FOOTBALL RUMOURS: Manchester City eye Isco, Van Gaal’s way out, Cavani for Arsenal, Spurs line up striker

With the latest transfer window set to open on Friday, football’s gossip grapevine is working overtime. Here is a round-up of today’s hottest rumours, spread by the national and international media:
ALL the latest football rumours as the new transfer window looms.ALL the latest football rumours as the new transfer window looms.
ALL the latest football rumours as the new transfer window looms.

Champions Manchester City are eyeing Read Madrid’s 23-year-old midfielder Isco in a bid to bolster their squad in the race for the title. City’s chief executive Ferran Soriano has been in Spain for talks (Spanish media).

Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal has been offered a way out of his turbulent spell at Old Trafford. One of his closest friends in the game, Holland manager Danny Blind, has raised the idea of Van Gaal becoming the nation’s technical director (i paper)

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Arsenal are keen to strengthen their striking options in the second half of the campaign. A massive £47 million bid for PSG star Edinson Cavani is being considered, or they could grab ex-Manchester United goalscorer Javier Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen in Germany (The Guardian).

With the future of midfielder Cesc Fabregas uncertain, Chelsea have made another enquiry about brilliant 22-year-old Juventus star Paul Pogba. Fabregas could make a switch to Juve or Inter Milan (Italian media).

As they enter the title race, Tottenham are set to step up their chase for unsettled West Brom striker Saido Berahino. To tempt the Baggies into letting the 22-year-old go, they are prepared to offer England winger Andros Townsend in a swap deal (The Times).

However, Townsend is also a target for several other clubs, most notably Sunderland, but also Watford, Aston Villa and Newcastle. Spurs are said to value him at £14 million, while Sunderland have promised to significantly increase his £40,000-a-week salary if he moves to the Stadium Of Light (Daily Mirror and i paper).

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Tottenham are also interested in Barcelona youngster Sandro Ramirez. The 20-year-old’s appearances have been limited this term, but he did score a hat-trick in a 6-1 win earlier this month. Reluctant to sell, Barca see him as valuable cover for Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez (TalkSport).

Former Nottingham Forest striker Patrick Bamford is wanted by Swansea City after cutting short his loan spell from Chelsea to Crystal Palace. Bamford, 22, is happy to go out on loan again, but wants to remain in the Premier League, with Bournemouth and Norwich City also sniffing round. Meanwhile Swansea are set to offload French striker Bafetimbi Gomis, 30, to Qatar for £6.5 million (Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Times).

Crystal Palace have targeted at least two major signings during the January transfer window. Strikers Loic Remy, 28, of Chelsea, and QPR’s Charlie Austin, 26, are on their wanted list, along with 24-year-old QPR defender Steven Caulker, who is currently on loan at Southampton (The Sun).

Fed-up with his side’s inability to defend set-pieces, manager Sam Allardyce wants to boost Sunderland’s chances of staying up by landing giant centre-back Jan Kirchhoff, 25, from Bayern Munich (Daily Mail).

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England Under-20s’ captain Ben Chilwell is on the radar of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. A £4 million bid is being prepared for Leicester City left-back Chilwell, who is currently on loan at Huddersfield Town (Daily Telegraph).

The sensational form of Watford’s Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo has caught the eye of La Liga giants, Atletico Madrid. But the Hornets are determined not to sell him (i paper).

Newcastle United are considering a £10 million swoop for CSKA Moscow’s 25-year-old playmaker Alan Dzagoev, a Russian international (Daily Mirror).