Believability Meter on the Week's Biggest Rumours: Ronaldo, Lacazette, Guardiola
Is Cristiano Ronaldo ready for an exit from Real Madrid? Are Chelsea truly interested in Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette? Would Pep Guardiola wave goodbye to Bayern Munich in order to take over as England manager?
We run these rumours through our believability meter over the following pages while giving you the lowdown on gossip involving Sporting Clube de Portugal's William Carvalho, Barcelona's Dani Alves, Juventus' Daniele Rugani and Liverpool's Divock Origi.
Read on for more!
Cristiano Ronaldo: 'Seeking New Challenge'
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Cristiano Ronaldo could soon leave Real Madrid next summer in search of a new challenge, according to David McDonnell in the Mirror.
The Portuguese star has been linked with a £90 million move back to Manchester United—the club he left in 2009 for £80 million.
Paris Saint-Germain are also said to be interested in the 30-year-old, who has scored 321 goals in 306 games for Los Blancos.
As McDonnell reported:
"United are desperate to bring Ronaldo back to Old Trafford to see out the rest of his career, but face competition to sign him from Paris St Germain, who will pay what it takes to land him.
It is understood Real would want a new world record fee of £90m for Ronaldo next summer, believing his phenomenal scoring record and global status would justify such a high asking price. ...
Despite his past history and emotional bond with United, however, it is understood Ronaldo would favour a move to PSG next summer, should he decide the time is right to leave Real.
But that would not stop United making a concerted effort to woo back one of the greatest players in their illustrious history, one still missed by their fans and whose name is still sung by the United crowd.
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In September 2013, Ronaldo signed a contract extension at the Bernabeu, declaring that he wanted to stay with the Liga side for the rest of his career, as seen on BBC Sport.
That deal is still in effect and is designed to keep him with the club until 2018.
Believability Meter: Low
Transfer rumours involving Cristiano Ronaldo will not cease until the day he retires. CR7 sells newspapers—it really is as simple as that.
Factor in gossip linking him with a return to Old Trafford—where the Manchester United fans still harbour fantasies that one day he might return—and it's guaranteed you will sell a lot more.
Paris Saint-Germain feature in Ronaldo transfer talk too, primarily because they are one of few elite clubs that could afford Real's asking price.
Is Ronaldo going anywhere next summer? He may be approaching the age of 31, but we highly doubt Madrid would consider letting him go for some time yet.
Liverpool and Arsenal Targeting William Carvalho
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William Carvalho will be targeted by both Liverpool and Arsenal in the January transfer window, as the Express' Bruce Archer relayed from reports coming out of Italy:
"The defensive midfielder starred for Portugal at the European Under 21 Championships this summer. And the Premier League duo are keeping tabs on the 23-year-old.
Carvalho is yet to play this season after suffering a stress fracture in July, but he is expected to return shortly in plenty of time for the January window.
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The Sporting Clube de Portugal player recently returned from injury in a Liga NOS tie against Boavista. In total, he has made 77 appearances for Jorge Jesus' side and is under contract at Estadio Jose Alvalade until 2018.
As reported by Paul Jiggins in the Sun over the summer, Carvalho has a £37 million release clause at Sporting.
Believability Meter: Low to Medium
Aficionados of the rumour mill will be well aware of links between Carvalho and Arsenal, of which there have been many over the last 18 months.
Already an in-demand player, his stock rose even further over the summer when he was named Player of the Tournament at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
Links with Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United were to follow, as reported by Ben Jefferson in the Express. Now it seems the Gunners and Liverpool are the names in the frame for the January window.
Not that we can see it happening.
Carvalho is only just returning from injury and, with one eye on the upcoming European Championship in France next summer, will be keen to get consistent game time throughout 2015/16.
The Primeira Liga side rarely do big business during the winter months and another factor that may muddy the waters of a January move is the fact Carvalho is co-owned. Sporting own a 60 per cent share and Sporting Portugal Fund the other 40 per cent, as reported by the Telegraph's Matt Law. As such, it would require a lot of negotiations and is much more likely to be executed over the summer.
