Ranking the Week's 25 Hottest Transfer Rumours: Sami Khedira to Bayern Munich
Instead of scouring the internet for the latest football transfer gossip, Bleacher Report makes your life easier by providing you a weekly power ranking of the 25 hottest transfer rumours in one slideshow.
Whether it is the Bundesliga, Eredivisie, La Liga, Ligue 1, Premier League, Serie A, alternative European leagues, or non-European leagues, this slideshow will be inclusive.
These 25 players will be subjectively ranked via a combination of several standards:
- Career accomplishments.
- Name recognition.
- Transfer interest.
25. Malick Mane
1 of 24
Goteborg's Senegalese loanee Malick Mane, 26, could be released on "compassionate grounds" by the Central Coast Mariners, per AAP (h/t The Sydney Morning Herald).
Having played in the Norwegian Tippeligaen for Sogndal and in the Swedish Allsvenskan for Goteborg, Mane was expected to light up the A-League.
While Mane has shown glimpses of quality up front, he has often vented at his inability to dominate.
He allegedly disparaged one of his Central Coast teammates, per Carly Adno at The Daily Telegraph (h/t FOX Sports), but the club claim Mane "was speaking to himself out of frustration."
24. Tyrone Mings
2 of 24
Ipswich Town's English left-back Tyrone Mings, 21, is a €12.5/£10 million-valued transfer target for Arsenal and Manchester United, per Sam Cunningham at the Daily Mail.
Kieran Gibbs and Luke Shaw are Arsenal and United's long-term left-backs, respectively.
However, if Mings wants to be a back-up player, then he could be enticed away from Ipswich.
23. Marcelo Brozovic
3 of 24
Arsenal are moving in to sign Dinamo Zagreb's Croatian central midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, 22, per John Cross at the Mirror.
Brozovic has looked imperious in the UEFA Europa League.
He is a technically brilliant player with strong dribbling ability, but he also chases down opposing players to win back the ball.
22. Rolando Aarons
4 of 24
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are scouting Newcastle United's English left-winger Rolando Aarons, 19, per Adrian Kajumba and Ian Murtagh at the Daily Star.
Aarons has yet to start a single Premier League game and the big clubs are already attempting to unsettle him.
He has flashed talent and shown desire in his super-sub appearances.
But his injury problems are a concern.
21. Dennis Praet
5 of 24
Anderlecht's Belgian central attacking midfielder Dennis Praet, 20, is looking to move on, according to his agent Jacques Lichtenstein.
"What could he learn from another season in Belgium after several campaigns at European level and having contributed to three consecutive league titles?" Lichtenstein said, per Voetbal International (h/t Aaron Flanagan at the Mirror). "He is not far from the level of a club like Arsenal."
Anderlecht risk losing their young guns, since Praet, Andy Najar, Frank Acheampong and Youri Tielemans have all impressed in the UEFA Champions League and are 21 years or younger.
20. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
6 of 24
Bayern Munich's Danish central midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, 19, has accepted he could be moved on.
"Bayern are the best school around, but I feel ready now to take the leap," Hojbjerg said, per Kicker (h/t Sky Sports). "I think the time has come for me to go a different way."
Instead of selling Hojbjerg, Bayern should send him on a long-term loan to a club willing to make him a starter, like Toni Kroos' spell at Bayer Leverkusen.
19. Bruma
7 of 24
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet is intrigued about the idea of signing Galatasaray's Portuguese right/left attacking midfielder Bruma, 20, per Paul Fraser at The Northern Echo.
Unless Poyet can promise Bruma a starting position, then he probably won't be receptive to the idea of playing at Sunderland.
If Bruma was to leave, he should consider a move back to the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
18. Scott Sinclair
8 of 24
Manchester City's English left-winger Scott Sinclair, 25, feels no satisfaction cashing in checks for just training.
"It's been very frustrating. For the last couple of years I have kept my head and tried to do as well as I can in training," per Stuart Brennan at the Manchester Evening News. "At this moment in time it's hard for me to get a game."
Sinclair has yet to play a single minute in the Premier League this season.
17. Nathaniel Clyne
9 of 24
Southampton will offer English right-back Nathaniel Clyne, 23, an improved contract, per Jeremy Wilson at The Telegraph.
It is a pre-emptive move from Southampton.
- Keeps Clyne happy.
- Increases his transfer stock.
Clyne has been in excellent form this season averaging 5.0 tackles per game.
16. Grzegorz Krychowiak
10 of 24
Arsenal are targeting Sevilla's Polish defensive midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak, 24, per Anthony Chapman at the Express.
Krychowiak is a world-class ball-winner averaging 3.6 tackles and intercepting 3.1 passes per game.
Arsenal should have taken a calculated gamble on Krychowiak when he was starring in Reims' midfield.
15. Divock Origi
11 of 24
Liverpool will need to pay a penalty of €6.3/£5 million to Lille should Belgian centre-forward Divock Origi's loan be cancelled, 19, per David Anderson at the Mirror.
It would be a desperate move from Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers which would put undue pressure on Origi.
Let him develop at Lille where he is in a less pressurised environment.
This will hand Mario Balotelli additional chances to step up and rectify his poor start.
14. Adil Rami
12 of 24
Manchester United are targeting AC Milan's French centre-back Adil Rami, 28, per TuttoMercatoWeb.com (h/t Rhys Turrell at Daily Star).
