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Some transfer rumours just have a look of high probability about them, while others seem fraught with potential complications or a prohibitively high valuation. Take a move to AC Milan for Liverpool striker Andy Carroll, for example. Or a £25m move by Manchester United for Porto’s João Moutinho (pictured). And what about Tottenham’s interest in Russian midfielder Alan Dzagoev? The Life’s a Pitch team takes a close look at these rumours, marking them out of 10 in terms of likelihood.

“I think it’s pure fantasy this one,” begins the People’s Tom Hopkinson on the Carroll to AC Milan story. ”I’ll give it a very low nought out of 10. I can’t imagine Milan playing him and Zlatan [Ibrahimovic], both with ponytails, up front. It wouldn’t work aesthetically. We all questioned whether Carroll would be a big enough player for Liverpool. He’s just starting to settle and show us what he’s capable of, but he’s certainly not at Milan’s level yet.”

And while the Daily Mirror’s John Cross can see why Man Utd would be interested in Moutinho, he doubts they’d be interested in an auction for his services that could reach £25m. “I think he’d be a super buy and that there will be a lot of competition for him. Manchester United will be in the mix; Tottenham’s André Villas-Boas is a manager who knows him well; there’s PSG, and what about Chelsea? So I think it’s whether United want to get caught up in a bidding war. They may also have their eyes on Luka Modric. So I’ll give it a six out of 10.”

Agreeing on a fee is also likely to be a barrier for Spurs in their pursuit of CSKA’s Dzagoev, reckons the Sunday Telegraph’s Duncan White. “He was one of the revelations of the tournament in the early stages of Euro 2012; Russia failed but he did very well. He’s only 22. He wants to leave and I think England would be a destination he’d be looking at. I just think he might prove a little too expensive for Tottenham, unless they made some of those big sales that people think [may happen]. Maybe if Modric did go for example. I’d have to hedge it on a six or a seven until those things happened.”

Watch the full video discussion by clicking on the play button in the image above.

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