TRANSFER NEWS

As the transfer window prepares to crank into action, here are five players who currently seem unwanted by their clubs and could be looking for pastures new.

Yohan Cabaye, MF, Paris Saint-Germain

Few could have blamed Yohan Cabaye for leaving Newcastle when PSG came calling 18 months ago. The Magpies were actually doing OK at the time he left but would soon embark on a calamitous run of form -- one that surprised precisely nobody, least of all Cabaye. He had already tried to tunnel his way out of the St James' Park shambles a few months earlier when Arsenal made a bid for him, so when the most glamorous team from his homeland swooped, there was only going to be one answer.

However, it hasn't entirely gone to plan for Cabaye in Paris, where he frequently didn't even make the bench for Laurent Blanc's side in the closing weeks of the season. France coach Didier Deschamps has hinted that he must leave the French capital for his international career to progress, and it looks like he will do exactly that.

Cabaye can't be faulted for a dream move to PSG but shifting back to the Premier League is the right next move.

But to where? Reports in England suggest that West Ham and Crystal Palace are both keen, but with the greatest of respect to those two clubs, surely Cabaye can do a little better. The very best teams in the land might not be interested, but perhaps Southampton (particularly if Morgan Schneiderlin leaves, even though they are not particularly similar players) or even Tottenham can rescue him from his platinum-plated "hell" in Paris.
Where he should go: Southampton

Asier Illarramendi, MF, Real Madrid

When Real Madrid signed Isco and Asier Illarramendi in the summer of 2013, it was difficult to think anything other than "I give it a year." Madrid often pay lip service to the idea of bringing through young Spaniards before president Florentino Perez gets giddy and throws millions at the latest foreign superstar. Isco has actually managed to carve himself a semi-regular spot in the Real team but Illarramendi has found first-team chances much harder to come by, starting just 10 league games last season.

In theory, the departure of Sami Khedira to Juventus means Illarramendi moves a step up in the midfield pecking order, but if Paul Pogba does indeed leave Italy this summer, then mega-rich Real will be at the front of the queue, meaning Illarramendi is back where he started.

Young Illarramendi couldn't crack Real's starting XI but could find a better club for his talents in Manchester.

Manchester City will be in the Pogba sweepstakes too but if they don't get him, Illarramendi could be a very handy consolation prize. City really needs a new midfielder or two with Yaya Toure fading, Fernando another expensive error, and Fernandinho not a great deal better. Illarramendi could well be the man.
Where he should go: Manchester City

Pepe Reina, GK, Bayern Munich

At 31, moving to Bayern Munich was always a slightly curious move for Pepe Reina given that he would always be in the shadow (literally, for he is massive, and figuratively) of Manuel Neuer, and so it has proved. Reina played three times in the league last season, and didn't even get on the pitch for the traditional reserve goalkeeper territory of the domestic cup.
 
And now that Bayern have signed another keeper, Stuttgart's 26-year-old Sven Ulreich, Reina's chances are likely to be even more limited this season, if that is even possible. Departure seems inevitable.

Pepe Reina's time in Munich appears up, but would he consider a move to Liverpool's crosstown rivals?

Reina has been linked with a move to Real Madrid to join manager Rafa Benitez once more, but that would surely be more of the same even if they don't sign David De Gea too, and with a return to Napoli, which could be plausible.



However, another possibility could well be a return to the city of Liverpool, in which Reina spent eight years, but not to the same club. Everton probably should be in the market for a new goalkeeper this summer, as Tim Howard is now 36 and had perhaps the worst season of his career on Merseyside. Admittedly, with Reina turning 33 in August he's not exactly a fresh young face, but he would be an upgrade on Howard, and possibly available at a very reasonable price.
The main obstacle, you'd imagine, will be the strength of Reina's loyalty to the team over Stanley Park...
Where he should go: Everton

Rafael, RB, Manchester United

It seems curious that Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has not rated Rafael to the point of preferring to start Antonio Valencia at right-back in the second half of the season. Of course, Van Gaal could point to a few problems with the young Brazilian: he's been injury-prone, and while his backers might call his style of play enthusiastic, it can lead to some disciplinary problems.

Still, it does appear that Rafael is not part of Van Gaal's plans, with talk rife of a new right-back arriving at Old Trafford -- Nathaniel Clyne, anyone? All of this means Rafael could be looking for a new home, and there is one intriguing, probably unrealistic and definitely controversial destination.

Can you imagine Rafael playing for Liverpool? It is a difficult thing to envision but a deal like this would make sense.

Liverpool are also in the market for a right-back, with reports they are keen on Clyne too. But if it's a straight race between them and United for the Southampton man, the team with more financial muscle, a more secure manager and Champions League football will win the day. Rafael would suit Liverpool perfectly as an attack-minded full-back who can play in a traditional back four. Plus, if Brendan Rodgers insists on using wing-backs he would at least have someone vaguely suited to the position to play there, rather than Lazar Markovic or Raheem Sterling.

Admittedly, this is blind speculation and there are any number of reasons why this won't happen, from United's unwillingness to sell to the player's clear affiliation to United, and perhaps even Liverpool's queasiness about spending a fair whack on a player who has irked them significantly over the years.
But on a simple football level, as well as Liverpool claiming the not insignificant trophy of annoying swathes of United fans, it does make sense.
Where he should go: Liverpool

Loic Remy, ST, Chelsea

It is perhaps a stretch to describe Loic Remy as unwanted at Chelsea but assuming Radamel Falcao does arrive at Stamford Bridge, as reports suggest he will, the Frenchman's importance diminishes. Indeed, it wouldn't be a surprise if Falcao was not the only forward arrival at the club; talk of a move for Antoine Griezmann is still doing the rounds even if Jose Mourinho played down such talk a few weeks ago.

That would leave Remy at something of a crossroads, still a reserve option for the league champions and shunted down the pecking order, so they could well offload the Frenchman to someone who has more of a space for him. (Even after his terrible season at Manchester United, Falcao would be a more prominent alternative to Diego Costa than Didier Drogba last term.) And that someone could be Tottenham.

Loic Remy will never start for Chelsea but he would be very useful at a club in North London.

While Harry Kane was obviously the outstanding young player of last season and now a true Tottenham hero, manager Mauricio Pochettino still needs at least one more forward for a couple of reasons. With Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor essentially expensive dead weights at the club, Kane is their only reliable striking option. If anything were to happen to him, or even if he just needs a rest, Pochettino has little to fall back on.

Also, while it might be heresy to suggest it, Pochettino has to weigh up the possibility that Kane's 2014-15 season was a glorious outlier, a career campaign that might not be bettered, so he needs a goalscoring option should things go south with Kane.

Remy ticks all those boxes, with the added benefit of being able to play on either flank, and given that Spurs were interested in him before he moved to Chelsea last summer, he would seem the perfect candidate for a move to White Hart Lane.

TRANSFERS 04:53