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Will Jose Mourinho move back to Real Madrid!?The winter window gets closer with each passing day and the transfer rumour mill is starting to pick up steam. There has been a buzz around many players and clubs, some needing reinforcements, others seeking moves away from their respective clubs for more than a single reason. Nonetheless, the January window is poised to give us some interesting news.Here are the top transfer news and rumours of the day from leagues around Europe.
#1 Serie A
- Juventus striker Alvaro Morata has signed a contract extension with the club which means he will stay at the club till 2020. The Spaniard had initially fallen down the pecking order at Juventus after the signings of Mario Mandzukic and Paolo Dybala in the summer transfer window and was rumoured to be heading back to Real Madrid.
- Inter Milan and Juventus have emerged as possible destinations for the out of favour PSG winger Ezequiel Lavezzi, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports. The Argentine’s agent Alejandro Mazzoni said that his client wants a move to Italy and a contract renewal with PSG is improbable.
“Pocho really likes Italy, it would be his ideal destination,” said Mazzoni. “Right now a contract renewal [at PSG] is unlikely, but in football you never know.”
- Roma full-back Ashley Cole has emerged as a target for Aston Villa and the club’s manager Remi Garde has accepted that they are looking to bring the former Arsenal and Chelsea man to the Villa Park in the January transfer window.
“Every good player is interesting for me and Ashley is a good player,” Garde said. “He is someone who has experience, but he didn't play for a while now. Experience is also something we need.
“I will speak soon with the club and I'm already working on the January window. We know what we want to do.”
#2 La Liga
- Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is plotting a sensational move to bring Jose Mourinho back to the Santiago Bernabeu, The Sun reports.
Madrid have not had a pleasant few months under Rafa Benitez and, on the other hand, Jose Mourinho’s career at the Stamford Bridge has been hanging by a thread with the defending champions languishing in 14th place in the league table.
According to reports, Perez still considers the Portuguese as the best manager in the world and might be tempted to reinstate him as club’s manager if Benitez fails to turn the tides in Madrid’s favour.
- Barcelona are tracking the situation of on-loan Chelsea winger Juan Cuadrado, Tuttomercato reports. The Colombian is currently on-loan at Juventus, and the Turin-based club also wanting to sign him on a permanent deal.
However, with reports emerging that Luis Enrique is interested in the 27-year old, the Bianconeri might want to move fast and seal a permanent deal for the ex-Fiorentina winger.
- Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has kept his options open if he decides to move on from the Bernabeu in the future. In an interview, the Portuguese made it clear that he can move to any of the leagues as there is no certainty in the game of football.
“Everything is open, all leagues. I may end my career here with Real Madrid. I'm just being honest. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. If I was 75 percent certain, I would say so, it wouldn't be a problem. But I have no idea.”
Ronaldo has been repeatedly linked with Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain in the past few weeks.
#3 English Premier League
- On-loan Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj has said that he is unsure whether he still has a future with the English club. The Belgian was sent to Borussia Dortmund on loan to gain some important playing time but has not started a single Bundesliga match for the BVB.
“I don’t know. I wanted to join somewhere I could play and there were a few things behind that were a problem but I’m happy here. I just need more games to play and then I’ll be fine,” he said.
- Arsene Wenger has denied the rumours linking Southampton’s Victor Wanyama with Arsenal, Sky Sports reports.
“I rate the player, but we are not on the case,” he said. “We will be out there and see what we can do. But at the moment, we have the whole of December to go and we are in a good position in the Premier League.”
- Manchester United are reportedly chasing Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Neymar, according to The Times.
According to the report, the players might not want to make a move to the Manchester-based club as the chances of winning the Ballon d’Or can reduce significantly given the physicality of the Premier League, where scoring 40 goals a season can be very difficult. However, the Red Devils want to pursue as many ‘elite players’ as possible.
#4 Rest of Europe
- Galatasaray midfielder Kevin Grosskreutz has cut short his spell with the Turkish club and has returned to Germany. The ex-Dortmund player has been linked with a January move to Liverpool where he could reunite with Jurgen Klopp who managed him at Borussia Dortmund.
“I underestimated everything,” Grosskreutz told Bild. “In retrospect, I have come to appreciate many things that I took for granted in the past."
- Carlo Ancelotti is close to a move to Zenit St. Petersburg, La Gazzetta dello Sport has reported.
The reports of the Italian joining the Russian powerhouse was published in Russian newspaper Izvestia and it also mentions that the former Real Madrid coach will earn around €16 million on a yearly basis. The deal is reported to be for three years and he could replace Andre Villas-Boas when this season ends.
- Marseille is plotting a deal to bring out-of-favour Chelsea defender Papy Djilobodji to the club on loan, Sportsmole reports.
The 27-year-old joined the EPL champions in the summer window but is yet to feature in the Premier League this term and, as a result, he might be open for a move back to Ligue 1.
