It's that time of year again, who's excited?! Now reaching the halfway point of the season, most of the attention has turned to the January transfer market.
There are stories and speculation swirling around everywhere. Sometimes it feels overwhelming.
But please don't stress, because here at Tribalfootball we will summarise the biggest stories throughout football each week and let you know whether you should believe the paper talk or not…
Paul Pogba - Manchester United
Clubs Involved: Real Madrid
Real Madrid's pursuit of Paul Pogba looks set to come to an end despite Zinedine Zidane's continued interest in acquiring Pogba's services.
According to Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo, Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez is not ready to meet Manchester United's valuation of Pogba.
Ed Woodward reportedly values Pogba around the £150m mark whilst Perez, surprisingly doesn't regard Pogba's services as being worth more than £50m.
This suggests that Pogba is likely to remain at United beyond next summer with Real Madrid realistically being the only team that could have been able to meet Woodward's valuation of the Frenchman.
But with Real desperate to end Barcelona's strangehold on La Liga, as well as advance to the latter stages of the Champions League, the pursuit of Pogba could turn more serious throughout January.
Likelihood: Keep an eye on this one
Clubs Involved: Leeds United
With James Milner's Liverpool contract set to expire at the end of the season, Leeds United might just be the 33-year-old's next destination.
Milner is currently in talks with Liverpool over a new contract because despite going into the latter stages of his career he remains a key figure in Jurgen Klopp's side - an agreement is yet to be reached over a new contract, though, leaving room for other clubs to potentially try to lure Milner away from Anfield.
One of those clubs could be Leeds United, who Milner, by his own admission, claims he's a "big fan" of.
Milner was born in the city and broke through the club's academy ranks in 2002.
With Leeds on track to make a long-awaited return to English football next season, Milner, a player with a lot of Premier League experience, could very well be a target for Marcelo Bielsa's side.
Likelihood: Depends on promotion
Carlo Ancelotti - Free Agent
Clubs Involved: Arsenal
Arsenal have struggled to rediscover their form despite sacking Unai Emery two weeks ago. His replacement, Freddie Ljungberg has been unable to turn the Gunners' fortunes around having won just one game out of the five Arsenal has played since his Emery's sacking.
As such,The Sun reports that Arsenal are keen on going into talks with Carlo Ancelotti who boasts a ton of managerial experience at the highest level having managed Chelsea, AC Milan and Real Madrid in the past.
The Gunners reportedly have a shortlist of other candidates for the managerial role, but Ancelotti is expected to be at the top of that list considering his standing in the European football scene.
With Ljungberg struggling, an appointment is needed right now. And considering Ancelotti is a free agent, this deal could happen this week.
Likelihood: Seriously possible
Clubs Interested: Barcelona
According to Okdiario's chief pundit, Eduardo Inda, Barcelona are keen on offloading Antoine Griezmann next summer to facilitate a move for Kylian Mbappe.
Inda suggests that Barcelona will offer PSG an exchange deal which involves Ousmane Dembele, Griezmann and €120m, to entice PSG into letting Mbappe leave the club next summer.
Such a deal would be difficult to turn down, even for a club of PSG's stature, considering they would be getting two world-class players along with a hefty transfer fee for Mbappe's services.
However, it remains to be seen if Mbappe would opt for a move to Spain.
Likelihood: Interesting but unlikely
Players Interested In: Moussa Dembele (Lyon), Ben Chilwell (Leicester City), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
Having had their transfer ban lifted last week, Chelsea are keen on splashing the cash once the January transfer window commences, and they have reportedly identified Wilfried Zaha as a key target going into the winter window, according to the Daily Mail.
Chelsea also have Leicester City's Ben Chillwell, Lyon's Moussa Dembele and Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho on their radar as they prepare to go on a £150m spending spree in January in a bid to bolster their chances of securing a top four finish.
Frank Lampard is expected to use the January transfer window as a chance to offload the likes of Olivier Giroud and Pedro who are evidently way past their respective primes, hence his interest in Zaha, Sancho and Dembele.
All three deals will depend on the amount of money Chelsea are willing to pay, as well as whether those clubs can find replacements for their stars.
Likelihood: Possible but there are significant hurdles
