Ranking the Week's 25 Hottest Transfer Rumours: Marco Reus Allowed to Leave?
Instead of scouring the internet for the latest football transfer gossip, Bleacher Report makes your life easier by providing you with 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:
- Footballer's name recognition.
- Newsworthiness.
- Social media buzz.
- Potential transfer value.
25. Marcos Flores
1 of 23
Argentinian attacking midfielder Marcos Flores, 29, has ended his association with the Newcastle Jets and will sign with North American Soccer League team Jacksonville Armada, per James Gardiner in the Newcastle Herald.
Flores was a showman in the A-League thanks to his immaculate technique, long dribbles and inventive passing.
When fit, Flores is good enough to be on the books of a Major League Soccer franchise.
Here is a random anecdote involving Flores, per Simon Hill at FOX Sports: "I stayed for a fortnight [at San Lorenzo], and they put me in the room where Pablo Zabaleta slept. He was away at the time, but when he came back from a national camp he threw me out!"
24. Awer Mabil
2 of 23
Ajax have elected not to sign Adelaide United's Australian forward Awer Mabil, 19, after a trial period, per Ben Somerford at FourFourTwo.
Mabil is a confident dribbler, is fast and can open up opposition defences.
Not signing for Ajax could be a blessing in disguise, because it will give Mabil more time to develop in Australia.
23. Tomi Juric
3 of 23
Western Sydney Wanderers' Australian centre-forward Tomi Juric, 23, has made an astonishing decision to rebuff a three-year, $18 million deal from Shanghai Shenhua, per Dominic Bossi at The Sydney Morning Herald.
That converts to around €12.6/£9.7 million, so it is a brave decision from Juric.
He is valuing his upside over quick money, which suggests he might have a move to Europe lined up.
If he can improve his consistency and continue to develop, he could have a Mark Viduka-like career in Europe.
22. Krystian Bielik
4 of 23Barring a late collapse in the deal, Arsenal will sign Legia Warsaw defensive midfielder Krystian Bielik, 17, per Lyall Thomas at Sky Sports.
Yes, Bielik is not the signing Arsenal fans want, but he is one for the future.
Bielik could turn out to be a success like Cesc Fabregas, or be a "hey, whatever happened to that guy?" player like Samuel Galindo.
Dominik Furman, Legia Warsaw's previous midfield prospect, has so far failed to break into the Toulouse starting XI.
21. Rudy Gestede
5 of 23
Hull City are targeting Blackburn Rovers centre-forward Rudy Gestede, 26, per Simon Jones at the Daily Mail.
Gestede has netted 12 goals in the Championship this season and leads Blackburn Rovers in scoring, so Hull City need to lodge a notable bid.
Gestede was never given a chance to prove his worth during his only spell in the Premier League to date, only playing 50 minutes over three substitute appearances for Cardiff City.
20. Robert Huth
6 of 23
German centre-back Robert Huth, 30, will be loaned out, according to Stoke City manager Mark Hughes.
"U21 games probably are not the right environment for [Huth] as a senior player...we are looking to try to get him [a loan] if we can," Hughes said, per the Press Association (h/t The Guardian). "It needs to be at the right club, and needs to be the right opportunity for Robert himself."
Stoke City signing Philipp Wollscheid on loan from Bayer Leverkusen means Huth needs to consider leaving because his time in the Potteries is up.
19. Neil Taylor
7 of 23
Swansea City left-back Neil Taylor, 25, is a €3.9/£3 million January transfer target for Crystal Palace, per Dafydd Pritchard at BBC Wales Sport.
Considering Joel Ward and Martin Kelly have both been playing as makeshift left-backs for Crystal Palace this season, signing a specialist left-back such as Taylor makes sense.
If the transfer goes through, you can only presume Swansea City have a solid replacement lined up, since Taylor is a quality left-back.
18. Ravel Morrison
8 of 23
English attacking midfielder Ravel Morrison, 21, will leave West Ham United and sign for Lazio on a pre-contract, per John Cross at the Daily Mirror.
