TRANSFER LATEST
- Real and Atletico given FIFA transfer bans | De Gea bid
- Arsenal confirm Elneny deal | Arsenal target Nigerian duo
- Lacazette: Prem 'very attractive' | Cavani unsettled?
- Donnarumma won't join Man United | Milan plan changes
- Chelsea, Inter in Lavezzi race - agent | Hiddink on Falcao
- Rumour Rater: Juventus star Pogba to join Real Madrid?
- FC TV: Who should replace Mignolet? | Pogba in La Liga hint
- LIVE: Transfer Talk | Done deals | ENG | SPA | GER |ITA | FRA
- Arsenal confirm Elneny deal | Arsenal target Nigerian duo
- Lacazette: Prem 'very attractive' | Cavani unsettled?
- Donnarumma won't join Man United | Milan plan changes
- Chelsea, Inter in Lavezzi race - agent | Hiddink on Falcao
- Rumour Rater: Juventus star Pogba to join Real Madrid?
- FC TV: Who should replace Mignolet? | Pogba in La Liga hint
- LIVE: Transfer Talk | Done deals | ENG | SPA | GER |ITA | FRA
PAPER ROUND
Rodriguez to United, revisited
It's not the first time in this transfer window that Manchester United have been linked with Real Madrid star James Rodriguez but things could now be getting more serious, the Sun reports.
It claims the Colombia star, who has struggled for playing time at the Bernabeu this season and been named in reports in Spain as a player who could be on his way as new manager Zinedine Zidane looks to reshuffle his squad, is again on the occasionally bored Louis van Gaal's radar.
United broke the British transfer record when they signed Angel Di Maria from Real (a move that, as it turned out, didn't work out so well) -- and they will have to shell out even more than the near £60m they paid for him if they are to land Rodriguez, the report says.
Liverpool 'weighing up Williams bid'
No matter how much Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp tries to suggest he's not really in the market for all that much this month, those Anfield-related rumours keep on coming.
Here's another one: The Merseysiders are running the rule over Athletic Bilbao forwardInaki Williams, according to the Mirror, with Klopp facing a busy spell of fixtures minus the services of the injured Daniel Sturridge, Danny Ings and Divock Origi.
So what do we know about Williams? Well, he's a Spain Under-21 international with a frankly frightening turn of pace, and has scored 10 times in 21 outings this season. Although he is under contract until 2017, that deal has a buyout clause of a shade over £15m.
But hold on, says the Mirror -- Bilbao are keen to tie the 21-year-old to a new contract with an even bigger buyout clause, meaning there would be no time like the present if Liverpool are going to make a move.
And hold on some more -- Williams is also interesting north London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal, so the Reds might not have things all their own way.
Stones 'stronger for Stamford Bridge saga'
Everton defender John Stones loomed large in the summer transfer window, with Chelsea having multiple bids turned down as Goodison Park supremo Bill Kenwright put his foot down and insisted the England man was staying put.
Another transfer window has seen another slew of Stones stories, with both Chelsea and Real Madrid linked, but manager Roberto Martinez believes last summer's saga has done the player plenty of good.
How so? Well, the Guardian quotes Martinez as saying he believes Stones has become a better player and person since then, explaining: "You need to understand that the human side of a footballer gets heavily tested in that period. You get a lot of influences, some influences were wrong from the outside, and they affect you. Psychologically, he has become a man in a very short period of time."
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TAP-INS:
- Former Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor, now a free agent, has been linked with more than a few clubs, most recently Watford.Crystal Palace are the latest names in the frame,and could try to tempt Adebayor to return to London.
With the Eagles suffering a four-game run without a goal, could he be the man to get them firing in front of goal again?
Alan Pardew has given that possibility plenty of thought and has said: "Adebayor is a player who is there for somebody, and it is a question of ourselves wondering whether we are the right club for him and is he the right player for us."
- More striker-related news, with the Mirrorsaying Southampton had better get a move on if they want to keep Graziano Pelle, who joined them from Fiorentina last summer.
It says talks over a new deal for the Italian, in the final 18 months of his current contract, have been delayed -- and that could encourage both Juventus and Fiorentina, who have been monitoring his situation.
But it quotes manager Ronald Koeman as saying: "Graziano's situation is different to other players because he will be 32 this year, and that is difficult. It is too early to conclude about his future. Maybe that will happen in the summer, maybe after."
- And yet more -- Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford could now be heading to another London club on a temporary deal after cutting short a loan at Palace, says the Daily Mail.
Which club might that be? The Mail claims it's Queens Park Rangers, whose season has so far failed to take off as hoped since the appointment of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as manager.
Bamford shone on loan for last season's beaten Championship playoff finalists Middlesbrough, and Rangers hope he can replicate that sort of sparkle at Loftus Road.