Check here throughout the day, as we’ll be following the moving targets that are January’s transfer rumors.
6:30 p.m.: That’s all for Jan. 14. We’ll continue our roundup on Jan. 15, so make sure to check NESN.com for the latest transfer news and rumors.
6:30 p.m.: The Mirror has added a bit of meat to the Remy story. Financial concerns and flexibility could be among the deciding factors that should see him head to QPR instead of Newcastle.
“Rangers, the Premier League’s bottom club and staring at relegation back to the Championship after two top-flight seasons, have offered Remy a salary of £70,000 a week — much more than Newcastle put on the table,” the report says.
“Crucially, the Londoners are also willing to give the France international a get-out clause to be activated if they are relegated.”
Remy’s transfer could be finalized as early as Tuesday. The player is in England speaking to both clubs.
4:50 p.m.: Loic Remy is set to sensationally turn down Newcastle in favor of a move to QPR, Sky Sports reports.
The Marseille striker and France international was supposed to travel to Newcastle to conclude a £8.3 million ($13.4 million) transfer Monday, but he has begun negotiating with QPR and will undergo a physical examination on Tuesday instead.
Central to the hijacking of Remy’s transfer was QPR manager Harry Redknapp. Remy was close to joining Tottenham last season when Redknapp was managing the club, but a move fell through.
Tottenham fired Redknapp last summer, and he was out of work for much of the season. He took over at QPR in late November, to help the club pull off one of the all-time great escapes (from relegation). He has some money to spend in January and a list of contacts; Remy was one of them.
Redknapp recently spoke of his personal connection with Remy.
“I was hoping for a meeting with him to encourage him to come,” Redknapp said last weekend. “I think he felt embarrassed coming to see me to say he wasn’t interested in coming to QPR.”
Things can change quickly in the transfer game. If we didn’t know it before, Remy’s transfer teaches us just that.
4:05 p.m.: AC Milan and Juventus are two of Italy’s biggest clubs, but don’t expect either of them to make a splash in the January transfer market. Football Italia reports neither club will spend big or sign big names in the coming weeks.
Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said his club doesn’t need Mario Balotelli because there are already enough forwards on its books (and Robinho’s proposed move to Santos collapsed).
If Milan buys in January, it will be an emerging youngster.
“We have decided to target emerging youngsters,” Galliani said. “We’ve explained that to the fans and I think they understand. We’re investing in young players this January too and we are convinced that we’ll achieve great results.”
We should believe Galliani, as Milan is transforming itself during Serie A’s age of austerity.
Juventus has been linked with Didier Drogba, Fernando Llorente and just about every other top-class striker out there.
Juve’s director general Beppe Marotta says the club will not add any “important names” this month.
“The transfer window will close without any major signings,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “The January market is not offering important names for Juventus. We are looking around, evaluating, but in the meantime we want to recover those players who are absent with injury or participating at the African Cup of Nations.”
Juve and Milan are the two most likely Italian clubs to spend big money in January. One won’t do it because it can’t afford Balotelli. The other won’t because it hasn’t identified any available players that would make it better.
Transfer junkies are the ones who will suffer the most from this news.
4 p.m.: Rumored Arsenal target Lucas Biglia is attracting interest from the far corners of the earth, but his agent says he’d prefer to join a club in England or Italy, according to Football Italia.
“Given his valuation at the moment, he could be bought by Chinese or Russian clubs,” Enzo Montepaone reportedly told La Derniere Heure. “But he does not want to go to either of those places. Italy or England would be his preferred destinations.”
The Anderlecht midfielder could be had for £8 million ($12.9 million).
3:40 p.m.: Inter wants Wesley Sneijder to make up his mind. The Dutch playmaker has an offer from Turkish club Galatasaray, and both it and Inter have given him deadlines, which have already come and gone.
Inter president Massimo Moratti told Sneijder that it would be “professional” (read: in Inter’s best interests) for him to decide his future by the end of the day Monday, but the attacking midfielder will wait and see what options come his way before the end of the month, according to the Mirror.
