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January BBC Gossip Column Debunked – Issue 4

Time for the fourth serving of January transfer gossip to debunked as I once again sift through all the news on the back pages and try to make sense of who may be on the move in the next few days and weeks. I hope you are hungry because here is Thursday’s serving of rumours

As always – gossip in plain text, may views in bold

Manchester United fear manager Jose Mourinho could resign at the end of the season. (Daily Mail) Maybe we are seeing the Mourinho boom/bust cycle end a year early than it usually does. It is the third year when things tend to go wrong, perhaps the not so special one will not even get that far.

Mourinho is hoping to persuade the Manchester United board to table a £50m bid for Tottenham left-back Danny Rose, 27. (S*n) Conflicting stories then, hardly going to convince him to join if he is planning to depart himself.

Inter Milan are keen on signing Man Utd midfielder Juan Mata, 29, who is out of contract in the summer. (Mirror) Maybe this is another deal that hinges on the future of Mourinho more than it does Juan Mata.

Liverpool are due to hold discussions on Thursday over Philippe Coutinho’s long-awaited transfer to Barcelona, with the 25-year-old’s fee expected to be around 150m euros. (Yahoo) Surely they would be better holding off on any sale until January

The Reds have identified £90m-rated Monaco midfielder Thomas Lemar, 22, as the man they want to replace Coutinho. (Mirror) That is unless they can get a ready made replacement. Bit of a risky strategy though

Tottenham are ready to make Harry Kane, 24, the highest-paid English player in the Premier League by offering him £200,000 a week. (Daily Mail) Give the man whatever he wants

Bayern Munich have confirmed their interest in the Schalke midfielder Leon Goretzka, 22, who previously attracted interest from Liverpool. (Guardian) German press were saying that he had already signed the other day, so they have perhaps jumped the gun here.

Midfielder Emre Can, 23, will not leave Liverpool in January and is in talks over a new deal, despite interest from Juventus. (Sky Germany) I’d be surprised if Liverpool let him slip through their fingers as these contract talks continue to drag on.

Premier League leaders Manchester City are also interested in 24-year-old Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti. (L’Equipe – in French) I don’t think Barcelona will be keen to do any business with Manchester City

Forward Sergio Aguero, 29, insists he wants to stay at Manchester City until his contract expires in 2020 – but says the club will make the decision on his future. (Talksport) If anyone is going to make way for Alexis Sanchez you get the feeling that it would be Sergio Aguero.

Championship leaders Wolves are hoping to re-sign 37-year-old striker Robbie Keane. The former Republic of Ireland international made his professional debut for his club in 1997. (Mirror) Supported Wolves since he was a lad….

Juventus are determined to keep winger Alex Sandro, 26, after interest from both Manchester United and Chelsea. (Independent) The rumour with Chelsea refuses to go away while perhaps United are looking at alternatives to Danny Rose

Southampton are favourites to re-sign Theo Walcott, 28, if the winger leaves Arsenal during the transfer window. (Sky Sports) Mentioned earlier in the week that it could either be a loan move or permanent deal

But West Ham, Everton and Newcastle have also been linked with Walcott, who has not started a league game for Arsenal this season. (Daily Express) Also mentioned that Southampton are not the only team in the hunt for the England winger.

West Brom want Jonny Evans, 30, to commit to a new contract but Manchester United have joined Manchester City in the race for their former defender and are prepared to make a £20m bid. (Mirror) Alan Pardew was intimating the other day that he would be sold to reinforce other departments, so not sure how much truth there is here.

Crystal Palace are speaking to Lille about a deal for their versatile defender Ibrahim Amadou, 24, who is priced at £16m. (Daily Mail) Amadou dou dou, push pineapple, shake the tree

Sunderland midfielder Didier Ndong, 23, is Watford’s prime target in January, while manager Marco Silva also wants loan deals for Leicester striker Islam Slimani, 29, and Liverpool outcast Lazar Markovic, 23. (Daily Star) Watford have gone off the rails since Marco Silva’s flirting with Everton, can this get them back on track?

Southampton have promised manager Mauricio Pellegrino money to improve his squad this month. (Times – subscription required) He has got £67.5m at his disposal so it would be a bit harsh if they did not give him any of the money.

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