United should either sign world-class centre-backs, or continue to give Patrick McNair and Tyler Blackett additional chances.
Rami has been one of Milan's three primary centre-backs this season (the other two being Alex and Cristian Zapata).
13. Lars Bender
13 of 24
Bayer Leverkusen's German defensive midfielder Lars Bender, 25, is being pursued by Arsenal and Barcelona, per Anthony Chapman at the Express.
Bender's loose passing (gives away the ball 33.9 percent of the time he attempts a pass) means he is not a perfect fit for either Arsenal or Barcelona.
It would be wiser for Barcelona to buy a German centre-back rather than a defensive midfielder, which will also help goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
12. Alessio Cerci
14 of 24
Arsenal and Manchester United are ready to capitalise if Atletico Madrid are willing to deal away Italian deep-lying forward Alessio Cerci, 27, per David Wright at the Express.
Cerci is a high-maintenance player who runs on emotion and confidence.
When he is in form, he is world-class, but when there is doubt in his mind, he will not perform. That is why his career has been so inconsistent.
He is an archetypal big fish in a small pond footballer.
Before Atleti cut their losses, they must give Cerci one extended starting run to see if he has what it takes to succeed in Serie A.
So far, he is no Christian Vieri.
11. Hugo Lloris
15 of 24
Real Madrid want to sign Tottenham Hotspur's French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, 27, per David Wright at the Express.
Adding Lloris to the back line makes sense given the burgeoning influence of Zinedine Zidane at the club and Raphael Varane being the future leader of Real.
But, what about Keylor Navas? He deserves an extended starting run in the team because he is in the prime of his career.
10. Glen Johnson
16 of 24
Liverpool have told English right-back Glen Johnson, 30, he can stay at the club if he halves his salary, per John Cross at the Mirror.
It's a logical move for Liverpool given Johnson's marked deterioration.
Javier Manquillo represents the future of Liverpool's right-back position, so he should be developed.
9. Matija Nastasic and 8. Stephan Lichtsteiner
17 of 24
Manchester City are willing to trade Serbian centre-back Matija Nastasic, 21, to Juventus in return for Swiss right wing-back Stephan Lichtsteiner, 30, per Paul Handler at the Manchester Evening News.
Nastasic is behind Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis and Eliaquim Mangala.
Meanwhile, Lichtsteiner is at loggerheads with Juve regarding a contract extension.
7. Juan Cuadrado
18 of 24
Manchester City are targeting Fiorentina's Colombian right-forward/deep-lying forward Juan Cuadrado, 26, per Jamie Anderson at the Express.
Cuadrado provides pace and power on the right flank.
But Jesus Navas has a contract until 2017, so City need to get rid of him before adding Cuadrado.
Also, Cuadrado has recently extended his contract until 2019, so despite a buyout clause, he may not want to leave Fiorentina.
6. Petr Cech
19 of 24
Arsenal are in the process of signing Chelsea's Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech, 32, per Chisanga Malata at the Daily Star.
Cech is unhappy having been automatically relegated behind Thibaut Courtois, a world-class goalkeeper with a higher upside.
The problem with Cech going to Arsenal is there are no guarantees he would displace Wojciech Szczesny, a goalkeeper the Gunners have believed in for five seasons.
5. Mats Hummels
20 of 24
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is looking into signing Borussia Dortmund's German centre-back Mats Hummels, 25, per Jamie Jackson at the Guardian.
Hummels is a world-class centre-back, but he goes through phases where he is too lackadaisical.
His current Kicker player rating, 3.90, would see him ranked as the 167th best player in the Bundesliga this season if he qualified for the list.
In addition, Hummels' passing has been off, only completing 74.5 percent of his passes in league play.
4. Wesley Sneijder
21 of 24
Galatasaray's Dutch central attacking midfielder Wesley Sneijder, 30, insists he is happy in Turkey and is not looking to force a move away from the club.
"I'm happy here and I have never thought of leaving Turkey," Sneijder said, per Galatasaray TV (h/t David Amoyal at GianlucaDiMarzio.com). "I will stay in January."
He is toeing the line, as it seems implausible that he did not consider leaving when Galatasaray failed to pay his salary for parts of this season.
3. Sami Khedira
22 of 24
Real Madrid's German central midfielder Sami Khedira, 27, has agreed a pre-contract with Bayern Munich, per El Larguero (h/t Football Espana).
Bayern have midfield young guns with world-class upside in Gianluca Gaudino and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Yet, both are being pushed out by veterans in Xabi Alonso and Khedira.
If Khedira is signed, then it would suggest that Bayern are mirroring Real in disregarding their own elite talent.
2. Lukas Podolski
23 of 24
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is refusing to sanction the sale of German deep-lying forward/left attacking midfielder Lukas Podolski, 29, in the January transfer window, per beIN SPORTS.
Podolski has only played 46 minutes in the Premier League and has voiced his frustrations about his bit-part role.
What hurts Podolski is not necessarily being excluded from the starting XI, it is being marooned on the bench.
1. Frank Lampard
24 of 24
Manchester City will extend the loan of New York City FC's English central midfielder Frank Lampard, 36, per Jamie Jackson at the Guardian.
It is not an ideal situation for New York City because Lampard needs to be promoting the game in the United States.
But since Manchester City is the main club, New York City management have to bite their tongue.
When not specified, statistics via WhoScored
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