With more moves planned in the January window, JOE wraps up all the talk, rumours, whispers and chat about who will stay and who will go.
By Adrian Collins
Reports state that Liverpool have finalised their deal for Philippe Coutinho, the young Brazilian winger, from Inter Milan. The deal is rumoured to be in the region of £8.5 million, and may mean the end of their pursuit of Tom Ince.
With Daniel Sturridge already in, Brendan Rodgers might be finished buying during this window, but Liverpool still have a few weaknesses in squad depth that he might yet wish to address.
Cronithians, current world club champions, have been quick to quash speculation linking their talented midfielder Paulinho to Chelsea, or Inter Milan. If the Blues want to get their hands on him, they may have to fork over upwards of £15 million, as the Brazilians look to hang on to their player. Although if they’re hoping to dissuade Roman Abramovich from throwing money at them, they may want to add a one and two zeroes to that figure.
French club St. Etienne confirmed that they have rejected a bid for striker Pierre Aubameyang from…any guesses? That’s right, Newcastle. No information on whether they’re lining up an improved offer, but the Gabon striker spoke out in the summer saying he wanted to leave, so they may continue their chase.
Leeds striker Becchio is still in limbo after handing in his transfer request. Leeds have rejected one bid, and there is reportedly no solid interest from Turkey, so a move to the Premier League may yet still be possible, but no concrete links have been made yet. This one will probably rumble on to the last day of the window we imagine.
Peter Odemwingie was pretty active on Twitter yesterday, talking about how he wanted to leave West Brom, and also how he was going to have a Guinness. Good man Pete! He claims he wants to leave West Brom because they didn’t believe in his commitment, but tellingly, he also tweeted a Russian joke: “Happiness is not in money, but in the amount”. We wonder which one of these is the real reason then…
Wigan’s Mauro Boselli will leave the club to join Italian side Palermo on loan, after he couldn’t nail down a starting place in Martinez’s side. Also, the Argentine didn’t score any goals.
Fulham were looking to get Roma’s Martin Stekelenburg in, but they might lose out to Real Madrid, who will be without Iker Casillas for around two months after injuring himself in the Copa del Rey earlier this week.
