Football transfer rumours: Olivier Giroud to West Ham and Jadon Sancho finally on his way to England?

With the January transfer window due to slam open at precisely the same time as folk around the UK join hands and bawl out raucous renditions of Auld Lang Syne, the Rumour Mill, as you might have expect, has donned its game face. Feverish speculation regarding the future of goalscoring whelp Erling Braut Haaland, who has inked a deal with Borussia Dortmund for a fee reported to be in the region of £18m, may have been nipped in the bud but there is no shortage of other tittle-tattle to keep us going in the meantime. For a kick-off, Lyon striker Moussa Dembélé is wanted by Manchester United, who have set their sights on the former Fulham and Celtic striker after missing out on Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s aforementioned compatriot and former Molde charge Haaland.

READ MORE: Borussia Dortmund sign Man Utd target Haaland

Back in charge of West Ham following the dismissal of Manuel Pellegrini, David Moyes is rumoured to be keen on bringing Olivier Giroud to West Ham. With just three starts to his name for Chelsea this season, the French striker is eager to leave Stamford Bridge and Frank Lampard is unlikely to stand in his way. Free to sign players in the January window following the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to halve Chelsea’s two-window transfer ban, Lamps is rumoured to be keen on prising Jadon Sancho away from Borussia Dortmund. The unsettled winger wants a move back to England and has admirers at Stamford Bridge, Anfield and Old Trafford.

READ MORE: David Moyes returns to West Ham as manager

At Arsenal, Mikel Arteta is less inclined to let Granit Xhaka leave, but the Swiss midfielder is reported to be agitating for a move to Hertha Berlin. “I hope not,” said Arteta, upon being asked if Xhaka, who missed Arsenal’s defeat at the hands of Chelsea on Sunday because of illness, would leave next month. Arsenal are also reported to be interested in securing the scrawl of Atlético Madrid’s French midfielder Thomas Lemar and are prepared to duke it out with their north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for £50m-rated RB Leipzig central defender Dayot Upamecano.

Having lost John McGinn to a fractured ankle during their defeat at the hands of Southampton last weekend, Aston Villa are in the market for a midfielder. The Daily Telegraph report that Dean Smith is chasing a loan deal for Adrien Taméze from Nice, but he could face competition for the 25-year-old’s services from Southampton and Burnley. Villa have also been linked with Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara.

And finally, Watford hope to accelerate their progress up the table under Nigel Pearson by bringing Milan left-back Ricardo Rodriguez to Vicarage Road in the coming weeks. The 27-year-old Swiss international is also wanted by Napoli. Rodriguez’s compatriot Valon Behrami, a Watford old boy, is currently without a club but is training with Genoa in the hope of earning himself a contract.