Real Madrid:
Ashley Cole: whether Mourinho continues or not, the Madrid outfit are seriously looking at the new “Chelsea revolution” to take advantage if Cole, as many of the old guard are made available for transfer.
Javi Martinez: the Bilbao player has had a sensational season and Real Madrid have made him one of their main targets. The Price Athletic has slapped on him has not scared Florentino Perez who could agree to the €40 million tag.
Belhanda: the Montpellier midfielder has impressed every scout real has sent to watch him. However PSG are believed to be frontrunners for the Moroccan international, with Arsenal a distant third.
Manuel Fernandes: The Portuguese International, currently playing for Besiktas , is Mourinho’s favourite option to play alongside Xavi Alonso. He has experience in La Liga as he has played for Valencia in the past. His agent is the same agent as the “great one’s” and CR7’s.
Mauricio Isla: Chilean international, playing for Udinese, has many suitors, and Real Madrid are one of them. The player said he would like to move there, but he does have many other options.
Douglas Baggio: 17 years old Brazilian striker has been watched by Real many times, while he was playing for Flamengo during the Copa Rio for under 17’s. Also in the scouting stands were representatives of Chelsea, Napoli and Inter
Wojciech Szczęsny: The Arsenal goalkeeper is the one the Madrid team wants to have on board to eventually take over from Casillas. The Polish player has repeatedly stated that he wants to stay at Arsenal for life.
Robin Van Persie: They are preparing a bid for RVP that will make him equal to CR7’s wages. But I am not sure if the £25 millions they set aside as a fee will be enough to tempt Arsenal into selling him.
Manchester United:
Manchester United, just like Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City have been linked with every half decent player in the world. Most of them are just agents trying to enhance the reputation of their own clients. Most clubs nowadays do not bother commenting on any rumors, in fact most times when they claim that something is just a rumor, you know the opposite to be the truth.
However the list we have compiled in here is a list of players that Manchester United have definitely scouted, asked about, shown an interest or placed a bid.
Milos Krasic: a really clever and versatile player, who has not had the best of times at Juventus. He can operate as a wing back, midfielder or even winger. The plan is to offer Pogba an extension of his contract to do a straight swap between him and Krasic. That way the player still gets a signing on fee and he helps the club that he represents at the moment. Don’t think United will get Krasic if it is not as part of a Pogba deal.
Eden Hazard: lots has been said about the Belgian international, he was first going to Real Madrid, then Arsenal, then PSG, then Spurs was rumored to have agreed personal terms with him, until Sir Alex sent his scouts to see what Hazard was all about. He was hugely impressed but he is not a priority, more of a treat. So not that high up on their list.
Javi Martinez: There have been preliminary enquiries from club to club, Bilbao’s valuation of the player is not a match to what the Manchester team wanted to spend on him. He has stayed on the list, as one to revisit if other options fail.
Mario Gotze: Ferguson is an admirer of young Mario, and he believes he is an ideal player to fit in at Manchester United. The club will be soon test Dortmund’s resolve to keep the youngster with a cash offer that matches his asking price plus the added bonus of Berbatov as part of the deal. They think that the Bulgarian’s track record in German football could help.
Fernando Llorente: Manchester United had enquired about his availability, but it is very difficult to change the mind of a person that is so identified with the region and club. They have not given up, but we believe they will soon.
Nicolas Gaitan: We broke the news a long time ago that he had been scouted in 3 separate occasions by United. The problem that arose here is that Benfica, Nico’s club, pretended they were not aware of the interest and changed Gaitan’s contract taking his release clause from €26 million to nearly €34 million. By the time that Untied came back with a bid, around February time, they found out of the dirty trick the Portuguese team had played on them.
They are still in negotiations as Ferguson is determined that he wants the LM to be part of the red devils next season.
Javi Garcia: on the Gaitan scouting mission, Javier Garcia was another player that caught the eye of the United staff and they built a profile for the Manager to have a look at. He has since kept tabs on the Spanish player, but a bidding war could generate as many other top teams have been impressed by his displays. Real Madrid, who sold him to Benfica, has a buy back clause on his contract, but are not interested at the moment.
Christian Eriksen: Extremely talented Danish midfielder, who plays for Ajax. He caught United’s eye this season and they have entered club to club negotiations earlier on this month. Ajax are prepared to sell, but there are other clubs interested so it could drag a bit.
Wesley Sneijder: Inter are preparing a revolution to make amends for the horrific season that this has been. As part of the possibilities Inter has, would be to try to sell the Dutch midfielder to raise some funds. Wesley is one of United’s main targets. They have tried and failed in the past, but this may be the time when they can get him.
Jackson Martinez: This Colombian striker who plays for Jaguares in Mexico is an old fashion out and out striker. His place is in the box, as he is a clinical finisher. He can use both his feet to great effect, and United’s scouts have written a glowing report about him. Not a priority but quite high on the list.
Leandro Damiao: This one is clear cut. The Manchester side has place a £30 million offer and are waiting for an answer.
Ganso: back in 2011 United asked to know how much would the Santos player cost. They were told in the region of £25 millions and they lost interest.
Yann M’Vila: as you can tell by what you have read here, Alex Ferguson is after a defensive midfielder and a creative midfielder. M’Vila’s team will receive an offer from the club but knowing that they have a bidding war in hands they are planning to enter it well below the asking price, believed to be in the £20 to £25 millions.
Manchester City:
Manchester City, unlike in other seasons, will have to be more careful how much they spend. Not because they are short of a pound or two, but because of the new UEFa and FIFA financial regulations.
They have a few players they have scouted, asked about their availability, and try to tempt other clubs with swap deals. To buy big, they will need to raise big.
Higuain: they attempted to do a swap deal between him and Tevez, but the Spanish club was not interested. They said that if the player involved was Aguero they would sit back on the negotiating table. If the club can sell Dzeko, then el pipita can become an option again.
Eden Hazard: City have been the quietest of the pursuers of the Belgian player, but they have been secretly trying to agree a fee with Lille. His fee is rather large and there will have to be a few players leaving before they can spend this big.
Robin Van Persie: everyone went into overdrive when there was a personal terms offer to the Dutch player from City. In reality it was all PR to judge how he will react. They found that Arsenal would not be prepared to let him go there, and the player would only consider their offer, once he knew what was going to happen at Arsenal
Keisuke Honda: He is a player who apparently will end up wearing sky blue next season. His club is prepared to sell him and only City and Lazio have shown an interest. Lazio were close in January’s window, but it fell through at the last minute.
Edison Cavani: He is a dream of many clubs, and will be the subject of many enquiries. For this one City will have to definitely sell players as he commands a huge fee, and will take a big salary to convince him to move from Napoli to Manchester.
Yann M’Vila: this player would not be a priority but a treat for Mancini, if he can sell a few players and raise the money, they could become contenders to sign him.