Ranking the Week's 25 Hottest Transfer Rumours: Paul Pogba to Real Madrid
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/deals 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, including Mario Balotelli, Mario Gomez and Paul Pogba, will be subjectively ranked via a combination of various standards:
- Current playing ability.
- Upside.
- Projected transfer value.
- Projected transfer resell value.
- Social media buzz.
When not specified, statistics via WhoScored.com.
25. Jamie Maclaren (Perth Glory)
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Australian centre-forward Jamie Maclaren, 21, has escalated his claim to being released from his Perth Glory contract with assistance from Professional Footballers Australia president Simon Colosimo.
"Jamie issued the breach notice on our advice and with our support, but despite that we always advise and recommend that the player, in situations like this, sits down with the club and tries to resolve it," Colosimo said, per Greg Prichard at SBS. "Sitting down to resolve it can at least preserve relationships."
Maclaren, a former Blackburn Rovers prospect, has turned his career around at Perth Glory, a club still picking up the pieces "after being found guilty of salary-cap rorting," per Ray Gatt at the Australian.
Now one of the A-League's top young players, Maclaren is alleging that Perth Glory breached his contract during the salary-cap saga.
From Perth Glory's perspective, releasing such a talent without receiving a transfer fee would be a bitter blow.
Maclaren scored nine goals in 20 games, which is an excellent strike rate when you consider he only started seven times.
24. Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory)
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Melbourne Victory defensive midfielder Mark Milligan, 29, is expected to leave the A-League for a "life-changing" contract at Baniyas, per David Davutovic at the Herald Sun.
Playing in the Arabian Gulf League will exponentially increase Milligan's personal wealth and could set his family up for post-footballing life.
Milligan deserves every dollar coming to him, having won the A-League title with Melbourne Victory and the Asian Cup with Australia.
23. Bilal Ould-Chikh (Twente)
3 of 25Twente forward Bilal Ould-Chikh, 17, is considering joining Valencia after visiting their training ground, per De Telegraaf (h/t Michael Bell at Football Oranje).
An alternative to Jesus Corona on the right flank, Ould-Chikh was eased into regular top-flight football.
Starting 26.6 per cent of the Eredivisie games he was involved in 2014-15, Ould-Chikh needs to stay in the Netherlands rather than move to La Liga, which could hinder his development.
22. Massimo Luongo (Queens Park Rangers)
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Australian central midfielder Massimo Luongo, 22, has transferred from Swindon Town to Queens Park Rangers.
Luongo, one of the Socceroos' top footballers, is upgrading from League One to the Championship.
"The step up to the Championship is going to be a challenge, but I'll always back myself," Luongo said, per Queens Park Rangers' website. "I never want to rest on my laurels. I always want to push on."
He is joining a Queens Park Rangers team that will be looking to bounce straight back into the Premier League.
A dynamic midfielder with an all-round playing style, Luongo is a quality player.
21. Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
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Chelsea centre-forward Didier Drogba, 37, has ruled out rejoining Marseille, according to his advisor, Thierno Seydi.
"Since Sunday, a huge amount of clubs have declared their interest [in Drogba]," Seydi said, per La Provence (h/t Ian Holyman at ESPN FC). "We'll take time to think about it. Marseille won't be part of that process as the club doesn't seem to be interested."
Drogba will exercise his Bosman right to a free transfer in the summer. He scored four goals in the Premier League in 2014-15, appearing as a substitute in 71.4 per cent of games in which he was involved.
20. Mario Gomez (Fiorentina)
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Fiorentina centre-forward Mario Gomez, 29, is considering a transfer to either New York City FC or the New York Red Bulls, per La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Goal, via Major League Soccer's website).
Gomez has scored four goals in 20 Serie A games, so he is no longer one of Europe's elite No. 9s.
Injuries have derailed Gomez in the last two seasons, so playing at a lower level such as MLS could be a realistic option.
19. Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)
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New York Cosmos are vying to sign Udinese's Italian centre-forward Antonio Di Natale, 37, per David Amoyal at Gianluca Di Marzio's website.
Di Natale also has an offer from an undisclosed Saudi Professional League club, according to Amoyal.
The striker is still going strong, having scored 14 goals and provided seven assists in 33 Serie A games this season.
18. Luca Toni (Hellas Verona)
8 of 25
Hellas Verona centre-forward Luca Toni, 38, is being targeted by Adelaide United.
However, Adelaide United chief executive officer Michael Petrillo revealed the offer is still tentative.