3:30 p.m.: Chelsea and Tottenham target Willian returned to his native Brazil on vacation during Ukraine’s Premier Liga’s winter break.
The Shaktar Donetsk star didn’t return in time for the start of his club’s training camp, and head coach Mircea Lucescu thinks it’s because he’s wants to force a move to a Premier League club.
Lucescu branded Willian’s actions as “unprofessional” and blamed them on the 24-year-old’s advisers.
Shaktar faces Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League’s Round-of-16 next month. It only makes sense that Willian would want to participate in that stage of the competition, right?
3:15 p.m.: We’ll stay in Newcastle for the next one.
Hatem Ben Arfa would consider a move to PSG, the Mail reports. The talented but injury-prone forward said moving to the French club would fulfill a “childhood dream.”
We wonder what fans at his former clubs, Lyon and Marseille, think about his words.
He adds that he would only move after he’s “saved” Newcastle from relegation.
3:05 p.m.: Still reeling from the sale of Demba Ba, Newcastle is looking to sign Loic Remy from France’s Olympique Marseille within a day or two, according to the Mail.
The two clubs have agreed to a £9 million ($14.5 million) fee. Newcastle and Remy are engaged in contract negotiations.
The 26-year-old’s move to Newcastle looks to be a done deal. Our favorite philosopher-player, Joey Barton, spilled the beans on Twitter.
Good luck to Loic in Newcastle. Don’t worry i’ve told him what to expect. Great guy. Perfect club for him. #toonarmy
— Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) January 13, 2013
Remy was a key figure during his first two seasons at Marseille, but he’s fallen out of favor under new manager Elie Bop.
Also, Queens Park Rangers are still looking to hijack Remy’s move to Newcastle.
3 p.m.: Radamel Falcao, one of the world’s best and most in-demand strikers, professed his admiration for PSG and its Swedish superstar Zalatan Ibrahimovic, the Mail reports.
“France is a marvellous country,” he told Telefoot. “I’ve been there before, and I love it. PSG have a very ambitious sporting project and they’ve invested a huge amount of money to construct a competitive team. That will need time, but that could come very quickly.
“It’s not impossible that I could be meeting [the French media] very soon.”
Falcao has been linked with Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea in recent months. Let’s add PSG to the list of suitors, as the French club is one of the few that can pay his reported £50 million ($80.4 million) transfer fee.
If Falcao goes to PSG, he would bring his lethal finishing and winner’s mentality to a club that has dreams of dominating European soccer and the financial muscle to turn that into a reality.
1 p.m. ET: We’ll start with a rumor that isn’t necessarily a January rumor, but it’s a hot one nonetheless. After revealing his “sadness” in September, Cristiano Ronaldo and his situation at Real Madrid have dominated headlines for most of the season.
It is thought that Paris Saint Germain (PSG) is preparing an offer for the Portuguese superstar. Leonardo, the sporting director at the French club, alluded to it last week saying his was one of only four or five clubs that could afford Ronaldo’s transfer fee and wages.
Ronaldo has also been linked with a return to Manchester United, the club he left in 2009 for a record £80 million ($131.6 million) fee.
Ronaldo reportedly rejected a contract extension offer from Real Madrid in December, signalling his intention to leave the club where he feels unloved.
Last week, Ronaldo said he wants to stay with the Spanish club a little longer. He told FIFA.com, “I want to see out my contract at Real Madrid; I’m very clear about that. After that, well, I don’t know what’ll happen in the future.”
This could be a political answer (i.e. lip service) or something else. It certainly contradicts most of the reports we’ve seen concerning his future. He won’t be leaving in January, but there’s a good chance Real Madrid will sell him in the summer, and he won’t be too unhappy about it.
Click here for transfer rumors from Jan. 10>>
Click here for transfer rumors from Jan. 9>>
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