European Leagues Tranfer Rumor … Who Goes Where?

Just days after signing Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United are set to begin their pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder LUKA MODRIC with a £22 million bid (Mirror). Modric, who nearly left White Hart Lane for Chelsea last summer, will be more difficult for Spurs to hold onto another season as they once again failed to qualify for the Champions League. Knowing this, United will bid low to begin and hope the player requests a transfer. Spurs are thought to value Modric at £30 million.

United are also thought to be in the market for a left-back and believe Everton’s LEIGHTON BAINES could replace Patrice Evra at the position (The Sun). Evra, 31, is coming off a poor season by his standards and is also in danger of losing his place in the French national team to Gael Clichy. The only hangup with Baines is Everton’s valuation of the 27-year-old, believed to be in the range of £20 million. United would prefer a fee of under £15 million.

RAFAEL VAN DER VAART could also leave Tottenham for Schalke in the next few weeks, and Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has sized up GASTON RAMIREZ and MILOS KRASIC as possible replacements for the Dutchman (Daily Star). Ramirez, 21, has been at Bologna following a 2010 move from Penarol and is also a transfer target of Manchester City. Krasic, out of favour at Juventus, is a right-winger and desperate to leave Turin after making just nine appearances in all competitions last season.

On the continent, Thomas Muller claims Inter Milan have made him an offer following a campaign in which he managed only seven Bundesliga goals for Bayern Munich and was moved out of position in favour of Arjen Robben (Bild). The 22-year-old struggled to make an impact in a central role and will have even more difficulty nailing down a place in Jupp Heynckes’ squad with the arrival of Xherdan Shaqiri from Basel.

Inter are also thought to be interested in bringing Fernando Gago to the San Siro ahead of next season (Gazzetta dello Sport). Gago, 26, made 31 appearances on loan at Roma from Real Madrid last season but isn’t in Madrid manager Jose Mourinho’s long-term plans. The Argentine adapted well to Italian football, however, and Inter see him as a replacement for Thiago Motta, who left for PSG in January.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, are keen to bring Juanfran Torres back to the Bernabeu and will submit a bid to local rivals Atletico for his services. Juanfran represented Madrid at the U-16 and U-18 levels before spells at Espanyol, Osasuna and finally Atletico Madrid. Once an attack-minded right-winger, he was moved to right-back under Atletico manager Diego Simeone and excelled in the role. He is currently on duty with the Spanish national team at Euro 2012.

On the managerial front Steve Clarke is one of the favourites to succeed Roy Hodgson at West Bromwich Albion. Clarke, a former assistant to Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, quit his post at Liverpool on Friday and was quickly linked with a move to The Hawthorns. Former Hoffenheim and Schalke manager Ralf Rangnick has also been mentioned in connection with the job.