It’s always nice when the transfer news and rumors are spiced up by speculation involving top names, and today’s transfer roundup includes a few rumors involving some of the beautiful game’s big stars. Do these rumors have any foundation? Well, judge for yourself below.
England
The Cristiano Ronaldo-to-Real Madrid rumors have picked a nice time to start again, but this time, the source has some credibility, with Guillem Balague saying that Ronaldo has indeed agreed a secret (not-so-secret anymore though, huh?) deal to move to Real in a deal that could be worth up to £105m. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: You still have to be skeptical until you hear something from one of the parties that matter. But Balague knows his stuff, so these rumors may have some foundation after all.
Manchester City have sent representatives to Italy to try and sign AC Milan star Kaka. (Daily Express)
Analysis: I’m not one to say never, but while AC Milan might have no problem agreeing a fee with City, it might be another thing to convince Kaka to move.
Nicolas Anelka being unhappy isn’t that much of a surprise, but him being linked with Tottenham? Well, as surprising as it is, he is. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: As unhappy as he might be at Chelsea, I don’t think he’d want to trade that for Tottenham in their current state.
Harry Redknapp is prepared to offer Jermaine Jenas to Wigan in an attempt to sweeten their offer for Wilson Palacios. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Called it yesterday.
Redknapp also wants to sell Gareth Bale, but club chairman Daniel Levy wants Bale to stay. (The Mirror)
Analysis: It’s safe to say that next season’s Tottenham squad will look very little like this season’s, but the sooner those changes are made, the better it is for Redknapp’s chances to get Tottenham to where they can be.
West Brom’s Roman Bednar has emerged as a surprise target for Tottenham, though the Baggies are trying to distance themselves from such reports. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Bednar’s not a flashy option, but with the list of available and inexpensive Premier League strikers quite thin, he is realistic, and he does have a decent scoring record this season (6 goals in 21 appearances).
Stoke City have beefed up their front line with the £3.75m signing of James Beattie from Sheffield United. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: It was a must for Stoke to add some firepower if they want to fend off relegation, and hopefully Beattie will show at least part of earned him a reputation as one of the Premier League’s best strikers only a few short years ago.
Italy
Juventus representatives are set to meet with Werder Bremen next week in order to try to hammer out a summer deal for playmaker Diego. (Goal.com)
Analysis: I think Juventus will get their man eventually, and he’ll be worth every penny, even if he does at the price that they don’t want to pay.
AC Milan could be set to loan out newly-signed defender Thiago Silva to Genoa until the end of the season, with Genoa’s Giuseppe Biava moving to the San Siro in a similar deal. (Tribalfootball)
Analysis: AC Milan are dealing with severe injury issues in defense, but with their quota of non-EU players having already been met, this is a necessary move. It’ll also be helpful for Silva, as he’ll get some good first-team experience in this season.
Germany
Wolfsburg manager Felix Magath has no interest in selling star striker Edin Dzeko to Portsmouth, and says that the 22-year-old Bosnian would have no interest in such a move. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: With his talents, it’s only a matter of time before he ends up making a move from Wolfsburg to a top club, but I don’t think he’d want to swap his current situation for a relegation battle.
France
Monaco are set to make a new offer for Juventus midfielder Tiago in the hopes that they’ll finally land the former Chelsea and Lyon man. (Tribalfootball)
Analysis: It shouldn’t be a problem to agree a deal with Juventus, but as for the player? Well, Juve might not want to even start negotiations if they don’t want a repeat of this. I hope he had some reading material while he was in there.
If you have a juicy rumor that you think we may have missed, post it in the comments along with the link to the source, if possible.
And if you want to keep up with all of the latest January 2009 transfers, check out our updated transfer lists.
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