, Milan, Liverpool, Sunderland, Tottenham and Celtic," Berisha said, from Aftonbladet via Liam Prenderville at the Mirror. "I want to join a club who need a striker, then I can exploit that to get playing time."
Berisha has been labelled the new "Zlatan Ibrahimovic," which isn't accurate going by how the teenager played at the U-17 World Cup.
Ibrahimovic can drop deep and create, whereas Berisha was purely a goalscorer who took advantage of his teammate Gustav Engvall's selflessness.
Kelechi Iheanacho
5 of 20Kelechi Iheanacho's father said his son would join Manchester United before correcting himself and saying Manchester City, according to Phillip Eta at the Daily Post.
With six goals and seven assists, Iheanacho is the most complete FIFA U-17 World Cup player since Anderson, the 2005 U-17 World Cup Golden Ball recipient.
Iheanacho can shoot, create and control the flow of the game.
Joining City will set up his family, but will he play consistently? Hopefully City don't turn him into a defensive midfielder, which is what Chelsea did to John Obi Mikel, originally a pass-first playmaker.
Iheanacho, the 2013 U-17 Golden Ball winner, deserves the accolades, but his teammate Taiwo Awoniyi, a lethal attacking player, should also be on the radar of European clubs.
Alen Halilovic
6 of 20
Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur are the main suitors for Dinamo Zagreb's Alen Halilovic, according to Inside Futbol.
Halilovic played on a woeful Croatian team during the FIFA U-17 World Cup as they crashed out in the group stages after defeats to Morocco and Uzbekistan.
Halilovic needs to stay at Dinamo and dominate the Croatian league before thinking about leaving.
Hedwiges Maduro
7 of 20
Sevilla midfielder Hedwiges Maduro wants out after being frozen out of Unai Emery's first team.
"Ideally, I want to go to a country where the competition is at a high level," Maduro said, from Sport 1 via Sky Sports. "Germany, England, but also I am open to the Netherlands. I won't say no in advance to a club from the Netherlands."
Maduro has not been the same player since he underwent ankle surgery, which explains why he has not played for the Netherlands since.
Maduro is a useful midfielder who can retain possession and distribute.
Adrian Mutu
8 of 20
Former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu will move from Ajaccio to Petrolul Ploiesti, according to Ian Holyman at ESPN FC.
During the 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain, Thiago Silva looked more likely to score than Mutu, who didn't register a single shot on goal.
This Ligue 1 season, Mutu is 0-for-20 in goals-shots taken.
Artjoms Rudnevs
9 of 20
Hamburg centre-forward Artjoms Rudnevs is being lined up as Mame Diouf's replacement at Hannover 96, according to a tweet by Bundesliga Fanatic senior editor Niklas Wildhagen.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga has scored eight goals in nine league games, so Rudnevs will be spending more time on the bench, as he did against Hannover 96 last Sunday.
Rudnevs' potential move to Hannover is dependent on Mame Diouf not extending his contract.
Michal Kadlec
10 of 20
Several Bundesliga teams are monitoring the situation of Fenerbahce's Michal Kadlec, who is looking to leave, according to Hurriyet via Soccer News.
Kadlec once infamously tussled with teammate Manuel Friedrich over getting Lionel Messi's shirt.
Speaking of Messi, Kadlec shared the Czech Republic cover of FIFA 14 with Messi.
Radja Nainggolan
11 of 20
Inter Milan president Erick Thohir is a fan of Cagliari's Radja Nainggolan and will attempt to sign the centre midfielder.
"I like Nainggolan," Thohir said, from TV One News via Nadia Carminati and Kent Hedlundh at Sky Sports. "Being of Indonesia origin, I would like him here, but this is the sort of decision which has to be talked through with the club first."
Nainggolan is known for his tenacity, averaging 3.8 tackles per league game, but he has become more box-to-box, getting himself into goal-scoring positions.
Alberto Gilardino
12 of 20
Genoa's Alberto Gilardino will be sold to Toronto FC in January, according to La Repubblica via Football Italia.
However, Steve Bottjer at MLSsoccer.com contacted a Toronto FC spokesperson who said the Gilardino to Toronto FC rumour is inaccurate.
Gilardino's recent form has been impressive. He scored against his old club, AC Milan, and netted five goals in his last six games.
Mateo Musacchio
13 of 20
Villarreal's Mateo Musacchio is being targeted by Fiorentina, according to Football Italia.
