During the January transfer window, it is easy for fans to be lead astray and get caught up in transfer rumours that aren’t fully true and may not happen. For many fans who follow the transfer rumours in their club, it can be frustrating to see headlines flying about linking your favourite players to your club and then after three weeks of investment into these rumours, seeing them slowly die away and for them to be deemed fake all along. For this very reason, it is helpful to be educated on which sources you should be looking out for when you see a rumour popping up. In this report, I will be discussing some of the key figureheads in football journalism, who you should look out for when investing in a transfer story and some of the sources you should stay away from too.
Simon Stone Simon Stone is a very respectable football journalist who works for BBC News, he has strong links to both Manchester Clubs and often posts updates about his reports and findings on his twitter page, @sistoney67, in recent months he has been successful on the unexpected transfer of Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United during this January window, a rumour many found surprising after talks had failed between the two clubs last summer. He was also known for the reports of De Ligt to Juventus, and Mkhitarian to Manchester United. Generally, if Simon Stone says it, it happens.
David Ornstein David Ornstein is another very reliable journalist, he is considered the best journalist for Arsenal news specifically and has an almost clean slate when it comes to news for the North London Club. During a time when there is a lot of misinformation being presented as fact, Ornstein appears with precise timing to share the truth of Arsenal’s transfer window. While he has been wrong on a couple of deals in the past such as Arteta to Arsenal being off in 2011 or Sahin to Arsenal on loan in 2012, he has been almost perfect with his recent reports. These include the likes of Pepe to Arsenal and Vardy staying at Leicester in 2016.
Fabrizio Romano Romano is considered one of the most reliable journalists for most international transfer rumours. His content is mainly based around Italy and Serie A news, but in recent years he has been correct on reports from all over the continent. He works for Sky Italia and the Guardian. Some of his most famous findings are PSG’s double swoop for Ben Arfa and Meunier in 2016 and was recently a key reporter in the Eriksen to Inter saga.
Simon Peach Simon Peach is another very reliable journalist who reports on Manchester United, Saints and England news. He is the Press Association’s chief writer and has strong connections with both United and Southampton. In 2016, he called the Saints’ move for Claude Puel as their manager to replace Ronald Koeman. However, he was heavily involved in Fernandes’ move to United in the summer, which later fell through. Later in the summer he retracted his previous comments though and let United fans the transfer had a 50/50 chance of happening.
Sam Lee A very reliable journalist for Manchester City News, he has tonnes of insider links to the club and is very popular in their fan base. He consistently gives in-depth news about the Citizens on the Athletic page. He has been heavily linked to the recent Sane to Bayern rumours, stating that he believes it will happen. This is now looking more and more likely as summer approaches.
Craig Norwood Craig Norwood is Manchester United’s chief photographer and has a lot of links to teams in England too, however specifically the Red Devils. He was one of the first to report on Diogo Dalot’s Manchester United move in 2018 and Harry Maguire’s record-breaking transfer to Manchester United in 2019.
Di Marzio Di Marzio has been one of the best journalists in world football for years. He is very closely linked to the Serie A, however, makes contributions on transfer rumours regarding clubs and players from all over the world. He works for Sky Italia and is probably the most famous name in football journalism. However, in recent years, his track record with Premier League news specifically has been shaky. In the last couple of years, he has reported on the likes of Embolo to Schalke in 2016, Pogba to United in 2018 and much more. However, be aware that Di Marzio has his own network of journalists, including the likes of David Amoyal. These sources are often not to be trusted so be aware of the difference between Di Marzio the independent journalist and Di Marzio the journalist network.
Honourable Mentions: Paul Joyce (Liverpool/Everton journalist), James Cooper (Sky Sports), Henry Winter (Manchester United/The Times), James Ducker (The Telegraph), A bola (Reliable for Portuguese News only)
