Transfer rumors galore, but which ones are the most credible? – essentiallysports.com

With the 2016-17 season coming to a close, teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have live up to expectations from the start of the season while teams like Manchester United and Chelsea have performed otherwise. Regardless of performance on the pitch, every club looks to reshuffle their squad at the end of each season, either to keep the winning momentum going or to ensure that the next season is much better than the previous one. As the current season near its end, there are a lot of transfer rumours doing the rounds. Here’s a list of transfers that aren’t mere speculations, but have credibility due to certain sources and facts:

Marco Verratti to FC Barcelona:

With Andrés Iniesta nearing the end of his career, FC Barcelona, known as the midfield kings for the last decade or so, face a monumental task of filling up the huge void that would be left by his departure. They have identified Paris Saint-Germain’s central midfielder, Marco Verratti as the man to fill that void, according to reports. The 24-year-old Italian is widely considered among the best in his positions and is the subject of interest from clubs like Chelsea, Manchester United, and Real Madrid apart from Barcelona. Though he signed a 5-year contract with PSG last season, his agent, Donato Di Compli, has hinted at a move away from Paris for his client by stating that he may need to leave Paris for a top European club in order to win major trophies. Keeping in mind the words ” top European club” and “winning major trophies”, a move to the Catalans for the £60 million-rated player appears likely, especially after PSG’s embarrassing 6-1 defeat against the same club in this year’s Champions League after being 4-0 ahead.

Kalidou Koulibaly to Chelsea:

Napoli’s defender, Kalidou Koulibaly, who was heavily linked with Chelsea when Antonio Conte took charge of the club at the start of this season, may still the top defensive target for the Blues in the upcoming transfer window. Conte is apparently a huge admirer of the Senegalese defender, and views him as a long-term replacement to former Chelsea captain John Terry. Though Koulibaly signed a 5-year-contract with Napoli at the start of last season, he recently admitted that he would be happy to play in the Premier league. Moreover, reports have emerged that Koulibaly would leave Napoli if they fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Wayne Rooney to Everton:

Once considered among the greatest players currently playing football, Wayne Rooney is a pale shadow of the ‘Wonder Kid’ signed by Sir Alex Ferguson from Everton in 2004. Rooney, who is England’s all-time top-scorer, recently secured a permanent place for himself in Manchester United’s glorious history books, when he scored his 250th goal for the club, thus becoming its all-time top scorer as well. However, he has lost his place in the starting eleven under Mourinho this season. With Antoine Griezmann most likely arriving at Manchester United next season, the current Manchester United captain, who is out of contract at the end of the season, could well be on his way out of Old Trafford. A return to boyhood club Everton has become increasingly likely in the past couple of days since Everton player Romelu Lukaku admission that he wants to move out of Goodison Park.

Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea/PSG:

Everton’s all-time top scorer at just 23 years of age, Romelu Lukaku made his ambitions to play Champions League football clear once again by informing Everton that he won’t be renewing his contract at Goodison Park. The Belgian forward, who is currently the Premier League’s top-scorer with 22 goals, was wanted by Conte in the last summer window to bolster an attack which was misfiring the previous season. He could still enjoy a return to Chelsea this summer due to Diego Costa’s trouble of keeping a healthy relationship with the club and lack of quality backup along with Lukaku’s self-admitted confession that Chelsea was his favorite club during his childhood.

If Everton decide against selling Lukaku to Premier League rivals, PSG is his most likely destination. Because of PSG’s chronic below-par performances in the Champions League and Edinson Cavani being on the wrong side of 30s, Lukaku could be brought in to usher in a renaissance of sorts at the Parc des Princes.

Tiemoue Bakayoko to Chelsea:

Chelsea have reportedly emerged winners in the race to sign AS Monaco’s midfield superstar Tiemoue Bakayoko. The versatile Frenchman has caught the eye of numerous top clubs in Europe including the likes of Manchester United due to his impressive performances in the center of the park. Highly reliable Spanish journalist from Sky Sports, Guillem Balague, recently tweeted that the Premier League leaders have agreed personal terms with Bakayoko. All Chelsea need to do is match Monaco’s asking price, which is supposedly around £32 million.

Antoine Griezmann to Manchester United:

Antoine Griezmann’s supposed transfer to Manchester United is probably the most likely deal that could happen this summer. The Frenchman, who has reportedly been Jose Mourinho’s top summer target since quite a few months, hasn’t made great efforts to rule out a move to Old Trafford. In November, Sky Sports quoted him saying,”I always ask Pogba about United. I think Manchester United is a huge club with a really good infrastructure. I ask Paul about some of the players. If they’re really that good and if Mourinho’s really that good.”

In the last 24 hours or so, various reports(including reports by Metro and The Sun) have emerged that a deal worth £86 million between United and Atletico for the Ballon d’Or nominee is on the verge of completion. With Wayne Rooney past his best and the heavy dependence on 35-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal-scoring abilities, Griezmann turning up on the field for the Red Devils next season seems imminent.