The upcoming summer transfer window in 2021 will be particularly strange. Clubs have suffered financial losses as a result of the pandemic, but there appear to be more stars on the market than ever before.
Here are 25 of the biggest names who could be moving in 2021.
Should you stick or twist? Should you gamble or play it safe?
1. CRISTIANO RONALDO
Juventus is his current club
PSG and Real Madrid are two possible destinations. Consider going back three or four years and speculating that Messi and Ronaldo may have been in the same window. Unfortunately for Juve fans, the club has revealed that the 36-year-old who violated the club’s wage structure will be retained. But Juventus (particularly Andrea Agnelli, who did not actually say this) have said a lot of things in the past. Don’t expect a crazy year to get any better.
2: LIONEL MESSI
Barcelona is his current club
Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are two possible destinations. Oh, we’re going to start with the big (little) boy himself. Messi agreed to honors the final year of his contract after throwing all of his toys out the pram following an 8-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich last summer.
Joan Laporta, the club’s new president, hopes their all-time record everything will sign a new deal, but don’t count on it.
3. PAUL POGBA
Manchester United is his current club
Real Madrid, PSG, and Juventus are all possible destinations. The debate over Paul Pogba has reached the same level as the debate over football in general that Moss from The IT Crowd had.
“DID YOU SEE LAST NIGHT’S LUDICROUS DISPLAY?”
“WHAT WAS WENGER THINKING WHEN HE PUT WALCOTT ON SO EARLY?”
“ARSENAL’S PROBLEM IS THAT THEY ALWAYS TRY TO WALK IT IN.”
It was enjoyable a million years ago. It’s no longer enjoyable.
4. KYLIAN MBAPPE
PSG is his current club
Real Madrid and Manchester City are two possible destinations. Future Ballon d’Or winner, GOAT, and blah blah blah. We know who Kylian Mbappe is and what his future may hold.
The summer of 2021, however, may present him with the most important decision of his career: does he stay and cement his legacy as possibly PSG’s greatest ever player, or does he move to Real Madrid?
5. ERLING HAALAND
Borussia Dortmund is his current club
Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Barcelona, and Chelsea are all possible destinations. The Haaland sweepstakes feel eerily similar to those for LeBron James in 2010, not least because it appears that most of Europe has given up on landing Mbappe instead.
6. HARRY KANE
Tottenham Hotspur is his current club
Manchester City, Manchester United, and Real Madrid are all possible destinations. Harry Kane’s choice between Spurs and pretty much any other elite club in the world is akin to Maggie Simpson having to choose between her own family, dripping wet in a dirty river, and the Flanders’, portrayed against a backdrop of sunshine and rainbows.
Spurs’ saving grace is that winning the Carabao Cup/Daniel Levy slapping a £12 billion price tag on Kane may keep him in north London.
7. SERGIO RAMOS
Real Madrid is his current club
Manchester United, Chelsea, and PSG are all possible destinations. From ‘a’ Madrid star who might leave to ‘the’ Madrid star who might leave. Ramos’ contract dispute has been well documented, but we’ve seen this before with him, with him frequently using Man United to make his current club jealous. To be fair, it usually works.
8. RAPHAEL VARANE
Real Madrid is his current club
Manchester United, Chelsea, and PSG are all possible destinations. However, while Haaland and Mbappe may both end up at Real Madrid (God help us all), it appears that a few of their stars are looking for a new challenge. Raphael Varane is one of them, having won nearly everything this game has to offer at the highest level during his decade-long stay in the Spanish capital.
He’s also only 27 years old.
9. PAULO DYBALA
Juventus is his current club
Chelsea, PSG, and Barcelona are all possible destinations. According to 90min’s Jack Gallagher, Dybala is “simply the most talented player at Juventus Football Club,” and the Bianconeri appear to be more willing to listen to offers for him than their other superstar attacker.
At the very least, Jack, he’ll be free to blossom elsewhere, so, you know, every cloud. You’re still contemplating the bad news, aren’t you?
10. JACK GREALISH
Aston Villa is his current club
Manchester City and Manchester United are two possible destinations. Jack Grealish, who plays for Aston Villa, is now regarded as one of the top ten players in the Premier League.
Kane’s ability at Spurs is one thing, but ol’ Greal boy is taking it to another level. He may aspire to be to Villa what Alan Shearer was to Newcastle or Francesco Totti was to Roma. But if he doesn’t, there will be plenty of big clubs interested in him.
11. JAN OBLAK
Atletico Madrid is his current club
PSG and Chelsea are two possible destinations. What do you think? Jan Oblak might not want to make a million saves every week. Perhaps Jan Oblak wants to go somewhere else and play like Nick Pope did against San Marino, laying on his backside and doing a sudoku puzzle to pass the time. Have you ever considered it?
