Gareth Bale
Europe's elite have Laurent Koscielny to thank in their race for the Welshman. His goal that denied Spurs Champions League football next year may have unsettled the forward into seeking a move away from North London. Having scored a magnificent 26 goals, including 6 to win the game, his transition from touchline hugging winger to deep lying forward has been fantastic. Can Tottenham keep their hands on their man of the moment or lose their grasp to Europe's finest?
Estimated Transfer Fee : £45 million
Who's After Him : Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United
Edinson Cavani
We knew he was good, but this good? Two 33 goal seasons was enough, but Cavani has raised his bar and scored an unimaginable 38 goals for Napoli this season. Many predicted that this campaign would mark the end of il Grande, with key forward Ezequiel Lavezzi jumping ship to Paris Saint Germain. But the men in blue have finished the season in second place, their highest finish since winning Serie A back in the days of Maradona. The Uruguayan hitman is now onto of a lot of shopping lists right now, but who will pay up for the Cannibal?
Estimated Transfer Fee : £40 million
Who's After Him : Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG
Falcao
Atletico were surprisingly knocked out of the Europa League in the Round of 32 by Rubin Kazan, which meant that the Colombian missed out on potentially seven games in which to score. In 2011-12, he racked up 36 goals in 50 appearances. At the time of writing, he has 34 goals in 40 games. That is quite astonishing. He was, at one point in the season, challenging Messi for the Pichichi award, while beating Ronaldo's goal record. Having secured Champions League football for his team, and led them to a Copa Del Rey trophy, Atletico have reportedly allowed Radamel to leave. But who will the Falcon join?
Estimated Transfer Fee : £50 million
Who's After Him : Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG, Monaco
The Montenegrin has come a long way from arriving in Italy as a shaggy haired prodigy. A terrible injury to his cruciate ligament ruled him out for the entire 2010-11 season, an incident which would dent any player. However, his 2011-12 campaign showed his mental strength to deal with setbacks to his career, firing in a remarkable 14 goals for a team that only scored 37 goals all season. But his extraordinary 2012-13 season showed the true potential that Jovetic offered. Hitting 13 goals to guide Fiorentina to an unprecedented 4th place finish to just miss out on Champions League football, but he secured a Europa League place next season for la Viola. JoJo could leave the club this season in search of top level football, but who will the new Roberto Baggio move to?
Estimated Transfer Fee : £24 million
Who's After Him : Arsenal, Juventus, Monaco
Should the Argentine move away from the Spanish giants, Real Madrid, this summer, the club he joins must be prepared for his impact. Goals will be a given, but will they see the quality of the old Higu who scored 27 goals in La Liga 2010 and outscored the great Ronaldo, or the Higuain who frustrates fans to the brink of insanity until he is subbed off for Benzema who kills off the game? He is a forward who divides opinion in the capital. Some say that he is vital to Real and will reach his potential to score 30+ goals a season a la Falcao. Some say ship him out and bring in the big guns such as Cavani, Suarez or Aguero. His continuous rotation since Karim's arrival has angered Gonzalo, maybe to the point of leaving the capital in search of consistent first team football. Every team needs goals, and who can ignore the man who has one of the best goals to shot percentages in Europe since 2010 and has plenty of years ahead of him at just 25 years of age?
Estimated Transfer Fee : £19 million
Who's After Him : Arsenal, Juventus, Tottenham
The era of el Guaje has ended. Those breathtaking runs and finishes have had their day. As well as the vision to serve as not only a goalscorer, but as a creator. Hang on a minute, Villa still has a year or two in him to fire some goals into the back of the net. Barcelona will want to move him on as he has never fully recovered from his devastating leg break during the 2012 Club World Cup, and with his fantastic goal record for a CV, he will attract a lot of suitors.
