Power Ranking the Week's 20 Hottest Transfer Rumours: Marco Reus to Barcelona?
Bleacher Report presents a power ranking of the 20 hottest transfer rumours, news and signings.
The rumours are ranked according to name recognition—the less identifiable the rumoured player is, the lower the rumour will be ranked and vice versa.
20. Tomas Kalas
1 of 20
Chelsea centre-back Tomas Kalas will be loaned to Cologne next season, per Bild (h/t Thomas Zocher at Sky Sports).
Kalas was impressive in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Liverpool in the Premier League toward the end of the season.
He predominately played at right-back during his loan at Vitesse.
19. Blerim Dzemaili
2 of 20
Napoli central midfielder Blerim Dzemaili is a summer transfer window for Tottenham Hotspur, per Alex Harris at the Daily Express.
Dzemaili offered Napoli an attacking element with six goals and three assists last season, while also providing defensive cover.
Unless Spurs are giving up on Paulinho or loaning out Nabil Bentaleb, it seems odd that they would target Dzemaili.
18. Eliaquim Mangala
3 of 20
Porto centre-back Eliaquim Mangala wants to move to Chelsea instead of Manchester City, per Luke Edwards at the Telegraph.
If this transfer happens, then what is going to happen to Kurt Zouma?
Mangala is a great prospect, but he was not a world-class centre-back in the UEFA Champions League and looked mediocre when Porto played in the UEFA Europa League.
He was missing in action when Sevilla scored four times in the quarter-final of the latter competition.
Chelsea need to stick by Zouma, whom they signed from Saint-Etienne in January, because his progress will be hindered if they were to sign Mangala.
17. Steven Caulker
4 of 20
Arsenal are weighing up a move for Cardiff City centre-back Steven Caulker, per the Metro.
Caulker is a low-risk tackler and only conceded 0.2 fouls per game on average in 2013-14. He is also excellent at blocking shots, denying 57 shots from opposing players last season.
He played every single Premier League game during Cardiff's campaign, which ended in relegation.
16. Ashley Williams
5 of 20
Sunderland have lodged a £4 million bid for Swansea City centre-back Ashley Williams, per George Caulkin at the Times.
Williams' agent Jamie Moralee has upped the ante with the Swans by claiming his client will run down his contract.
"If a new contract is not agreed or they don't accept one of the bids, Swansea could risk losing him for nothing," Moralee said, per BBC Sport. "If Ash's contract does run down, it won't just be Sunderland interested—that will alert a lot of big clubs."
15. Alberto Moreno
6 of 20
Sevilla demanding £18 million plus from Liverpool for left-back Alberto Moreno is why the transfer is being held up, per Mike Whalley at ESPN.
Moreno predominantly played at left-back for Sevilla in 2013-14, but he also started several games as a left attacking midfielder.
He prefers to intercept passes rather than make bone-crunching tackles and has elite upside.
14. Alvaro Morata
7 of 20
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that centre-forward Alvaro Morata wants to leave the club.
"Morata wants to look for an opportunity to get more playing time and the club agrees with him," Ancelotti said, per Emilio Contreras at Marca. "If Morata leaves, we would like to sign a striker with similar characteristics—a youngster."
Morata scored all eight of his goals in La Liga last season as an impact sub.
He only started three league games last season, which is why he's seeking opportunities elsewhere.
13. Antonio Candreva
8 of 20
Lazio forward Antonio Candreva has linked himself to a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
"I'm very flattered by PSG's interest," Candreva said, per Telefoot (h/t Sky Sports). "Paris would be a great option for me."
Candreva led Lazio in goals (12) and assists (six) in Serie A last season.
If he joins PSG, he would be vying with Edinson Cavani and Lucas Moura for the right-sided forward slot.
12. Dejan Lovren
9 of 20
Southampton centre-back Dejan Lovren will push his club to sell him to Liverpool by handing in a transfer request, per the Liverpool Echo.
Lovren arrived at Southampton with a damaged reputation after a series of disastrous games for Lyon.
What appeared like a foolhardy transfer worked out brilliantly for Southampton because Lovren was world-class for parts of the season.
11. Loic Remy
10 of 20
Queens Park Rangers centre-forward Loic Remy wants a summer transfer window move to Arsenal, per Matt Law at the Telegraph.
"Loic Remy is desperate for Arsenal to firm up their interest in him," Law wrote. "Tottenham are also chasing Remy, but the Frenchman wants to play in the Champions League and Arsenal is his preferred destination."
Remy spent the past season on loan at Newcastle United and scored 14 goals in the Premier League.