Musacchio has partnered three different centre-backs this season (Chechu Dorado, Gabriel Paulista and Pablo Iniguez) yet Villarreal have only conceded 13 goals, fewer than Real Madrid (17).
It is a testament to Musacchio's leadership at the back.
Fabio Borini
14 of 20
Liverpool's Fabio Borini, currently on loan at Sunderland, may seek a January transfer loan to a Serie A club.
"I can say that if Fabio's situation doesn't change in the next month, we could evaluate a return to Italy," Borini's agent Marco De Marchi said, from CalcioMercato.com via Football Italia. "Liverpool will not let go of the player definitively, so it would still be a loan spell."
Five of Borini's seven Premier League games this season for Sunderland have been off the bench.
Borini is a momentum player who needs to be starting week in, week out in order to be effective.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga
15 of 20
Hamburg have shut down rumours linking Pierre-Michel Lasogga, on loan from Hertha Berlin, with a switch to Atletico Madrid.
"Pierre-Michel Lasogga is actually on loan at our club and he is doing a very good job for us," Hamburg general manager Oliver Kreuzer said, from Sky Deutschland via Orange Sport. "I have spoken to him today. There is no truth in this transfer rumour."
Lasogga is in a purple patch right now just like Nicolai Muller's five goals in his first four games for Mainz this season.
Can Lasogga keep it up?
Javi Garcia
16 of 20
Napoli are tracking Manchester City anchorman Javi Garcia, according to sources in Italy via TalkSport.
Why would Napoli manager Rafael Benitez want Garcia?
Garcia only completes 33 percent of his tackles, so he has a 67 percent chance of letting a player go past him when attempting to tackle.
Thibaut Courtois
17 of 20
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is playing hardball with Thibaut Courtois, who's impressing on loan at Atletico Madrid, per Marca:
"Courtois's contract with Chelsea runs till June 2016. The English club has made it clear it wants him back next season and has offered to extend his contract until 2019.
Mourinho has insisted the player accept this new contract as a necessary condition for him to stand any chance of being put on loan to another club.
Mourinho is not backing down and has let Courtois know that if he doesn't accept the offer he will come back to Stamford Bridge and spend the next two years on the bench without playing.
"
Regarding the "spend the next two years on the bench without playing" part, this is what Courtois is afraid of.
He does not want to be Petr Cech's deputy, which explains Courtois' hesitancy in extending his contract.
He is an elite goalkeeping prospect, but sometimes he switches off. That's why he has made a few blunders throughout his loan spell at Atleti.
Ivan Rakitic
18 of 20
Sevilla are attempting to lock down Ivan Rakitic so they can be in the power position when negotiating a transfer fee.
"A couple of weeks ago I was offered a contract extension, even though I still have a year-and-a-half left on my current deal," Rakitic said, via 20 Minutos from Lucas Brown at Sky Sports. "I am happy here at Sevilla and my wife is happy in the city as well."
Rakitic is reportedly a target for several Premier League teams, per Ben Jefferson at the Express.
Jackson Martinez
19 of 20
Porto centre-forward Jackson Martinez will complete a transfer to Chelsea, according to Matthew Nash at the Metro.
The deal is expected to cost the Blues £33 million.
If only Porto were stupid enough to accept Demba Ba, who has failed to replicate his goal scoring for Newcastle United at Chelsea, as part of the exchange.
Fernando Torres scored twice against Schalke and was excellent with a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win over Manchester City.
Signing Martinez will cancel all the progress Torres has made.
To the delight of goalkeepers around Europe, there will be no more Samuel Eto'o lurking around to steal the ball.
The future of Romelu Lukaku remains uncertain, and Chelsea should not spend £33 million on Martinez.
What the Blues should do is wait out this season and then build the team around Lukaku, who scored 17 goals on loan at West Bromwich Albion last season and has netted seven goals in eight games on loan at Everton this season.
Iker Casillas
20 of 20
Iker Casillas is contemplating moving on from Real Madrid, according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.
"Manchester City definitely want Iker Casillas for next season," Balague said, via Sky Sports. "But if he continues to not play, and he won't unless Diego Lopez gets injured, then he wants to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season."
But Real Madrid legend Fernando Hierro believes Casillas will persevere and potentially finish his career as a one-club man, via Tre Atkinson at Inside Spanish Football: "I have a feeling that Iker Casillas will be with Real Madrid for a long time yet."
Statistics via WhoScored, FFT Stats Zone, Squawka and Transfermarkt.
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