We'd put our money on a Carvalho move, but not until Euro 2016 is over.
Chelsea in for Alexandre Lacazette
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Chelsea would like to sign Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette, according to Fichajes (h/t Tom Olver in Metro).
Last season, the 24-year-old scored 27 goals in 33 Ligue 1 games for Les Gones, ending the 2014/15 season as the division's top scorer.
The centre-forward came up through the youth system at Stade de Gerland, has represented France at every youth level and has eight caps for the senior squad.
Lacazette signed an extension to his existing deal with Hubert Fournier's side in August 2015, telling the French press, "I am very happy and proud to prolong my deal. Now the gossiping can stop...but I hope people are able to keep talking about me because I'm scoring goals and Lyon are winning things," as seen on ESPN FC.
He is currently contracted to Lyon until 2019.
Believability Meter: Low
OK, it's true that villainy’s Diego Costa is currently Chelsea's top-scoring striker in the 2015/16 Premier League with just two goals.
It is also true we don't yet know if Radamel Falcao is going to be any more successful at Stamford Bridge than he was at Old Trafford. And Loic Remy continues to struggle to get a look-in in Mourinho's XI.
This does not mean Chelsea necessarily need another striker. Costa, Falcao and Remy are great options, no matter the Blues' start to the season.
Who knows, perhaps the Premier League side will decide another bench-warming centre-forward is top of their shopping list come January.
We don't think that man will be Lacazette.
The ink is barely dry on his recently extended contract. He plays for his boyhood club, he showed no desire to leave over the summer and—struggling with consistency and injuries this term, with one goal in his six outings for Lyon—he is trying to rediscover the form that made him one of last season's stars.
Need we say more?
Dani Alves: Following Pedro to Chelsea?
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Jose Mourinho is lining up a January bid to acquire the services of Barcelona full-back Dani Alves.
Amid rumored interest from Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan, the 32-year-old signed a new two-year contract at Camp Nou over the summer, as reported by Pete Jenson in the Daily Mail.
However, as Spanish website Fichajes (h/t David Wright in the Express) claimed this week, Chelsea are now keen on the player:
"The Blues are in the market for a right-back when the transfer window reopens to add competition for Branislav Ivanovic, who has endured a shaky start to the season. And Mourinho is reportedly prepared to part with £14.5million to land the 32-year-old.
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In seven years, Alves has racked up 349 appearances for Barcelona. This season, the Brazilian has made three performances in La Liga.
Believability Meter: Low
In the bottom half of the table, Chelsea have shipped 14 goals in the Premier League so far in 2015/16. No one would have expected that at the season's start.
Between now and January, expect a whole slew of rumours linking the Blues with new defenders—especially at right-back, where Ivanovic has indeed been shaky. The Serbian will be out of contract in summer 2016.
Yet our believability meter finds it hard to imagine that Alves will be the one to arrive to replace him at Stamford Bridge during the winter months—or at all for that matter.
It looked like he had the chance to move to the Premier League with Manchester United over the summer, yet he opted to pen a contract extension with Barcelona. Unless the Catalan club are suddenly desperate to sell, we can't imagine Alves would want to move on.
Mourinho's success at signing Pedro Rodriguez from the Liga side is probably partly responsible for these rumours.
Arsenal Tracking Juventus Defender Daniele Rugani
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Arsenal will launch a £13 million bid for the services of Daniele Rugani when the transfer window opens in January, according to Calciomercato (h/t Liam Corless in the Mirror).
The 21-year-old defender is yet to feature for Juventus this season in any competition yet impressed with Empoli last term—appearing in 38 Serie A games at centre-back.
The previous campaign saw Rugani rack up 40 Serie B outings as the Tuscan side won promotion to the Italian top flight.
Prior to 2015, the Italy under-21 international had been co-owned by Empoli and Juventus. However, the Bianconeri completed full purchase of the player last February, as seen on Juventus' official site.
Rugani is under contract with Massimiliano Allegri's side until 2019.
