Transfer Talk: Chelsea face battle to keep Callum Hudson-Odoi; Stoke City want £50m for Jack Butland

Football

With the winter window opening soon, the rumour mill is beginning to gather pace. Who will be moving where come January? Transfer Talk has the latest.

Chelsea face fight to hold on to rising star

Callum Hudson-Odoi is one of the most exciting talents in English football and according to the Daily Mail, Chelsea have a real fight on their hands to keep hold of the teenager.

The 18-year-old has not appeared in the Premier League or Carabao Cup at all this season and prior to this week had featured for only 35 minutes in the Europa League.

The Under-17 World Cup winner showed his undeniable talent in pre-season for the first team and produced a man-of-the-match showing on Thursday when he scored one and set up another in the 4-0 win over PAOK Salonika.

Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are all known admirers and with Hudson-Odoi said to be hugely frustrated by his lack of game time this season, he is stalling over a five-year contract extension and only has 18 months left on his current deal.

Callum Hudson-Odoi of Chelsea celebrates after scoring his team's third goal against PAOK.
Callum Hudson-Odoi is on the radar of several big clubs should he make a move from Stamford Bridge.

Championship club demand £50m for England international

Jack Butland might be plying his trade in the Championship this season but that hasn’t stopped Stoke City putting a £50 million price tag on his head, according to The Telegraph.

Butland is recognised as one of the best goalkeepers in England and will almost certainly be on any top-flight club’s radar if they are looking for a new number one.

But anyone hoping to sign the 25-year-old look set to be disappointed as Stoke are reportedly stating he won’t be sold for less than £50m, which is £20m more than the current English transfer record for a goalkeeper — Everton’s capture of England’s number one Jordan Pickford last year.

Stoke are currently in 12th position in their first season back in the Championship, although they are only five points from the play-off places.

Mourinho admits Kane is out of reach

There was a time where Manchester United would often look to secure Tottenham’s best talent and more often than not they would succeed. However those days are long gone and even Jose Mourinho knows it, as he explained.

Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Carrick and even further back Teddy Sheringham were all integral to any potential success at White Hart Lane before Manchester United swooped in to take them to Old Trafford.

However, if United fans believe they can still do the same when it comes to the likes of Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen then they are gravely mistaken, according to the Red Devils’ own manager.

Mourinho said: “Is Manchester United, by its history and dimension, bigger than Tottenham? Tottenham is an amazing club but I think everybody would say yes. Can you buy Tottenham’s best players? No.

“Football has changed. Can we go there now and bring Harry Kane here? Dele Alli? Eriksen? Son? No. So who is more powerful now? Them or us?”

City will not be targeting Fernandinho understudy

Fernandinho has started every Premier League and Champions League game this season and Pep Guardiola admits they run the risk of “killing him” if they are not careful. But that doesn’t mean Manchester City will be targeting a backup option in the January transfer window.

“We can play him but we’re going to kill him for next season,” Guardiola said of the 33-year-old Fernandinho before adding: “No way, not today. You cannot play a player every three days.”

Guardiola believes he has several players who can fill in for Fernandinho if required, mentioning John Stones, Danilo, Fabian Delph, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ilkay Gundogan as options.

He continued: “We have a good squad depth and a few players can play in several different positions.

“I said previously we are not going to the transfer market, I’m so delighted with the squad we have.

“I am sad when many players deserve to play do not play — imagine if we bring another one. It’s better like this.”

Arsenal boss helped rivals Spurs land two key transfer targets

Arsenal and Tottenham’s rivalry is one of the fiercest in English football so it may come as a surprise to many to hear the Gunners’ new boss Unai Emery helped Spurs land two of their most recent signings.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and Emery have been good friends since 2012, when the Gunners boss recommended the Argentine to replace him at Valencia.

And a conversation at the International Champions Cup 18 months ago after Emery’s Paris Saint-Germain took on Spurs played a key part in the signings of Serge Aurier and Lucas Moura.

 ”He talked very highly about Lucas and Serge,” Pochettino said.

“I was in contact with him, yes — about football,” he added. “At the end 99.9 percent of our life is football and of course it is football whether it is in Paris or he was in different clubs.

“Sometimes he asks me about some players, some teams, us the same, contact between the coaching staff because we have very good relationship between out coaching staff too.”

Football Whispers’ top five emerging whispers

Football Whispers’ transfer algorithm gives the likelihood of rumours happening a score out of five:

David Villa to Vissel Kobe – 4.2

Spain legend David Villa is set to join his former Barcelona and international team-mate Andres Iniesta at Vissel Kobe in Japan. It was announced a few days ago that Silva has decided to leave New York City, where has played since 2014.

Tanguy Ndombele to Barcelona – 2.8

Everton had been hoping to land the immensely talented Tanguy Ndombele but if Barcelona are interested in the France international then they will obviously be in poll position. The 21-year-old would command a fee in the region of £40m and the midfielder has a combination of power and technique, and has a huge admirer in the shape of Barcelona’s technical director and ex-France international Eric Abidal.

Antonio Candreva to Fulham – 2.6

Claudio Ranieri is reportedly keen to make Inter Milan’s Antonio Candreva one of his first signings. The 31-year-old has only made five starts in total this season in Serie A and Champions League but is vastly experienced, with 54 Italy caps.

Raphael Varane to Manchester United – 2.4

Manchester United want to make Varane the most expensive defender in history if they can convince Real Madrid to sell. The France international has worked with Mourinho before at Real and would likely cost a fee in the region of the £75m world record fee Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk.

Daniel Sturridge to Real Sociedad – 1.8

Real Sociedad are hoping Liverpool do end up signing their long-time target Christian Pulisic so they can make a move for striker Daniel Sturridge, according to El Gol Digital. Sturridge is currently in the process of responding to a charge of breaking the Football Association’s betting rules but may not find out the outcome until towards the end of the season.

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