If Arsenal do not sign Remy as a backup to Olivier Giroud, manager Arsene Wenger should consider buying Vincent Aboubakar from Lorient.
10. Joleon Lescott
11 of 20
Hull City have offered a contract to free agent Joleon Lescott, per Sky Sports.
Lescott played five seasons at Manchester City, winning two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and a League Cup.
Individually, he never progressed after showing elite form at Everton.
He had reached his ceiling at Everton and gradually declined at City to the point where he was an opulent back-up.
Lescott would be an great signing for a club such as Hull.
9. Miranda
12 of 20
Atletico Madrid centre-back Miranda will review offers from other clubs.
"My agent is in Europe to decide my future, my buy-out fee at Atletico Madrid is €30/£24.3 million, but that can be negotiated," Miranda said, per ESPN Brasil (h/t Paulo Freitas at Sky Sports). "I have offers from Spanish and English leagues and from some less important ones too."
Miranda and Diego Godin established a secure partnership at the back for Atleti during their successful 2013-14 campaign.
Subjectively speaking, Miranda is better than Godin, but the two are dependant on each other.
It unknown whether either could replicate last season's success away from Diego Simeone's Atleti team.
8. Carlos Vela
13 of 20
Arsenal will activate a clause in Real Sociedad Carlos Vela's contract to re-sign him for £3.5 million, according to Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay, per Cadena SER (h/t the Guardian).
Vela can play on the right and in a central role up top.
His first spell with Arsenal was disappointing, but he has transitioned into an good footballer at Sociedad.
He scored 16 goals and registered 12 assists in La Liga during 2013-14, so £3.5 million represents a bargain.
7. Adam Lallana
14 of 20
Southampton are stonewalling Liverpool's attempts to sign Adam Lallana hence why the transfer "has reached an impasse," per the Liverpool Echo.
Southampton do not want to relinquish their most valuable player, hence why his transfer valuation has inflated to absurd proportions.
Lallana is not worth £15 million, let alone £25 million, especially for a player projected to be a rotation midfielder.
Liverpool should start seeking out cheaper alternatives to the England man.
6. Ivan Rakitic
15 of 20
Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic is close to completing a move to Barcelona, per Football Espana.
Rakitic is a complete midfielder, who can play any role in the centre of the park.
He was one of the best players in La Liga last season, scoring 12 times and creating 10 goals and was an important member of Sevilla's UEFA Europa League-winning squad.
5. Romelu Lukaku
16 of 20
Wolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs is targeting Chelsea centre-forward Romelu Lukaku, per Kicker (h/t Thomas Zocher at Sky Sports).
Diego Costa's proposed move to Chelsea, per ESPN, means Lukaku will have to play second fiddle and wait for his chance.
Is Lukaku willing to do that having spent the last two seasons on loan at West Bromwich Albion and Everton?
4. Mario Mandzukic
17 of 20
Bayern Munich forward Mario Mandzukic wants to leave the club.
"Bayern is a fantastic club, and indeed it was not until recently that I thought about going," Mandzukic said, per Jutarnji List (h/t Graeme Bailey at Sky Sports). "Let's be honest, I do not correspond with the style of game that [Bayern manager Pep] Guardiola wants to play."
Mandzukic scored 18 times and created four goals even though he wasn't starting week in and week out for Guardiola.
3. Ramires
18 of 20
Chelsea central midfielder Ramires is a summer transfer window target for Real Madrid, per the Mirror.
What was the point of buying Asier Illarramendi if the Real management are just going to sign Ramires for £25 million?
It makes no sense because Real should persist with Illarramendi, who needs a strong second season to silence the critics.
2. Marco Reus
19 of 20
Marco Reus has verbally agreed to join Barcelona with the proposed transfer needing Borussia Dortmund's final say, per talkSPORT.
Reus, a world-class attacking midfielder, scored 16 goals and created 13 in the Bundesliga last season.
He will miss Germany's 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign due to a "partially torn ligament," per Deutsche Welle.
1. Eden Hazard
20 of 20
Chelsea attacking midfielder Eden Hazard has dispelled rumours of a rift with manager Jose Mourinho by verbally committing his future to the Blues.
"The fact that Chelsea have offered me a new deal means that they have got a lot of confidence in me," Hazard said, per Derniere Heure (h/t the Telegraph). "I am staying at Chelsea 100 percent sure."
While Hazard's hesitancy of buying into Mourinho's team-first philosophy has created friction, there is no doubt the Belgian international has superstar potential.
If Hazard improves his consistency, he can reach the level of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, at which point he will gain exemption from defending.
Statistics via WhoScored.com
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