Believability Meter: Low
Take a look at the Juventus defence—it is worth noting that Giorgio Chiellini is 31, Andrea Barzagli is 34 and both Leonardo Bonucci and Martin Caceres are both 28. With everyone else getting on in years, it seems Rugani is very much the Juve centre-back of the future.
Therefore, it's hard to imagine that the club would part ways with such a promising talent unless he was sent out on a short-term loan.
Rugani has been linked with Arsenal before, telling Tuttosport (h/t Football Italia) in April, "Wenger wanted me? It's gratifying to know that such a great coach was interested. But honestly I'm glad to have been redeemed by Juventus. I've been a Juventino since childhood and I hope to stay in Turin for 10 years."
Liverpool's Divock Origi on the Move in January
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Liverpool's Divock Origi could be sent out on loan in January, reported Rhys Turrell in the Daily Star this week.
This came after claims by Tuttomercatoweb that the Belgian youngster is being tracked by Norwich City, Bordeaux and Stuttgart ahead of the winter transfer window.
The 20-year-old was signed by the Premier League side in 2014 following his impressive performances for Marc Wilmots' Belgium at the World Cup in Brazil. Origi was sent straight back to former club Lille on a season-long loan following his transfer to Anfield.
In 2014/15, the young centre-forward made 44 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 club, scoring nine goals and setting up a further four.
This term, Origi has just three matches under his belt for the Reds, including just 16 minutes in the Premier League.
Believability Meter: Medium to High
A loan move would certainly make sense for Origi, especially if he wants to play for Belgium in the 2016 European Championship.
He received consistent game time at Lille over the last two seasons—impressing to such an extent he played five games at the 2014 World Cup for the Rode Duivels, right through to their exit in the quarter-finals.
Liverpool already have Christian Benteke, Danny Ings and a recently returned Daniel Sturridge battling for the striker's role at Anfield, with Origi appearing to be bottom of the pecking order.
It was baffling to see Origi sent out on loan right after signing for the Reds, and it appears he will remain on the fringes of the team this season.
While it's true that he may receive more minutes as the 2015/16 campaign progresses, considering Liverpool's involvement in the Europa League, we would not be surprised to see him farmed out on loan during the winter months.
Pep Guardiola, England Manager?
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This week, we were treated to news that suggested Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola was being targeted by the Football Association as a potential successor to England boss Roy Hodgson.
The rumours, which originated with Charlie Wyett in the Sun, quickly spread. By Friday, when Guardiola was conducting a press conference ahead of Bayern's Bundesliga meeting with Mainz, the former Barcelona manager was being quizzed about the role.
This led to Guardiola storming out of the press conference, as seen on BBC Sport, after commenting, "Oh come on, I'm coach of Bayern Munich. Many thanks and auf wiedersehen."
In January, Guardiola was described as being "in no rush" to sign a new contract at Allianz Arena, as the Guardian reported. However, just last week, Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the DPA news agency (h/t Neil McLeman in the Mirror):
"I am definitely optimistic that Pep will stay beyond June 30, 2016. We have a first-class team, a fantastic club, a great stadium and a wonderful city to offer.
The coach feels good. He has a good team. It helps to have Munich as a city. There's a lot going for Pep Guardiola deciding for Bayern Munich.
We will have a serious conversation with Pep in the upcoming weeks and we will see what comes from that.
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The 44-year-old manager has been at Bayern since 2013 and, as things stand, will be out of contract next summer.
Believability Meter: Low
Outlandish transfer gossip is not limited to players, as Pep Guardiola was all too aware this week. We get the feeling we are not alone in thinking this particular rumour is nothing but tripe.
Guardiola is out of contract next summer, and Hodgson's England contract is set to expire after Euro 2016—although talks are set to happen after the tournament, as seen on BBC Sport. But really, that seems to be the only basis for this story.
The FA may well want to have Guardiola as England manager (who wouldn't?) but there is zero chance of that actually happening. With little glue to bind this story together, we're just surprised it received so much attention.
All contract and player information comes from Transfermarkt unless stated otherwise.
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