Ranking the Week's 20 Hottest Transfer Rumours: Muller, Yarmolenko, Griezmann
Our latest weekly roundup sees the transfer gossip start to move away from what might have been in summer, and very much forward-looking to the winter transfer window.
With news of potential bids for huge name stars and a quickly drawn-up shortlist for more than one new manager, the rumour mill has been in overdrive this week—doubtless as a result of the international break and less club news elsewhere to fill pages.
Here's our list of the rumours of the week, ordered according to the fee involved, the size of the buying club and the reputation of the player himself.
20. Jordan Pickford
1 of 20
England under-21 goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has long been touted as a potential star of the future, but he is still yet to make his breakthrough at Sunderland and is playing on loan at Preston North End this season.
The Daily Star reports Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are both interested in signing the 21-year-old.
Costel Pantilimon and Vito Mannone are the senior goalkeepers in the Sunderland squad ahead of Pickford at present.
19. Riechedly Bazoer
2 of 20
Arsene Wenger is chasing another talented, young, attacking midfielder: Riechedly Bazoer of Ajax is Arsenal's new target, according to the Mirror.
The 19-year-old is a Dutch under-21 international already, and the Gunners have repeatedly sent scouts to watch him in action ahead of a potential move in 2016.
Bazoer has played eight Eredivisie matches and played the full 180 minutes in Ajax's unsuccessful Champions League qualifiers.
18. Ignacio Camacho
3 of 20
Malaga central midfielder Nacho Camacho is a big target for West Bromwich Albion, according to AS (h/t the Birmingham Mail).
Camacho, 25, has been injured all season and is yet to feature in La Liga, but West Brom boss Tony Pulis is keeping an eye on his recovery to be able to scout him when he returns.
Malaga have already lost the other half of last season's excellent central pairing, with Sergi Darder heading off to Lyon in the summer.
17. Victor Valdes
4 of 20
Victor Valdes is likely to be spending the next two months plotting where he wants to play football and trying to drum up interest, with his chances of playing regularly for Manchester United extremely slim.
The Mirror reported Newcastle United wanted the Spaniard, 33, to come in during January and replace Tim Krul, who is out for the season injured, but the Newcastle Evening Chronicle refuted that claim soon after.
Newcastle's other goalkeepers are Karl Darlow, also injured, and Rob Elliot.
16. Keisuke Honda
5 of 20
Keisuke Honda has been one of the players to lose a regular starting spot at AC Milan since Sinisa Mihajlovic took over in summer, fuelling rumours of a move away in January.
The Daily Express cites reports in Italy as naming Everton and Spurs as two of the clubs in the Premier League interested in capturing the 29-year-old Japan international, who is seemingly linked to top clubs in England every transfer window.
He has played four times this season in Serie A for Milan.
15. Ouzhan Ozyakup
6 of 20
Sunderland appointed Sam Allardyce as their new manager last week, and the transfer rumours have already started up over who the new boss wants to bring to the club.
Turkish paper Aksam is reported by the Sunderland Echo as claiming Ouzhan Ozyakup as a prime target, with a £10 million bid for the Besiktas man a possibility in January.
Ozyakup, 23, was part of the Turkey squad which clinched a place at Euro 2016 this week.
14. James Tomkins
7 of 20
One of the first transfer rumours after Allardyce checking in at Sunderland was a predictable one: A return to his old club West Ham United to pick up James Tomkins.
A £10 million offer might be enough to tempt the Hammers to sell, according to the Star, who also say Morgan Amalfitano and Kevin Nolan—both released from the London club recently—could also be Allardyce captures to reshape Sunderland.
Tomkins, 26, has been a regular this season, at both centre-back and right-back.
13. Moses Simon
8 of 20
Spurs are keeping two close eyes on Belgian side Gent, with the Mirror reporting they are looking at Moses Simon in addition to Laurent Depoitre.
Simon is a fleet-footed Nigerian winger who has played seven times this season, with the 20-year-old reportedly a long-term target for the London club.
Spurs were already monitoring striker Depoitre, who scored his first international goal for Belgium during the recent Euro 2016 qualifiers.
12. Mousa Dembele
9 of 20
Tuttosport (h/t TalkSPORT) claim Mousa Dembele to Italy in January is a done deal.
A £10.3 million move has been agreed between Spurs and Napoli for the switch, to allow the White Hart Lane club to reinvest in a new attacker in January.
The Belgian, 28, has played five times this season in the league for Spurs and has been suffering with a foot injury.
Son Heung-min, Erik Lamela, Nacer Chadli and Christian Eriksen are all ahead of him in the attacking-midfield positions.
11. Jese
10 of 20
Aston Villa don't swoop for too many Real Madrid players, but wide forward Jese is one of their prime targets for January if he fails to get more game time before then.
That's according to AS (h/t Metro), who note Napoli and Inter Milan are also keen on taking the 22-year-old for the rest of the season.
