Swansea linked with Liverpool's out-of-favour striker Iago Aspas over January switch to South Wales

The Spaniard has failed to impress at Anfield after his summer move from Celta Vigo but Michael Laudrup is keen to snap him up

Out of favour: Aspas has struggled to break into the Liverpool side this season

Alex Livesey

Liverpool striker Iago Aspas is a January transfer target for Swansea, according to reports.

Swans' boss Michael Laudrup is keen to bolster his front-line as his side continue to feel the absence of injured pair Michu and Nathan Dyer.

And with Aspas struggling to break into Brendan Rodgers' starting line-up, the Dane has earmarked him as a potential recruit, according to the Sun.

The 26-year-old signed for the Reds from Celta Viga for a fee believed to be in the region of £7m - taking the club's famous number 9 shirt.

He began the season in the Liverpool first team but has since found his opportunities limited and after just four starts, he could be on his way out of Anfield next month.

Laudrup hopes the Spanish contingent at the Liberty Stadium may persuade Aspas into moving to South Wales when the transfer window opens.

There are as many as eight Spaniards in the current first team squad - including Pablo Hernandez, Chico Flores and Michu, with the latter advising his countryman to move to the Swans.

Swansea have struggled to replicate their fine form of last season and remain in 11th place, with injuries taking their toll at such a busy stage of the campaign.

And their Danish boss has made no secret of his desire to bring in an attacking player next month, saying: "We only have 19 fit players right now so we are down in numbers.

"We need to use our squad but with Michu and Dyer out, it is obvious we need a striker."

United Ready To Make New Bid For Baines

Manchester United boss David Moyes is ready to frustrate Everton once more by making a new £16million bid for longstanding target Leighton Baines.

The Everton left-back was under intense speculation throughout the summer over a move to the Premier League champions but the two sides failed to come to an agreement.

However with Patrice Evra set to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season, Moyes has made a left-back his main priority for the January transfer window.

 According to the Mirror, the United boss is lining up another move which is sure to anger Roberto Martinez who claims Moyes is trying to unsettle the defender.

One positive for Moyes is that Bryan Oviedo has been in fine form since Baines has been out of action through injury which may persuade Martinez to accept their offer.

If the Baines bid fails, then Southampton star Luke Shaw is also on Moyes’ radar. 

Rumour: Manchester United will have to break transfer record to sign Marco Reus from Borussia Dortmund

Manchester United have been apparently informed by Borussia Dortmund that they will have to shell out up to £40 million and break the club’s transfer record to lure Marco Reus away from the Westfalenstadion.

The 24-year old German is believed to be one of David Moyes’ prime targets as he looks to add new players to a Manchester United side that has looked bereft of ideas in the attacking third of the pitch. Although it was initially believed that Reus had a £29.4 million buy-out clause in his contract at Borussia Dortmund which runs till the summer of 2017, the situation has changed since Bayern Munich snatched Mario Gotze last summer by activating a similar clause.

Manchester United had sent scouts over to Germany to monitor Reus but it remains to be seen whether they will make a move for the player in January given that he is cup-tied. A player plus cash deal could also be a possibility with Shinji Kagawa going back to Germany.

The Borussia Dortmund front-man has endured a relative dip in form of late but will no doubt be a welcome addition to the United squad given that he can play in a number of attacking positions.

Rumour: Real Madrid linked with a shock move for Eden Hazard

According to sources in Spain, Real Madrid are interested in signing Chelsea’s star man Eden Hazard. Real Madrid’s sporting director Zinedine Zidane tracked the Belgian’s development at Lille with keen interest.

Hazard switched clubs to Stamford Bridge in a £32 million deal only last summer and word has it, Zidane wants him at the Bernabeu. He has recommended Hazard to Real’s top brass with a view to sign him in the summer. Madrid are keen to land the Belgian and are reportedly willing to let Angel Di Maria switch clubs to Chelsea in a cash-plus-player deal.

Luis Suarez was on top of Real’s wishlist, but his latest contract which has a whooping £100 million buy-out clause has cooled the interest of the Spanish giants, as they don’t consider a deal to be viable having recently spent a world record £86 million for the capture of Gareth Bale. Hazard’s team-mate Ramires is also being tracked by the Madrid club.

However, with Suarez now seemingly out of gasp, it appears Carlo Ancelotti is widening his search for attacking options with a move for Hazard in the pipeline.

Rumour: PSG plan a £210 million bid for Lionel Messi

Reports in the Daily Mail suggest that oil-cash-rich Paris Saint-Germain are planning an out-of-the world transfer of Lionel Messi. PSG are planning a £210 million bid for the Barcelona star which will not only smash the current world record transfer fee set at £86 million for Gareth Bale’s transfer from Tottenham to Real Madrid, but will more than double it.

Le Parisien suggest the French champions want to trigger the 26-year-old’s release clause with a huge bid for the Argentina forward. The Barcelona talisman is apparently unsettled at the Nou Camp following comments from director Javier Faus about his contract situation.

Messi is on a £13.5m-a-year contract until 2018 and Faus dismissed claims that Messi should be given an improved package following a bumper £15m-a-year-deal for Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo. An infuriated Messi said: “Faus is a person that doesn’t know anything about football and wants to run Barcelona like a business – which it isn’t.”

The Argentine would make up a mouth-watering front trio with Zlatan Ibrahimovic – his former team-mate at Barcelona – and Edinson Cavani. Messi has been at an intense rehab camp in Buenos Aires recovering from a string of thigh problems which have ruled him out of action since November.

The Argentine is scheduled to be back next month – meaning he will be gunning for Manuell Pellegrini’s Manchester City when the sides meet in the Champions League in February. Barcelona are back in action on January 5, and the forward is expected to be fit for the Nou Camp clash with Elche. However Barca, and in particular Neymar, have flourished in his absence, topping La Liga going into the New Year.