12. SERGIO AGUERO
Manchester City is his current club
Barcelona, Chelsea, and Independiente are all possible destinations. It’s a pity that two of City’s best, if not the best, players of all time, David Silva and Sergio Aguero, will have left the Etihad Stadium with little fanfare due to the global climate.
Aguero’s contract is set to expire in the summer, so there may be some fans in attendance to bid him farewell. Unless he pulls a Frank Lampard and moves to Chelsea next season. In that case, he’ll return rather sheepishly.
13. PHILIPPE COUTINHO
Barcelona is his current club
PSG, Inter, and Milan are all possible destinations. Few players can say they were deemed surplus to requirements by their club, loaned out, and then beat their parent club 8-2 on their way to winning club football’s most prestigious prize.
In any case, Coutinho may finally leave Camp Nou this summer.
14. JADON SANCHO
Borussia Dortmund is his current club
Manchester United and Chelsea are two possible destinations. Because of Haaland’s meteoric rise, Sancho has had to play the role of Scottie Pippen to Haaland’s Michael Jordan this season. But the lad is still only 21 and does it for fun. Whoever gets him this time will still have a top player for the next decade.
15. DAVID DE GEA
Manchester United is his current club
PSG and Real Madrid are two possible destinations. Manchester United will not transfer list De Gea, they are open to offers because they want to promote Dean Henderson to their starting XI without making too much of a fuss.
Do you think the Spaniard is due a testimonial right now? Isn’t that right?
16. KALIDOU KOULIBALY
Napoli is the current club
Everton and PSG are two possible destinations. The ship has sailed for Koulibaly to get his bing. When he learns that Everton is his most likely destination, he’ll feel a lot like the Evergreen sailing down the Suez Canal.
17. ANTOINE GRIEZMANN
Barcelona is his current club
PSG and Manchester United are two possible destinations. Why did Griezmann return to Barcelona? Why did he leave a club he had previously teased about leaving, a club where everything went through him on the field, just to be shoehorned into a really dodgy Barcelona side?
18. CHRISTIAN PULISIC
Chelsea is his current club
Manchester United, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich are all possible destinations. Pulisic had a promising debut season in west London, where he outperformed, but he followed it up with a drab season in which he underperformed.
Liverpool and Manchester United are said to be circling in case Chelsea decides they’ve had enough of their still-new toy.
19. KINGSLEY COMAN
Bayern Munich is his current club
Chelsea and Manchester United are two possible destinations. Coman has progressed from the outskirts of Bayern’s squad to scoring the game-winning goal in the Champions League final.
Unfortunately for him, his name isn’t Serge Gnabry or Leroy Sane, so he’ll never be Bayern Munich’s winger.
20. HUGO LLORIS
Tottenham Hotspur is his current club
PSG is a possible destination. Hugo Lloris was described as an unofficial member of Mauricio Pochettino’s coaching team during his time at Tottenham, so it’s only natural for him to pay a hefty transfer fee to bring him back to France.
21. AARON RAMSEY
Juventus is his current club
Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham, and Crystal Palace are all possible destinations. Ramsey in Italy was entertaining in theory, until you realized he’s made of glass and breaks every chance he gets. At the very least, he got to follow in the footsteps of John Charles and Ian Rush, eh?
22: MIRALEM PJANIC
Barcelona is his current club
Chelsea, Roma, and PSG are all possible destinations. Did anyone else forget that last summer, Pjanic was essentially swapped for Arthur? There’s still a good player there; it just needs some TLC (tender loving care or tables, ladders and chairs, whichever works).
23. ISCO
Real Madrid is his current club
Arsenal and Everton are two possible destinations. Isco, who has completely disappeared this season, is a slightly less memorable player than Pjanic. This season, he’s only played 90 minutes once, in Real Madrid’s heartbreaking Copa del Rey loss to Alcoyano.
24: MEMPHIS DEPAY
Lyon is his current club
PSG and Barcelona are two possible destinations. Earlier this month, a Twitter bug caused your account to be suspended if you used the word “Memphis” in a tweet.
Let’s hope that bug returns for the summer transfer window, when the Dutch forward will be able to move for free.
25: OUSMANE DEMBELE
Barcelona is his current club
Manchester United, Liverpool, and PSG are all possible destinations. Since moving to Barcelona, Mbappe’s original rival has faded into obscurity. There have been serious doubts about Dembele’s fitness, commitment, and Fortnite playing time, and a fresh start somewhere else may be just what he needs to rekindle his career.
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