Premier League rumors: Raphinha to United, Duran to Barcelona, Henderson to stay

Premier League rumors: Raphinha to Manchester United

Xavi has recently been linked with replacing Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. If Xavi is to take over, then he could raid his former club Barcelona by signing Raphinha.

Fichajes has reported that "the Spanish coach has pointed out the Brazilian winger of FC Barcelona as a fundamental piece to enhance the English team's offensive" (translated from Spanish).

Raphinha is an excellent player who scored a hat-trick for Barca last night in the Champions League against Bayern Munich.

However, he is a former Leeds United player, so this move would not go down well with the supporters of his old team. Leeds has a rivalry with United which has origins from the Wars of the Roses.

Jhon Duran to Barcelona

John Duran scored again for Aston Villa this week in the Champions League. However, he looked disappointed to be substituted after 65 minutes for Ollie Watkins. Duran has played second fiddle to Watkins for much of the season so far. Therefore, the Columbian may want to move to ensure he gets more game time.

According to Fichajes, "The interest of big clubs like Arsenal and Barcelona in Colombian striker Jhon Durán is gaining strength ahead of the upcoming transfer windows" (translated from Spanish).

Signing Duran would be expensive as he has recently signed a new contract at Villa until 2030. However, he could be Barca's long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski. Arsenal needs a striker, as they only have Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus as center-forward options.

Jordan Henderson to stay at Ajax

Jordan Henderson has become a journeyman since leaving Liverpool. His stint at Al-Ettifaq did not go to plan, and he is now at Ajax. Henderson now reportedly wants to return to his former club, Sunderland.

However, Algemeen Dagblad has quoted Ajax's sporting director, Alex Kroes, saying, "I am extremely satisfied with Jordan as captain, both on and off the field. So we don't want to lose him. We assume that he will help us to continue the further development that we are currently experiencing as a club and team" (translated from Dutch).

Henderson started his career at Sunderland and played for them 71 times in the Premier League before moving to Anfield. Sunderland is currently first in the Championship — so they may soon find themselves back in the top flight of English soccer.