Estimated Transfer Fee : £7 million
Who's After Him : Sevilla, Valencia, Malaga, Tottenham
It's official :Rooney wants out. The first transfer request was a definite PR stunt to get a new contract, which worked as Man U ended up handing him a £220,000 a week deal, but this time it's different. He's leaving due to a change in management, as Sir Alex has stepped down and the new boss is none other than his old coach at Everton, David Moyes. The pair aren't on good terms after Rooney criticised him in his autobiography, so like a disgruntled schoolkid whose favourite teacher has been replaced by his most despised teacher, Rooney wants out of Old Trafford. So the race is on for his signature. Thanks to his large wage packet, only Europe's financial elite can afford him. Can PSG lure him to France to continue the Revolution? Or will crosstown rivals, Manchester City, finish what they started when the first request came in? Maybe Bayern Munich could be next as Guardiola seeks to create a German answer to the 'Galacticos'?
Estimated Transfer Fee : £30 million
Who's After Him : Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich
Messi couldn't do it. Falcao couldn't do it. Not even Henry could do it. But Robert did it. No man had ever scored 4 goals against Real Madrid before the Pole gave Higuain & Benzema a masterclass in finishing. After the game, his price tag shot up about £15 million. Having already declared that he would leave Die Borussens at the end of his contract next year, clubs are already vying for his services now rather than wait for him to become a free agent. At 24, he has plenty of years ahead of him to ripple the back of the net. But at which club?
Estimated Transfer Fee : £27.5 million
Who's After Him : Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich
After his spectacular season for Roma, where he scored 15 goals in 33 games for the capital, his team still didn't qualify for Europe. Lamela has been outstanding, completing 99 dribbles, a number only 8 players in Europe were able to exceed, and a 17.4% shots to goal percentage which is fantastic. Erik has been hailed as the new Messi, to the point that Barcelona invited him to Catalonia at the age of 12 where he was given an insight into his future should he join the Blaugrana. Should he jump ship to a bigger team, preferably in the Champions League, he could unlock his tremendous potential and then the Ballon d'Or talk can begin.
Estimated Transfer Fee : £30 million
Who's After Him : Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City
The steel nerved Spaniard has had his best season for Valencia, firing in 27 goals in 44 appearances for Los Che, but Valencia could still miss out on Europe. This is not the standard that Soldado should be at. He is one of the best strikers in Europe, among the Falcao's and Cavani's, and he might be looking to make the step up to the elite group of teams. And they will want him, that's for sure. I mean, 79 goals in 139 games in incredible over three years. Torres has 35 goals in 135 games which is not even half of Soldado's total, and even when he was at Liverpool, he scored 81 goals in 142 games when he was considered the best striker in the world, so we are looking at a genuine world class player.
Estimated Transfer Fee : £23 million
Who's After Him : Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Real Madrid, Juventus
Stevan Jovetic
The Montenegrin has come a long way from arriving in Italy as a shaggy haired prodigy. A terrible injury to his cruciate ligament ruled him out for the entire 2010-11 season, an incident which would dent any player. However, his 2011-12 campaign showed his mental strength to deal with setbacks to his career, firing in a remarkable 14 goals for a team that only scored 37 goals all season. But his extraordinary 2012-13 season showed the true potential that Jovetic offered. Hitting 13 goals to guide Fiorentina to an unprecedented 4th place finish to just miss out on Champions League football, but he secured a Europa League place next season for la Viola. JoJo could leave the club this season in search of top level football, but who will the new Roberto Baggio move to?
Estimated Transfer Fee : £24 million
Who's After Him : Arsenal, Juventus, Monaco
Gonzalo Higuain
Should the Argentine move away from the Spanish giants, Real Madrid, this summer, the club he joins must be prepared for his impact. Goals will be a given, but will they see the quality of the old Higu who scored 27 goals in La Liga 2010 and outscored the great Ronaldo, or the Higuain who frustrates fans to the brink of insanity until he is subbed off for Benzema who kills off the game? He is a forward who divides opinion in the capital. Some say that he is vital to Real and will reach his potential to score 30+ goals a season a la Falcao. Some say ship him out and bring in the big guns such as Cavani, Suarez or Aguero. His continuous rotation since Karim's arrival has angered Gonzalo, maybe to the point of leaving the capital in search of consistent first team football. Every team needs goals, and who can ignore the man who has one of the best goals to shot percentages in Europe since 2010 and has plenty of years ahead of him at just 25 years of age?