"It's at a very early stage," Petrillo said, per Ben Somerford at FourFourTwo. "It's a really long shot, but it's something we feel it would be remiss of us not to have a look at it."
Toni has scored 21 goals in 37 Serie A games this season, so he could still dominate in the A-League.
17. Mario Balotelli (Liverpool)
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Liverpool centre-forward Mario Balotelli, 24, will not be leaving the club in the summer transfer window, according to his agent, Mino Raiola.
"We had talks with Liverpool and [Balotelli] will definitely stay," Raiola said, per Paul Gilmour at Sky Sports. "I have spoken at various times to [Liverpool] and they were happy with his input and professionalism. Obviously we have to improve the performance."
Translation: There are no offers that would be an upgrade for Balotelli.
Struggling in the Premier League, Balotelli was one of the worst players in Europe in 2014-15. He scored once in 940 minutes over 16 Premier League games.
He has become a scapegoat for Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, who deflects his shortcomings on the misfiring Italian.
Unless Rodgers starts trusting Balotelli, their relationship will end in tears.
16. Ibrahim Afellay (Barcelona)
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Stoke City are close to signing Barcelona forward Ibrahim Afellay, 29, per Sport.
Afellay wants to resurrect his career, and Stoke City have been willing to give extended starting runs to talented but inconsistent players such as Bojan Krkic, Mame Biram Diouf and Marko Arnautovic.
Barcelona have had Afellay on their books since 2011.
15. Micah Richards (Manchester City)
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Manchester City defender Micah Richards, 26, will exercise his Bosman right to a free transfer in the summer.
Richards played out his Manchester City contract on loan at Fiorentina.
"My last game is on Sunday and I'll sit down and discuss with my family what the best thing is going forward," Richards said, per talkSPORT's Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show. "[My next club] will be a team which guarantees me [playing] time though."
Richards needs to legally negotiate a certain amount of playing time into his contract wherever he goes because his gentlemen's agreement for regular starts at Fiorentina was broken as soon as the formation changed.
14. Sami Khedira (Real Madrid)
12 of 25
German central midfielder Sami Khedira, 28, will transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus, pending the completion of a medical, per Marca.
Given Khedira's fitness issues, Juventus need to be cautious and negotiate clauses that protect them in the event he suffers another long-term injury.
Khedira's chronic injury problems are a blatant red flag. However, his free-agent status is why Juventus are taking a calculated risk signing him.
13. Neto (Fiorentina)
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Liverpool have ended their pursuit of Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto, 25, per James Pearce at the Liverpool Echo.
The reason why Liverpool are no longer interested in Neto is because he has chosen to go to Juventus, per Goal (h/t Calcio Mercato).
Neto is world class one week and subpar for the rest of the month. The potential is there, but he needs to be more consistent.
If Liverpool are still in the Serie A market, Marco Sportiello, Mattia Perin and Orestis Karnezis are all better targets than Neto.
12. Nicolas Gaitan (Benfica)
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Liverpool are currently debating whether Benfica winger Nicolas Gaitan, 27, is worth €29.3 million/£21 million, per Dominic King at the Daily Mail.
Buying Gaitan would be a risk because the chances of a profitable resale is minimal.
Plus, even if Liverpool wanted Gaitan, why would he join the Reds after seeing how ex-teammate Lazar Markovic has been treated?
Yannick Ferreira Carrasco would be a better transfer target than Gaitan.
11. Edin Dzeko (Manchester City)
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Roma are in the running to sign Manchester City centre-forward Edin Dzeko, 29, per Corriere dello Sport (h/t Anthony Jepson at the Manchester Evening News).
No Roma player has yet to score 10 goals or more in Serie A this season.
Dzeko has scored four goals for Manchester City during a campaign in which he only started 50 per cent of the Premier League games he was involved in.
10. Idrissa Gueye (Lille)
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Southampton manager Ronald Koeman is planning a €9.8 million/£7 million move for Lille central midfielder Idrissa Gueye, 25, per Alex Crook at the Daily Mirror.
Gueye provided solidarity to Lille's midfield in 2014-15, averaging 3.1 tackles and 2.8 interceptions per game.
One Gueye alternative Koeman should consider is Caen's N'Golo Kante.
9. Kevin Wimmer (Tottenham Hotspur)
17 of 25Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the signing of Austrian centre-back Kevin Wimmer, 22, from Cologne.
Wimmer's transfer fee was €6 million/£4.3 million and he signs on a five-year contract, which is an economically efficient deal for a centre-back with world-class potential.
