logo
logo

Seven players primed for a mid-season transfer: Rakitic, Can, Eriksen & more

There’s over two months until the January 2020 transfer window opens, but the rumour mill is well underway.

Plenty of players that were linked with moving over the summer ultimately stayed put, but that hasn’t stopped there being plenty of speculation around their futures.

There’s also a few high-profile stars that will be far from satisfied with how many minutes they’re getting at the moment. Here are nine players that look well set for a move come the winter transfer window.

Christian Eriksen

A few short months before a stroppy, out of form Alexis Sanchez’s contract was due to expire, Arsenal decided to cut their losses and recoup the little they could get for the Chilean.

We could well be in a for a repeat situation this season, with Christian Eriksen looking a little off-colour for struggling Tottenham after his long-touted move to Real Madrid failed to materialise.]

Toby Alderweireld

The Belgian centre-half is in the same situation as Eriksen at Tottenham, with his current deal due to expire next summer. A return to Ajax has reportedly been on the cards for some time, which could become more viable, with things looking quite volatile at the club this season.

The old rule forbidding players from playing for two different Champions League clubs in the same season has been scrapped, leaving one less bit of red tape for transfers of this nature.

Ivan Rakitic

The Croatian midfielder has enjoyed a successful five years at Barcelona, helping them adapt to life after Xavi and Andres Iniesta, winning the treble in his first season and four La Liga titles.

Both Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde have been big fans of the Rakitic, but he could be heading towards the exit door.

Reportedly unhappy about the club using him as a makeweight to get Neymar back from PSG, he’s only started one La Liga game this season with Frenkie De Jong, Sergi Roberto and Arthur Melo ahead of him in the midfield pecking order.

He’s been linked with Manchester United among a few other clubs.

Adrien Rabiot

Juventus love a free transfer, so it was no surprise when they further stocked up their midfield options with former PSG star Adrien Rabiot coming in alongside Aaron Ramsey.

But given the competition in midfield, which has seen Emre Can fail to make their Champions League squad altogether, the Frenchman’s found opportunities hard to come by. He’s only made two Serie A starts and hasn’t featured in the Champions League at all.

He’s already becoming a frequent name on the gossip columns, with reports suggesting he could move to Spurs in a swap deal with Eriksen.

Mario Mandzukic

There could be quite an exodus from Juventus halfway through this season, who just seem to have too many players.

Mandzukic has scored spectacular goals in Champions League and World Cup finals, but he’s not featured for Maurizio Sarri’s side so far this season and is out of the European 23-man squad entirely.

A January exit looks inevitable, with Manchester United reportedly looking to bolster their thin striking options and Milan also linked.

“They have the talent in the young players but at the same time you need someone like Mario Mandzukic,” said former United striker Dimitar Berbatov recently.

“I think he is a really good football player and he hasn’t played before in England but I hope if he comes he can straight away get into the rhythm of the Premier League.”

Emre Can

Another member of the Old Lady’s bloated squad, it looks likely the former Liverpool man will consider his options elsewhere as it doesn’t appear he has much of a future under Sarri at Napoli.

Left out of the Champions League squad, he’s not made any starts in the league this season either. He’s come off the bench three times, totalling just 79 minutes of senior club football this season.

Erling Braut Håland

Alf-Inge Håland’s was born in Leeds and considers himself a Leeds United fan, but the Championship club have probably missed the boat on the Norwegian international striker, who looks destined for a top-level European club.

He only joined RB Leipzig in the summer, but the Austrian champions won’t be able to keep hold of him for long after he scored 17 goals in his first nine games for the club, announcing himself on the biggest stage with a hat-trick on his Champions League debut against Genk.

The player himself isn’t a fan about being asked about potential transfer destinations.

“It’s f*cking boring. I’m bored now,” he said recently. “How bored on a scale of 1 to 10? 9.9”


More from Planet Football

Ranking Tottenham’s 16 Premier League goalkeepers from worst to best

A ridiculously good XI of free transfers signed by Juventus: Pirlo, Alves, Pogba

10 Premier League newcomers shining in 2019-20: James, Wilson, Mount…

Can you name every Champions League final goalscorer since 2000?