With the amount of rumours swirling around at this time of year, even after the winter transfer window, it is sometimes difficult to decipher the truth.
These are matters of importance.
As the transfer talk is now directed at the all-important summer market, there are enormous amounts of speculation swirling around Europe and the UK.
Not to worry however, because here at Tribalfootball, we have broken down the week's hottest transfer rumours, and inform you whether you should believe the paper talk or not.
Here are our top five trending transfer stories for the past week:
Hector Bellerin – Arsenal
Clubs Interested: Barcelona
According to Don Balon, Barcelona has offered one of Ivan Rakitic, Arda Turan or Andre Gomes to Arsenal in exchange for right-back Hector Bellerin, as they aim to fill the void left by Dani Alves' departure to Juventus last season.
It was never going to be easy to fill the shoes of a player who represented the Catalan giants on 391 occasions, but Barcelona have had to make do with Sergi Roberto, and although the Spaniard had a solid season, he's not a natural full back.
Now we see the need for a player like Bellerin. Much like Alves, he has pace and strength, and most importantly, he knows how to play the Barcelona way after spending his entire youth career at La Masia before moving to London.
The desire for Barcelona may be evident, but what motivation does Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger have to go ahead with the deal?
Well Arsenal are certainly not short of needs as they are struggling to make the top-four this season, but they will be looking for hefty compensation for a player like Bellerin.
Arda Turan, 30, has been pretty useless for Barca this season having scored only 3 goals in La Liga. Andre Gomes has failed to impress Barcelona fans since joining from Valencia in the summer, having been criticised and sometimes jeered by the Barca faithful.
Rakitic is the best player of the bunch that Barca has reportedly offered. He has been a regular in Barcelona's starting XI since moving to the club in 2014, and he has the quality and nous to make an impact in the Premier League.
If Wenger has the opportunity to sign a classy midfielder like Rakitic – especially with Mesut Ozil's rumoured departure – he should jump on it.
Likelihood: Makes sense
David De Gea – Manchester United
Clubs Interested: Real Madrid
This week has been another week rife with rumours of David De Gea's depature from Manchester United to Real Madrid.
Spanish publication Marcahave claimed that De Gea has told United boss Jose Mourinho that he wants to move to Madrid, however, this has been refuted by Sky Sports Spanish football expert Guillem Balague as reported by Tribalfootball.
Balague agrees that Madrid wants the Spanish international, but he doesn't see any reason why De Gea or United for that matter, would want to part with each other. Instead, Balague believes there is a hidden agenda behind the rumours.
"Not for the first time in situations like this, the Spanish press have announced that not only does De Gea want to leave but have gone as far as to say that he has even requested a move," said Balague.
"I have been told that he has not said anything of the kind to United. Why do the Spanish press keep insisting he wants to go then?"
Leaving aside arguments between Spanish journalists over the deal, the latest rumour surrounding how the transfer would actually work is one of the most intriguing yet.
It has been reported that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has finally agreed to part with one of his 'untouchables' – Luka Modric, Toni Kroos or Karim Benzema.
Perez does not want to have to pay €70 million for a goalkeeper and has instead reasoned with himself to part with one of his players that were once unavailable for transfer.
This is the best and most unlikely deal for De Gea that has been reported all season. If Modric, Kroos or Benzema are offered, then Mourinho should take it and run. For his troubles, he will receive a decent of amount of money to buy a replacement - or keep Sergio Romero – and also welcome some world class talent with any of the Real players on offer.
Likelihood: Too good to be true!
Anthony Martial– Manchester United
Clubs Interested: Unknown
According to former Gestifute agent Vincent Rodriguez, Manchester United forward Anthony Martial is incredibly unhappy at United and wants to move elsewhere in the summer.
Rodriguez claims that Martial's discontent comes from the 'consistent bullying' Jose Mourinho has given him, and he has told his family, friends and his agent that he wants out of England as soon as possible.
Martial moved to United in 2015 in a whopping deal for a then 19-year old. Former United boss Louis Van Gaal made the Frenchman the most expensive signing for a teenager when he forked out an initial £36.3million to Monaco for his services. The deal reportedly has the ability to rise to £60million when certain clauses are met.
There has been some angst between Mourinho and Martial after the Portuguese arrived last summer, but lately there has been hope of a revival in their relationship. Since Zlatan Ibrahimovic went down with a season ending injury last month, Martial has started United's last three matches in the Premier League and found the back of the net in the Red Devils win against Burnley a few weeks ago.
It is hard to believe that United will part willingly with the 21-year old given his huge potential, and the fact that they have already invested a large amount of money in the youngster.
Likelihood: They won't give up on him just yet!
Jurgen Klopp – Liverpool
Players Interested: Ball playing Centre backs
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has stated that finding a top class centre-half is his priority this summer.
"If we go for a centre-half we need to know how he acts in big spaces, but on the other side centre-halves can feel pretty alone in certain moments if we don't react the right way after losing the ball," said the German.
"That is why counter-pressing is a pretty useful skill."
Southampton's Virgil Van Dijk is the name being thrown around consistently in the rumour mill. Liverpool, as well Chelsea and Arsenal, are reportedly interested in acquiring the Dutchman's services, with reports suggesting that the 25-year old could cost £50million.
With the attacking style that Liverpool needs, Klopp's desires are accurate. This season he has relied heavily on the pairing of Joel Matip with either Dejan Lovren or Ragnar Klavan at centre back.
Whilst Matip has been proven to be an astute ball playing centre-half, Lovren and Klavan leave much to be desired in that aspect of the game.
Sure, they are proficient in one side of their job – the marking, tackling and defending – but like Klopp said, with so much space in the back half against more defensive minded sides, Liverpool's need a partner for Matip who can hold up his end with the ball at his feet.
If it is van Dijk then well played to Liverpool, either way Jurgen Klopp is getting a centre-half this summer.
Likelihood: Extremely likely
Douglas Costa – Bayern Munich
Clubs Interested: Liverpool
The Mirrorsuggests that Bayern Munich's Douglas Costa could be angling for a move away from Allianz Arena this summer.
To add further spice to the rumour, it seems an innocuous Twitter like has given Liverpool fans hope that Costa could be heading to Anfield.
After hearing the rumour, journalism student @OzaniNeto tweeted "Philippe Coutinho, Douglas Costa and Roberto Firmino. I can already envision the best attack in Europe in 17/18." Despite his Twitter handle not entered in the tweet, the 26-year old Brazilian liked it shortly after it was posted.
Yes, this is the 21st century and this is the way things work. And it is not totally without merit – as they say, if the shoes fits, wear it. Costa has only started 18 matches in all competitions for Bayern this campaign, and given his age and ability, it wouldn't be a stretch for him to try and gain more time on the pitch elsewhere.
For Liverpool, as our friend @OzaniNeto put it, bringing Costa to Merseyside would provide an electric attack that would be hard to match up with in the Premier League, if not Europe.
Likelihood: Needs more than this!