The concern with Wimmer is he tends to zone out. If he eradicates his concentration lapses, he will likely develop into a top player.
Placed at No. 41 in Kicker's Bundesliga player rankings, Wimmer was rated higher than Mats Hummels (No. 57), Benedikt Howedes (No. 62) and Robin Knoche (No. 63).
8. Danny Ings (Burnley)
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Burnley centre-forward Danny Ings, 22, has yet to decide between transferring to either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur, per Mark Ogden at the Telegraph.
It should be a simple decision for Ings: Liverpool.
Given Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers' inability to convince world-class players to sign for him, Ings—a modest overachiever—would have an unchallenged starting spot.
Ings scored 11 Premier League goals in 2014-15, two more goals than Steven Gerrard, who was Liverpool's top scorer in league play.
Should Ings be Liverpool's primary summer transfer signing? Of course not.
Alexandre Lacazette is the most obvious choice, but it is not a matter of if Liverpool want him rather if he wants to be coached by Rodgers.
7. Jurgen Locadia (PSV Eindhoven)
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PEC Zwolle are considering a bid for PSV Eindhoven's Dutch forward Jurgen Locadia, 21, per Voetbal International (h/t Nick Van Ruiven at Football Oranje).
Locadia is a No. 9 with elite potential, but he has been a back-up to Luuk de Jong.
This has stagnated Locadia's development, which has been exacerbated by his being played out wide.
6. Jackson Martinez (Porto)
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Arsenal will sign Porto centre-forward Jackson Martinez, 28, for €34.6 million/£24.7 million, per Tony Banks at the Daily Express.
If Martinez was five years younger, the transfer would make more sense.
Why not sign Alexandre Lacazette?
He has a higher upside, he has been scoring goals in a stronger league and is a world-class No. 9.
5. Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
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Aston Villa centre-forward Christian Benteke, 24, has a €45.5/£32.5 million buyout clause, per John Percy at the Telegraph.
Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has revealed Benteke will only leave if his buyout clause is met.
"There's a buyout clause in [Benteke's] contract so it will be impossible for us to stop him if he wants to go," Sherwood said, per Sky Sports. "Someone's got to meet that buy-out clause and if they don't [their transfer bid] won't be considered because we don't want to lose him."
Benteke finished the season strongly to compensate for a slow start.
He ended up with 13 goals and two assists in 29 Premier League games, but his production does not justify meeting his buyout clause.
4. Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord)
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Feyenoord central midfielder Jordy Clasie, 23, is open to leaving and there are three front-runners, per Voetbal International (h/t Michael Bell at Football Oranje): FC Zenit, Roma and Southampton.
On the ball, Clasie dictates the tempo of the play and is a passing outlet. He completed 83.6 per cent of his 67 passes per Eredivisie game in 2014-15.
Without the ball, he is a pit bull and constantly throws himself into tackles.
3. Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)
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Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling, 20, would prefer to join either Arsenal or Chelsea, per Jonathan Green at the Daily Star.
Sterling risks making an irreparable career mistake by leaving Liverpool, where he started 97.1 per cent of the Premier League games in which he was involved this season.
Scoring seven goals and providing seven assists, Sterling is talented, but he is not yet a world-class footballer. He needs to stay at Liverpool.
2. Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton)
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Southampton have rejected Liverpool's €14 million/£10 million bid for English right-back Nathaniel Clyne, 24, per Andy Hunter at the Guardian.
Clyne is one of the best right-backs in the Premier League and averaged 3.3 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game in 2014-15.
If Clyne ends up signing for Liverpool, it would be an indicative of the club's lack of faith in Javier Manquillo.
1. Paul Pogba (Juventus)
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Juventus central midfielder Paul Pogba, 22, has received a contract offer from Real Madrid, per La Stampa.
However, Real Madrid issued a press release denying the Turin-based newspaper's report:
"Following the reports published in the Italian newspaper La Stampa concerning an alleged offer from Real Madrid for the player Paul Pogba, the club wishes to state the following:
Real Madrid have had no contact either with Juventus or the player's agent [Mino Raiola] and, as a consequence, the reports published in this newspaper are completely false.
"
Pogba is a scoring threat and can glide effortlessly past opposing players.
His tackling can be hit-and-miss, as he commits more fouls per game (2.4) than tackles (2.3).
His style seems to suggest he would flourish as a deep-lying forward rather than a central midfielder.
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