Lazio play a 4-3-3 and Morrison is best suited as a free-roaming No. 10.
He averaged 0.5 tackles and 0.1 tackles in his last two seasons, so his work rate is a problem. He is not a central midfielder in a 4-3-3, unless Lazio want to morph the formation into a 4-2-1-3.
Instead of Serie A, Morrison would be better off playing in the Eredivisie.
17. Scott Sinclair
9 of 23
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert wants to sign Manchester City winger Scott Sinclair, 25, but he cannot afford him.
"If it became feasible financially then who knows but there's a bit of [Manchester City] asking too much," Lambert said, per Gregg Evans at the Birmingham Mail. "There's nothing going on with that at the moment."
Sinclair has only featured in three minutes of Premier League action for Manchester City this season.
16. Virgil van Dijk
10 of 23
Celtic centre-back Virgil van Dijk, 23, is hoping to play in the Premier League.
"I am now 23 [years old] and have played at Willem II, FC Groningen and Celtic and am now linked to clubs like Arsenal. Isn't that great?" Van Dijk said, per De Telegraaf (h/t James Orr at The Independent). "If there's a nice club from England, we have to talk. I want to develop myself as a player, that's for sure."
In the UEFA Europa League, Van Dijk has been conservative in the tackle but shown excellence anticipating the passes of opposing players and accumulating interceptions.
15. Luis Muriel
11 of 23
Fitness problems continue to plague Colombian centre-forward Luis Muriel, 23, leaving his career at a crossroads.
He was moving from current club Udinese to Sampdoria, but he failed his medical.
Sampdoria wanted to re-negotiate the €15/£11.6 million deal, but Udinese said no, meaning Muriel is now caught in limbo, per Sky Sports.
In the past, Muriel has been accused of being overweight.
14. Mat Ryan
12 of 23
Club Brugge's Australian goalkeeper Mat Ryan, 22, is remaining calm despite rumours of Liverpool monitoring him.
"I have an agent that looks after that sort of stuff," Ryan said, per David Davutovic and Marco Monteverde at The Courier-Mail. "I had this stuff just before the FIFA World Cup with Real Madrid and I still don't know if that was true or not."
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers views Ryan as an upgrade over Simon Mignolet, per Andy Hunter at The Guardian.
Ryan has the talent to play in the Premier League, and he can pull off amazing reflex saves like Mark Bosnich.
13. Fabio Borini
13 of 23
Italian forward Fabio Borini, 23, will not leave Liverpool in the January transfer window, according to his agent, Marco De Marchi, per James Pearce at the Liverpool Echo.
Borini has fallen off considerably since his Roma days, when he was a promising prospect.
Able to interchange out wide and centrally, Liverpool looked like they had secured a future elite footballer in Borini.
But aside from working hard and trying his best, Borini has floated in and out of games.
He needs a change of scenery.
12. Adnan Januzaj
14 of 23
Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj, 19, is being targeted by Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Porto, per Charlie Wyett at The Sun.
Januzaj deserves one extended starting run that is a sink-or-swim situation.
If he fails, loan him out.
Januzaj has only started four of the 11 Premier League games in which he has featured this season.
11. Divock Origi
15 of 23
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he has held talks with Lille over cutting short the loan of 19-year-old Belgium forward Divock Origi.
"Whether [Origi will] be here or not in January is something that there has been discussions [with Lille over]," Rodgers said, per Chris Shaw at LiverpoolFC.com. "But there is nothing to report on it. The agreement with Lille was for him to stay there. So we'll see how that works."
Prematurely ending Origi's loan would be an indictment of Mario Balotelli, who has yet to score a Premier League goal in 760 minutes.
Origi has been mediocre at best for Lille.
At times, he overcomplicates play, and his shooting needs to be more efficient (three goals from 32 shots).
