Transfer Round-up: Arsenal target Villa, Lampard to quit Chelsea and 20 top headlines

January 6, 2013 By Samrin Hasib

The winter transfer window is providing the football world with plenty of entertainment. Let us take a look at some of the deals and some of the rumors.

1. Will Barcelona bid for Cortouis?

Alexis Sanchez has been linked with a move away from the Nou Camp to Italian champions Juventus. Thibaut Cortouis, currently on loan to Atletico Madrid from Chelsea, has seemingly emerged as a Barcelona target. Barcelona is apparently also interested in Adel Taarabt of QPR.

2. Bayern signs Jan Kirchhoff

Bayern Munich sometimes breaks transfer records to bring in players but otherwise spends wisely. They decided to bring in 22 year old defender Jan Kirchhoff from Mainz in the summer for free. Also, they have sent talented youngster Mitchell Weiser on loan to 2.Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern.

3. Is Real Madrid set to bid for David De Gea?

Recent rumours suggest that Real Madrid is prepared to let go of the talented Portuguese Fabio Coentrao in this transfer window. Chelsea is reportedly interested as Ashley Cole is nearing the end of his contract. Madrid is set to be in the market for Manchester United keeper David De Gea as well in a rather surprising rumor.

4. Manchester United is set to purchase Wilfried Zaha

Sir Alex Ferguson is set to launch a roughly ten million euro bid for Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace. The club has declared that Nani will not be let go this winter despite Arsenal’s interest in him. Angelo Henriquez has been sent out on loan by Sir Alex to Wigan Athletic to gain valuable experience. Ashley Cole could move to Old Trafford if he does not pen a new deal for Chelsea.

5. Arsenal is ready to bring in David Villa

David Villa is said to want to leave Barcelona. Arsenal seems to be the frontrunners to earn his signature even though Tottenham Hotspur has entered the race for him. Arsenal has been heavily linked with Adrian Lopez of Atletico Madrid as well. Johan Djorou and Marouane Chamakh have been sent out on loan to Hannover 96 and West Ham United respectively.

6. AC Milan sends Pato off

Alexandre Pato has had some memorable times at the San Siro. However, he has decided to let his body heal and has set off for his homeland. Club World Cup Champions Corinthians has signed him for 15 million euros. Milan could be set to part with Robinho too; Robinho is said to be wanted by Santos. Milan is also interested in Didier Drogba according to recent rumours.

7. Inter Milan picks up Rocchi

Tommaso Rocchi has moved from Lazio to Inter Milan in a somewhat surprising deal. He is 35 years of age currently. Meanwhile, Sunderland is set to bid for Joel Obi, whose current season at Inter has been blighted by injuries.

8. Chelsea signs Demba Ba

Demba Ba struck twice on his Chelsea debut in the FA Cup. Chelsea has seemingly found a striker good enough to step into Didier Drogba’s gigantic shows in this transfer window. Chelsea is said to be monitoring Marquinhos of Roma and Benat Etxebarria of Real Betis.

9. Liverpool signs Daniel Sturridge

The talented Chelsea star has made the move from London to Merseyside in a bid to play regularly. Liverpool’s loan target Kevin Gameiro is happy enough at PSG it seems. Liverpool could also sign Eduardo Vargas; they are reportedly interested in the Napoli forward who could be leaving Italy this month. Nuri Sahin might cut his year-long loan spell short to move to Inter.

10. PSG buys Lucas Mourra

Theo Walcott is a reported target for the French side. They are willing to outbid English clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City for him. Lucas Mourra meanwhile has been bought by the rich French side from Sao Paulo for 40 million euros.

11. Manchester City is set to bring in Japanese star

Japanese star, Hideki Ishige, has been offered a trial at City with an option for a permanent deal as well. Nicholas N’Koulou of Marseille is also being monitored by City. Neven Subotic and Mats Hummels are two players the club apparently wants but are unlikely to get as both the central defenders are settled comfortably at Dortmund and seemingly have no plans to leave.

12. Juventus brings in Peluso

Juventus has brought in Federico Peluso on loan from Atalanta with an option for a permanent deal in the summer. Riccardo Mattelli has returned to Foligno from Juventus. The Italian champions, aside from opening negotiations for Llorente, is said to be interested in the bullish Didier Drogba as well.

13. Dortmund signs Sarr

German youngster Marian Sarr has signed for Dortmund. Bayer Leverkusen’s Wolfgang Holzhauser was not at all happy to let the 17 year old escape from Bayer's hands. Dortmund has indirectly mentioned that the door is still open for former midfielder Nuri Sahin. Otherwise, Dortmund has remained true to their recent nature of spending according to their means.

14. Is Lampard going to quit Chelsea?

Frank Lampard’s contract at Chelsea runs out soon. Rumours have emerged that Manchester United could add him to their ranks if Chelsea fails to put out a new contract for the Englishman. Lampard has put in some good performances for Chelsea this season; his advancing years could be one reason why Chelsea might let him go despite those performances.

15. Giuseppe Rossi goes home

The talented attacker has decided to leave second division Spanish side Villarreal for an adventure in his homeland, Italy. Buying Rossi is certainly a gamble as he is still recovering from injury. He tore his ACL in 2011. After a surgery to repair it, he tore the same ACL again and had it repaired in April 2012. He is set to return to the pitch in March.

16. Is Mario Balotelli set to return to Milan?

Roberto Mancini’s argument with Mario Balotelli has seemingly signaled the end for Balotelli in Manchester. The talented but provocative player is said to be on his way to possibly AC Milan. He already had a spell in Milan for Inter of-course. If Balotelli moves, we can expect more drama, especially in the Milan derbies he will feature in.

17. Holtby chooses Spurs

Lewis Holtby, the German international with an English father, has decided to complete a dream move to the Premier League in the summer after his contract with Schalke expires. The young midfield is not the best playmaker the German game has to offer. However, he is certainly amongst the best. He has chosen Tottenham Hotspur ahead of other interested parties such as Liverpool.

18. Will Sneijder head to Liverpool?

Liverpool has a reportedly submitted a mediocre bid (11.7 million euros) for Wesley Sneijder to Inter Milan. Sneijder, once the heartbeat of a treble winning Inter side has since fallen dramatically from grace. Inter could be willing to let go of the troublesome Dutch international soon.

19. Where is Fernando Llorente headed?

The English Premier League, especially Arsenal, had seemed to be Fernando Llorente’s destination a few months ago. However, it seems that he is headed to Juventus. Llorente would undoubtedly be an excellent addition to a Juve squad challenging for multiple honors.

20. Will PSG bid for Cristiano Ronaldo?

PSG is set to bid for Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer surprisingly. They might even bring in Jose Mourinho according to recent rumors! Carlo Ancelotti, despite doing very well, might not have a future at the club. Also, Ronaldo was rumored to be unhappy at Real earlier in the season and might welcome a move to France.