Jese started the first Liga match of the season, but he has been unable to regularly feature ahead of the likes of Karim Benzema, Isco and Gareth Bale.
10. Andriy Yarmolenko
11 of 20
Andriy Yarmolenko continues to be the target of many teams' admiration, with the Dynamo Kiev winger tipped for a move in January.
Sport report that the 25-year-old is waiting for Barcelona to make their move before committing anywhere else, though the European champions need to sell another player before committing to the operation.
Meanwhile, the Independent suggests Jose Mourinho may have been watching out for Yarmolenko in the Spain vs. Ukraine international.
Meanwhile, Tom Webber of Goal reported on Friday the player has signed a new contract with Kiev, and that should ensure a healthy fee if Yarmolenko does leave.
9. Ayoze Perez
12 of 20
Newcastle United are woefully underperforming in this season's Premier League, but some of their players continue to attract attention.
Ayoze Perez is one of those, with Manchester United monitoring his progress with the Magpies according to the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.
Perez, 22, is staying grounded and focusing on improving the team's fortunes, having scored just once in six games this season.
8. Robin Van Persie
13 of 20
Robin van Persie might be offered a quick route out of Turkey, despite only joining Fenerbahce in summer.
The Daily Mail report Barcelona want the 32-year-old as a cheap option in winter to boost their squad, with the forward line suffering under a spate of injury absences and their inability to register Arda Turan until January.
A £2.2 million move has been mentioned; the former Manchester United and Arsenal man has scored three in seven in the SuperLig this season, and he scored at both ends for the Netherlands in midweek as his nation failed to reach Euro 2016.
7. Benedikt Howedes
14 of 20
Schalke defender Benedikt Howedes has spoken of his admiration for the Premier League to Bild, (h/t Tom Davis of Goal) leading to the natural thought process: German defender, Premier League, new German manager...Liverpool are interested.
The Daily Star (h/t Liverpool Echo) came to that conclusion, saying the Reds would be one of several clubs interested in taking the 27-year-old if a move did become a possibility for the World Cup-winning defender.
Liverpool's current options include Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren.
6. Nolito
15 of 20
Nolito's move to Barcelona had seemed a fairly straight-forward switch to assume would go through in January, but economic constraints mean the Catalan club are struggling to sign the Celta Vigo forward.
The Mirror report Arsenal are instead in pole position to sign the Spanish international, due to Barcelona being close to their own internal financial limits with regard to debt, spending and wages.
Nolito, 29, who plays on the left of three forwards for Celta, has scored five goals in seven games this season and was part of the Spain squad which sealed qualification for Euro 2016.
5. Aymeric Laporte
16 of 20
The Mirror claim Barcelona have all but wrapped up the signing of Aymeric Laporte for next summer in a £35 million deal from Athletic Bilbao.
The Basque defender has been a long-term target of the Catalan club but has also attracted interest from Manchester United and elsewhere in Europe over the past few seasons.
Laporte, 21, helped his team beat Barcelona over two legs to win the Spanish Super Cup at the beginning of this season.
4. Ruben Neves
17 of 20
Liverpool have their eyes fixed firmly on Ruben Neves, and the Porto midfielder has already received an "informal approach" from the Premier League club.
That's according to the Mirror, who say Liverpool could make Neves, 18, the best-paid teenager in world football.
Jurgen Klopp is likely to make changes in the midfield area, and any deal would be a big statement about how the new manager feels about his current options in the position.
3. Alexis Sanchez
18 of 20
Alexis Sanchez has been in great form for Arsenal and Chile of late, and his displays have reignited interest from Real Madrid.
That's the rumour from the Daily Star, who claim Real will pay £37 million plus Denis Cheryshev, a left-sided attacker, to snatch the former Barcelona man from the Emirates.
By contrast, Metro cite Fichajes as saying Arsene Wenger will do everything possible to stop the move, including making Alexis, 26, the highest paid player at the club.
2. Thomas Muller
19 of 20
Thomas Muller is clearly a big target for Manchester United, and the Bayern Munich star made sure the rumours won't be disappearing any time soon with his comments about the Premier League.
The Manchester Evening News report the 26-year-old as saying:
"People should accept that wages will always play a role in a player’s decision-making.
Of course, the wages that are being paid in the Premier League are very tempting. It would be hypocrisy to deny that.
You have to look at the complete package to determine whether something is right for you.
"
If the money in the Premier League is coming from anywhere, it's certainly Manchester, with both City and United forking out huge sums on transfers and wages in recent seasons.
1. Antoine Griezmann
20 of 20
One of the more surprising transfer rumours of the week comes via TalkSPORT, who cite sources in Spain claiming Real Madrid will swoop for the first-choice forward owned by rivals Atletico Madrid, Antoine Griezmann.
Manchester United and Arsenal have both been mentioned in the past with regard to signing the French attacker, 24, but this report indicates Rafael Benitez wants to pair Griezmann with Karim Benzema in attack—to try and replicate their good form together in the national team.
The duo have started only one of France's last four internationals in tandem.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
