Dele Alli
Any chance of the England midfielder forcing his way into José Mourinho’s plans seemed to evaporate during Tottenham’s Carabao Cup win over Stoke last week. Having made only his fifth start of the season, Alli was substituted in the 66th minute directly after his mistake led to Stoke’s equaliser, and the subsequent touchline row with Mourinho will not have helped his prospects of regaining favour. Paris Saint-Germain remain favorites to sign the 24-year-old having failed to take him on loan before the summer window closed, although there is likely to be domestic interest if Spurs allow him to leave.
Christian Eriksen
It has not even been 11 months since he left Tottenham but the Denmark playmaker is already back on the market after a testing time in Italy. “It’s not a punishment,” said Internazionale’s chief executive, Giuseppe Marotta. “Simply, he’s a player who had a few issues in adjusting to life at Inter.” Eriksen racked up 69 goals and 89 assists during eight years at Spurs but has played only 373 minutes for his new club this season without contributing to a single goal. He is thought to be open to a return to the Premier League although his salary, worth around £9m a season, could be a stumbling block. Or maybe not if you are Paris Saint-Germain.
Diego Costa
“I wasn’t here and Suárez wasn’t scoring; I come back and he gets two, the bastard!” The former Chelsea striker’s comments about his teammate after Atlético Madrid’s win over Elche may have been said in jest but now it has been confirmed that Costa’s time is up at the Wanda Metropolitano. His contract has been cancelled because of “personal reasons”, meaning that he will miss out on the chance to face Chelsea in the Champions League last 16. He has already had offers from Chinese and Brazilian clubs but has told them he needs a few days before he makes a decision. He leaves as a free agent but it is understood there will be a €15m fee to be paid if he joins a La Liga or Champions League rival. It seems as though he wants to stay in Europe for now. Napoli’s Arkadiusz Milik is reportedly a target to replace him in Madrid.
Renato Sanches
He may be remembered in the Premier League for his short-lived loan spell at Swansea that included an unintentional pass to an advertising board during a defeat by Chelsea but the 2016 Golden Boy winner is back. The Portugal midfielder has been outstanding for Lille over the past two seasons since joining on a permanent deal from Bayern Munich, with Liverpool reportedly interested should talks over Georginio Wijnaldum’s contract fail to progress. The Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma is thought to be another player on Jürgen Klopp’s radar.
Josh Dasilva
The former Arsenal youth player was handed his debut by Arsène Wenger in 2017 but turned down a contract offer to join Brentford the following year having been converted from a striker to a midfielder as a boy by Thierry Henry. He has since thrived and scored the winner when Brentford reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup last week. West Ham are believed to have been keeping tabs on the England Under-21 who also qualifies to play for Angola through his parents and signed a new contract in October. After standing firm over their valuations of Ollie Watkins and Saïd Benrahma in the summer, Brentford will not allow Dasilva to leave on the cheap.
Pedro Gonçalves (‘Pote’)
The Portuguese midfielder spent two years at Wolves but never made a first-team appearance despite impressing for the club’s under-23 side. He excelled after joining Famalicão on a free transfer last season and has continued to thrive since his £7m move to Sporting, currently topping the Primeira Liga scoring charts with 10 goals from nine matches. Pote, who has been compared to Bruno Fernandes having effectively replaced the Manchester United midfielder in Rúben Amorim’s exciting young side, is reported to have a release clause of £53m that could tempt clubs into action.
David Alaba
The spectacular fallout behind the scenes that resulted in Bayern withdrawing their contract offer for the Austria defender in November alerted all of Europe’s biggest clubs, with the 28-year-old expected to move on after 12 years in Bavaria. Alaba is free to discuss personal terms with overseas clubs from 1 January and has been heavily linked with Real Madrid, although Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool are also thought to be contenders. Whether anyone will attempt to sign him now remains to be seen given he will be a free agent in the summer – a group who will also include Sergio Ramos, Ángel Di María and, of course, Lionel Messi.
Patson Daka
The Zambia striker has filled the sizeable boots of Erling Braut Haaland since he departed Red Bull Salzburg and, after the sale of the playmaker Dominik Szoboszlai to RB Leipzig, Daka is likely to be the next one off the production line. He has scored 15 goals in all competitions this season after helping his club to a seventh straight league title and has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City among those said to be interested in making him the first Zambian to play in England’s top flight since Emmanuel Mayuka at Southampton in 2014.
The Guardian Sport