Estimated Transfer Fee : £19 million
Who's After Him : Arsenal, Juventus, Tottenham
David Villa
The era of el Guaje has ended. Those breathtaking runs and finishes have had their day. As well as the vision to serve as not only a goalscorer, but as a creator. Hang on a minute, Villa still has a year or two in him to fire some goals into the back of the net. Barcelona will want to move him on as he has never fully recovered from his devastating leg break during the 2012 Club World Cup, and with his fantastic goal record for a CV, he will attract a lot of suitors.
Estimated Transfer Fee : £7 million
Who's After Him : Sevilla, Valencia, Malaga, Tottenham
Wayne Rooney
It's official :Rooney wants out. The first transfer request was a definite PR stunt to get a new contract, which worked as Man U ended up handing him a £220,000 a week deal, but this time it's different. He's leaving due to a change in management, as Sir Alex has stepped down and the new boss is none other than his old coach at Everton, David Moyes. The pair aren't on good terms after Rooney criticised him in his autobiography, so like a disgruntled schoolkid whose favourite teacher has been replaced by his most despised teacher, Rooney wants out of Old Trafford. So the race is on for his signature. Thanks to his large wage packet, only Europe's financial elite can afford him. Can PSG lure him to France to continue the Revolution? Or will crosstown rivals, Manchester City, finish what they started when the first request came in? Maybe Bayern Munich could be next as Guardiola seeks to create a German answer to the 'Galacticos'?
Estimated Transfer Fee : £30 million
Who's After Him : Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich
Robert Lewandowski
Messi couldn't do it. Falcao couldn't do it. Not even Henry could do it. But Robert did it. No man had ever scored 4 goals against Real Madrid before the Pole gave Higuain & Benzema a masterclass in finishing. After the game, his price tag shot up about £15 million. Having already declared that he would leave Die Borussens at the end of his contract next year, clubs are already vying for his services now rather than wait for him to become a free agent. At 24, he has plenty of years ahead of him to ripple the back of the net. But at which club?
Estimated Transfer Fee : £27.5 million
Who's After Him : Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich
Erik Lamela
After his spectacular season for Roma, where he scored 15 goals in 33 games for the capital, his team still didn't qualify for Europe. Lamela has been outstanding, completing 99 dribbles, a number only 8 players in Europe were able to exceed, and a 17.4% shots to goal percentage which is fantastic. Erik has been hailed as the new Messi, to the point that Barcelona invited him to Catalonia at the age of 12 where he was given an insight into his future should he join the Blaugrana. Should he jump ship to a bigger team, preferably in the Champions League, he could unlock his tremendous potential and then the Ballon d'Or talk can begin.
Estimated Transfer Fee : £30 million
Who's After Him : Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City
Roberto Soldado
The steel nerved Spaniard has had his best season for Valencia, firing in 27 goals in 44 appearances for Los Che, but Valencia could still miss out on Europe. This is not the standard that Soldado should be at. He is one of the best strikers in Europe, among the Falcao's and Cavani's, and he might be looking to make the step up to the elite group of teams. And they will want him, that's for sure. I mean, 79 goals in 139 games in incredible over three years. Torres has 35 goals in 135 games which is not even half of Soldado's total, and even when he was at Liverpool, he scored 81 goals in 142 games when he was considered the best striker in the world, so we are looking at a genuine world class player.
Estimated Transfer Fee : £23 million
Who's After Him : Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Real Madrid, Juventus
