Monday’s transfer round-up: Arsenal contact Real Madrid over James Rodriguez as Kevin Prince Boateng joins Barcelona
Relive all of Monday's transfer news plus gossip, rumours and done deals
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Your support makes all the difference.The Premier League's January transfer window saw one of its most bizarre transfer stories as former Tottenham and Portsmouth midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng joined Barcelona on loan until the end of the season from Sassuolo. The deal for the 31-year-old also includes an option to buy for £7.1m.
Arsenal confirmed head of recruitment Sven Mislintat will depart the club after disharmony emerged behind the scenes last week, while the Gunners continue their pursuit of Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez, who's on a two-year loan from Real Madrid at Bayern Munich.
Manchester United are ramping up their search for a director of football, with the club's hierarchy keen to fill the role before a decision is taken over their next permanent manager, meanwhile, Jose Mourinho claims he has turned down three job offers since being sacked.
Relive all of today's transfers news, rumours and done deals on our live blog below.
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Good morning and welcome to today's Independent transfer live blog.
The January window is upon us with the Premier League’s biggest clubs set to spend, spend, spend as the sales re-open.
We'll bring you all the latest news plus all the done deals and the juiciest gossip throughout the day right here so don't touch that dial.
Without further ado, off we go.
We start this morning with one of the more surprising transfer stories...
Tottenham are struggling for options in attack, with Dele Alli and Harry Kane injured and Son Heung-min away on Asian Cup duty so Andy Carroll may be the answer, according to The Sun.
The West Ham forward is a free agent in the summer and could be snapped up for £2m.
Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain is set to finalise his loan move to Chelsea this week, the Daily Express says.
The Argentine was left out of AC Milan's squad for Monday's Serie A clash with Genoa, with manager Gennaro Gattuso admitting that the imminent move to Chelsea means he cannot select the striker due to his frame of mind.
"We had a poor training session today because of all these rumours," Gattuso said.
"We spoke after the training session and I did not consider him ready. Speculation disrupted preparations."
Former Chelsea and Arsenal defender Ashley Cole may be set for a move to Derby where he will reunite with his old team-mate Frank Lampard, the Daily Mirror says.
Ex-England left-back Cole, 38, most recently played for the LA Galaxy and was released at the end of the 2018 season.
Frenkie de Jong continues to be subject of keen interest, with the Daily Mail reporting Barcelona and Paris St Germain are both looking to convince the Ajax midfielder to sign for them.
Now this is a bit of a surprise...
Paul Scholes is set to be named the new manager of Oldham, the Daily Mail says. The Latics dismissed Frankie Bunn last month after six months in charge at Boundary Park.
Players to watch
Eden Hazard: The Belgium international will not be joining Real Madrid during the January transfer window but wants Chelsea to reject any other offers ahead of a summer move, reports Marca.
Matteo Darmian: The 29-year-old Manchester United defender is close to agreeing a loan move to Juventus, the Guardian says.
Adrien Silva: The Leicester midfielder is looking to agree a loan deal with Bordeaux, according to L'Equipe.
Chelsea could be very busy over the next fortnight.
They are said to have asked Barcelona about the possibility of signing Philippe Coutinho this month.
The former Liverpool star is struggling for game time and could be available for £100m.
Manchester United have also been linked.
Staying at Chelsea and Callum Hudson-Odoi has his heart set on leaving the club for Bayern Munich.
The Bundesliga giants most recently submitted an offer of £30m to sign the teenager, who is out of contract in the summer and looking for assurances over first-team minutes.
Hudson-Odoi is understood to initially have needed some convincing over a move to Germany but has been impressed by Bayern's commitment to trying to bring him to the Allianz Arena.
Such is his desire to leave he has apparently turned down an offer of a new £85,000 per week contract, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Arsenal want Marc Overmars to become their new technical director.
That's according to the Sunday Mirror who say the former winger, who is currently at Ajax, is the Gunners' top target as they continue their restructure.
Head of recruitment Sven Mislintat is set to leave the club after a breakdown in relationship behind the scenes.
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