Felipe Anderson to Manchester United; Odion Ighalo to Atletico Madrid; Cesc Fabregas to leave Chelsea

A look at the biggest transfer rumours and stories doing the rounds on Tuesday 29 December

Lazio midfielder Felipe Anderson is being linked with Manchester United (Getty Images)

Manchester United could follow up their long-term interest in Lazio attacking midfielder Felipe Anderson with an official bid in January, having watched the 22-year-old since the start of the year.

Reports in Italy claim that United are willing to pay up to £33m for the Brazil international in a bid to bring him to the Premier League. Calciomercato claims that United’s prime target remains Real Madrid attacking midfielder James Rodriguez, but it’s believed that the Colombian is an unrealistic target in January and they will instead try to sign Anderson.

Anderson is a goal-scoring midfielder who has already found the back of the net five times this season, on top of the 11 he bagged last season, and he would add undoubted quality to a United front-line that appears to be significantly lacking in game-changing players.

Watford’s in-form striker Odion Ighalo will finish the year as the highest-scoring striker across England’s top four leagues after netting his 30th goal of 2015 in the 2-1 defeat to Spurs, but his remarkable feat has caught the eye of Spanish title contenders Atletico Madrid, according to the Daily Mirror.

Ighalo has helped establish the Hornets as a top-half team this season, and had they beaten Spurs on Monday they would have been on the cusp of a top-four spot heading into the new year. However, it’s believed that the La Liga side will launch a £12m bid for Ighalo after watching him become the first player in the club’s history to score in six straight top flight matches.

Cesc Fabregas is being linked with a move to Italy with both Juventus and Inter Milan interested in signing the Chelsea midfielder, according to Italian news outlet Corriere dello Sport. 28-year-old Fabregas has failed to meet his performance levels from last season, and he was replaced at half-time in Chelsea’s Boxing Day draw with Watford with a reported fever. However, his poor form this season under Jose Mourinho has led to suggestions that Chelsea could move the former Barcelona and Arsenal midfielder on, and Serie A has emerged as a possible destination for him should he decide to move on to pastures new.

Aston Villa manager Remi Garde is being linked with a loan move for Chelsea striker Loic Remy, with the hope that his frustration at not playing at Chelsea could help Villa survive relegation this season. The Daily Mirror claims that Garde will attempt to bring Remy to Villa Park on a deal until the end of the season, although that could largely depend on who Chelsea bring in during the January transfer window given Diego Costa and Radamel Falcao are the only other strikers among Guus Hiddink’s squad.

Finally, one player who could be returning to United in January is midfielder Adnan Januzaj. The 20-year-old Belgium international has not enjoyed his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund having made just six appearances this season, and he was spotted at Old Trafford sitting alongside current first-team member Jesse Lingard during United’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea on Monday night.