Arsenal defender Mathieu Debuchy made his first competitive appearance in over a year against Bournemouth on Sunday, only to have it curtailed after 15 minutes when he pulled up lame with a hamstring problem. Apparently frustrated at the lack of opportunities coming his way at the Emirates Stadium, the 31-year-old has been mentioned in conjunction with a possible move back to his native France, where Marseille are in the market for a full-back.
In Spain, Real Madrid newsletter Marca say that Debuchy’s team-mate Mesut Özil and the Paris Saint-Germain winger Ángel Di María both quite fancy a move back to the Spanish capital, having previously made a combined 229 appearances for the club which they both joined in 2010 before moving on elsewhere.
Serie A sides Juventus and Inter want to sign Matteo Darmian from Manchester United, although the full-back remains in José Mourinho’s plans as long as Luke Shaw remains out in the cold. Speaking of players consigned to Ice Station Zebra by their managers, Spurs midfielder Moussa Sissoko was the subject of a recent withering public critique by Mauricio Pochettino, but is also believed to have Italian admirers at the aforementioned clubs. Inter are also believed to be keen on signing Oscar from Chelsea, although his manager Antonio Conte last week rubbished suggestions that he might be moving the Brazilian on in January.
Previously a Manchester City target, Napoli’s Algerian international defender Faouzi Ghoulam is wanted by Chelsea, who, along with Bayern Munich, are also keeping tabs on Bundesliga side Hoffenheim’s centre-back Niklas Süle. With Branislav Ivanovic’s time at Stamford Bridge drawing to a close, Juventus are being touted as the 32-year-old’s next employers.
Despite failing in their attempts to lure Sporting Lisbon’s Adrien Silva to the King Power Stadium during the summer, Premier League champions and strugglers Leicester City will ramp up their efforts to bring the central midfielder to Blighty during the January transfer window.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp is ready to make overtures towards Borussia Dortmund midfielder Christian Pulisic. Liverpool are believed to have bid £11m for the 18-year-old from Hershey, Pennsylvania, during the summer, but will have to increase their offer now that the youngster has forced his way into the German side’s first team.
And finally, West Ham are ready to hose Dimitri Payet down with cash in a bid to stop Manchester United turning his head, while Chelsea are keeping tabs on Sampdoria’s £24m-rated Colombian striker Luis Muriel.