Football Transfer Bulletin: Today's rumours, gossip & odds including Cristiano Ronaldo's future

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1715: Sky sources are currently reporting that Chelsea are interested in signing Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, seemingly joining Liverpool and Manchester City in the race.

The Reds are currently considered favourites at 2/1 to secure his services with the champions 10/1 followed by City at 16/1, although he is still well odds-on to remain at the Emirates.

The 23-year-old scored just twice from 16 starts and 13 substitute appearances last season, but did move himself as an able wing-back, potentially the source of Chelsea's interest as they prepare to juggle Champions League football with defending the Premier League title.

1600: Rangers have swooped for striker Alfredo Morelos from HJK Helsinki - full details here.

1525: Swansea are the latest side to declare their interest in signing England Under-21 striker Tammy Abraham, who was expected to join Newcastle on loan.

Sky Bet suspended betting after the striker was repeatedly backed at short odds to head to St James' Park this summer, but a deal is yet to be struck.

Abraham scored 26 goals for Bristol City in the Sky Bet Championship last season and Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins says the Welsh club are also battling Brighton for his services.

 "Tammy does not have Premier League experience, but we are interested," Jenkins told BBC Wales. 

 "Paul (Clement) knows him from Chelsea. If you look at the options which have been publicised, (they are) Brighton, Newcastle and ourselves. 

Read the full story here.

1330: One transfer which is expected to happen is Dani Alves’ move to Manchester City, which is currently a 1/3 chance, with a move to reunite with Pep Guardiola widely expected in a deal worth around £5m.

Alves’ backing has prompted Kyle Walker to drift out from a short as 1/8 to 4/6 to head to the Etihad Stadium, although acquiring two right-backs would logical given both Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna departed at the end of the season.

City do have 19-year-old Pablo Maffeo on the books but it would be a surprise to see him trusted as first-choice backup given he’s yet to make his Premier League debut.

On the left-hand side of their full-back overhaul, both Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand and Monaco’s Benjamin Mendy are odds-on to arrive, although Liverpool are interestingly poised as second favourites in both players’ transfer markets.

The Reds are shorter odds to land West Ham left-back Aaron Cresswell and well odds-on to sign former Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah from Roma.

In other news, Stoke have expressed their interest in signing Ryan Shawcross up to a new contract.

1040: Humour me for a moment, if you would, as I’m going to suggest that it could actually make sense for Real Madrid to let Cristiano Ronaldo go.

According to the Telegraph, Ronaldo’s advisors are touting him around at £131m, making for a £51m profit on the £80m they spent in 2009 for a 32-year-old.

Obviously the marketing implications are not factored in, but Real are the masters of is regenerating stars, or should I say galacticos.

There’s one thing in football that trumps a reigning superstar and it’s a future one, namely Kylian Mbappe, who is currently 2/1 to head to the Bernabeu this summer.

The young Frenchman will reportedly cost £100m but would command a fraction of Ronaldo’s, while fitting in with Real’s next generation of attacking talent.

Operating on the left and cutting inside, Mbappe would give balance to a strike force alongside Alvaro Morata and Gareth Bale, who are both struggling to fulfil their potential in Ronaldo’s shadow.

Bale is the natural heir to the throne and should flourish once he can focus on goals rather than assisting Ronaldo, having failed to match his goal tally in his final season at Tottenham since arriving in the Spanish capital.

Morata averaged more goals-per-minute than any other Real player last season but was sacrificed as Karim Benzema, who netted just 11 times last season, serves as a better targetman for Ronaldo to work off.

That would also leave money to spare for Madrid to improve their biggest vulnerability, defence, having recorded just 13 cleans sheets from their 62 games in all competitions last season.

Make sense? Perhaps to some, certainly not to Real Madrid, who will probably keep Ronaldo, sign Mbappe and ignore their defence for another summer and still win every trophy on offer.

0940: So let's try and make some sense of this Ronaldo chat. The Sky Sports line is that Manchester United would interest the Ballon d'Or holder if he leaves Real Madrid.

That still seems a quite significant 'if', not that we're suggesting for a moment that this is a ploy to shake off the taxman with threats of taking his business elsewhere.

The Guardian are supporting the claims that Ronaldo wants to leave Spain after being left “outraged” by the allegations of tax evasion.

United are one of the few clubs which could satisfy his financial needs (but remember, it’s not about money) while he shares the same agent, Jorge Mendes, as Jose Mourinho (still not about money).

There’s little to suggest Real Madrid would be willing to let the man who lead them to LaLiga and Champions League glory leave, and typically what Real Madrid want, Real Madrid get.

Sky Bet’s attempts to make sense of it all leave them pricing up a move back to Old Trafford at 9/4, with PSG 8/1 second favourites to secure his services, while he’s 1/2 to remain at the Bernabeu.

0730: Another week at the transfer grindstone begins as the last one ended, with various reports suggesting Manchester United are going to throw all the money - and quite possibly some players - at Real Madrid to bring back Cristiano Ronaldo.

Can't quite shake the idea that it all seems a bit far-fetched myself, but it's front and centre in this morning's Paper Talk. along with further chat about Alex Sandro joining Chelsea and news of a defensive midfielder on Arsenal's radar.