Monday’s Rumours kick off with quite the doozie, with The Telegraph reporting Napoli have set their hearts on an audacious summer swoop for Kieran Tierney. A standout performer for Arsenal even during their most abysmal spell of form this season, the left-back looks certain Future Captain Material and one suspects that if the Italian side get their way, Gunners fans might storm the Emirates in protest and raze it to the ground. This is not the first time Napoli have shown interest in the left-back, having been beaten to his scrawl when he moved “down the road” to London from his boyhood club Celtic.
In news more likely to meet with the approval ofArsenal fans, Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu are reported to be interested in acquiring Emi Buendía from Norwich City, but will have to fend off interest from Valencia in the £40m-rated Argentinian midfielder. Guardian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claims the Premier League side have already been in contact with the player’s representative and an official bid is in the pipeline.
Brendan Rodgers has no plans to bring in any new recruits during the January window unless his hand is forced by injuries, but the Leicester City manager is prepared to let Hamza Choudhury, Demarai Gray and Islam Slimani leave the club. West Brom are in the box-seat to sign midfield enforcer Choudhury, while Southampton are interested in adding Gray to their coterie of wingers. According to the Leicester Mercury, Lyon have agreed personal terms with Slimani and will either pay a fee for the striker in the current window or bide their time and take him on a free in June.
In news that will come as music to the ears of Liverpool and Manchester United, Bild report that RB’s Leipzig chief executive, Oliver Mintzlaff, has said the club could be receptive to offers for their 23-year-old central defender Dayot Upamecano. Liverpool are also reported to be interested in Bayern Munich’s Austrian utility man David Alaba, but may be put off by the £10m salary demands of a player who is believed to have his heart set on a move to Real Madrid.
Following his side’s win over Morecambe in the FA Cup on Sunday, Frank Lampard announced that central defender Fikayo Tomori will probably be allowed to leave the club on loan in the current transfer window. The 23-year-old is the subject of firm interest at Newcastle, where Steve Bruce is also hopeful of bringing in Manchester United full-back Brandon Williams for the rest of the season.
With his client out of contract this summer despite his importance to the Manchester City cause, Fernandinho’s agent has been discussing his client’s future with Brazilian TV station Globo Esporte. Giovanni Branchini claims the central midfielder could return to his former club Athletico Paranaense when his current deal expires but also flagged up interest from various other unspecified Brazilian and European clubs.
Out of favour at Manchester United and in need of a career reboot, Jesse Lingard could be offered a fresh start by Inter, but only if the Italian side can rehome Christian Eriksen first. Having singularly failed to impress since moving from White Hart Lane to the San Siro, the Danish playmaker has been linked with a surprise return to Tottenham Hotspur if Dele Alli moves to Paris Saint-Germain. However, with Eriksen’s representatives alleged to be in dispute with Spurs over a commission they believe they are owed in the wake of his move to Italy, the prospect of him moving to Wolves, West Ham or his former club Ajax seems more likely.