10. Alex Song
16 of 23
Liverpool will attempt to pip West Ham United to signing 27-year-old Cameroonian defensive midfielder Alex Song from Barcelona, per The Telegraph.
On loan at West Ham United, you presume Song would be inclined to make his temporary stay in east London permanent.
He provides West Ham United with midfield balance and has been class.
9. Jozy Altidore and 8. Jermain Defoe
17 of 23
With English centre-forward Jermain Defoe, 32, wanting out, Toronto FC will sign Sunderland's United States centre-forward Jozy Altidore, 25, per The Canadian Press (h/t CBC Sports).
Altidore is arguably the worst No. 9 in Premier League history, scoring two goals in 70 combined league games for Hull City and Sunderland.
Defoe can still poach goals in the Premier League, and it shows you how competitive he is that he will abandon playing in MLS to have a chance at the big time again.
7. Martin Odegaard
18 of 23
Stromsgodset attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard, 16, should avoid signing for Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, according to Michael Laudrup.
"[Odegaard] is 16 years old, I cannot imagine seeing him playing right now in Real Madrid or Bayern Munich," Laudrup said, per Merkur (h/t Carlos Forjanes at AS). "If he were my son, I would advise him to go to Holland."
Laudrup played three seasons in Denmark before leaving for Serie A.
Odegaard should stay at Stromsgodset, where he is guaranteed first-team football, and then move abroad when he is 19 years old.
6. Mohamed Salah and 5. Andre Schurrle
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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will offload attacking midfielders Andre Schurrle, 24, and Mohamed Salah, 22, in January, per David Woods at the Daily Star.
Talk about a bold transfer rumour.
Either Schurrle or Salah leaving? Sure. But both? That seems implausible.
Schurrle's speed, directness and game-changing ability means he can still function as an impact sub, despite his inconsistencies.
Whereas Salah being loaned out makes sense because he has yet to start a Premier League game this season.
4. Marquinhos
20 of 23
Manchester United have opened talks with Paris Saint-Germain over a €39.2/£30 million move for Brazil centre-back Marquinhos, 20, per Le 10 Sport (h/t Jamie Sanderson at Metro).
After Bastia scored four past a David Luiz-Thiago Silva partnership, it makes no sense for Paris Saint-Germain to even consider relinquishing Marquinhos, a once-in-a-generation centre-back talent.
Marquinhos has the ability to become Brazil's answer to Fabio Cannavaro.
3. Marco Reus
21 of 23
Germany attacking midfielder Marco Reus, 25, needs to state what he wants, according to Borussia Dortmund chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke.
"I still have the hope that [Reus] stays with us for a long time," Watzke said, per Stephan Uersfeld at ESPN FC. "But if he decides differently, that's the way it is."
There are no doubts about Reus' quality, but his body persistently breaking down is a major red flag for any big club thinking about investing in him.
Reus has ruptured ligaments in both his ankles in the past six months.
2. Samuel Eto'o
22 of 23
Everton's Cameroonian centre-forward Samuel Eto'o, 33, is close to completing a transfer to Sampdoria, per David Amoyal at GianlucaDiMarzio.com.
The move will probably come to fruition because Sampdoria signing Udinese centre-forward Luis Muriel collapsed.
Eto'o has scored three goals in 14 Premier League games this season.
1. Steven Gerrard
23 of 23
Liverpool chief executive officer Ian Ayre revealed it is possible Steven Gerrard, 34, who will be playing for Los Angeles Galaxy next season, could return as a player for the Reds.
"The fact that [Gerrard is] leaving at the end of the season doesn't mean it's the last we'll see of him at Liverpool," Ayre said, per CityTalk (h/t Sky Sports)."[Returning on loan is] something we talked to Steven and his representatives about."
Providing another New York City FC-Frank Lampard-Manchester City fiasco does not occur, Los Angeles Galaxy should not hesitate in loaning Gerrard to Liverpool.
When not specified, statistics via WhoScored.com.
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