The transfer rumour mill, what is it exactly? Well, it is a figurative entity; an overview of very incorrect, and sometimes correct, speculation concerning professional football. It is, essentially, a constant, informal ecosystem of hearsay, gossip and media reports regarding the movement of players between clubs.
It is a phrase of origin in England, as is often the case, though 'the rumour mill' can and is applied to other countries' elite footballing divisions. Such as Europe's top five leagues. When does the rule or chatter apply or intensify: the arranged summer and winter transfer windows.
So, right now is the thick of the active January market. And that means that, apparently, less informed chatter is currently in overdrive, as they say. As a matter of fact, various estimates suggest that over 90% of rumours are untrue or involve concocted talk. Alternatively, part of that number is made up of potential deals that simply die on the vine, or merely aren't completed for various reasons.
Furthermore, there is a so-called unofficial tier system which 'footy' fans have developed. This is actually a fairly rigorous (while some would wrongly describe the scale as amateurish or inaccurate) 'Reliability Tier System'. 'Tier 0' is essentially reserved for club announcements; even the 'great' Fabrizio Romano doesn't land here. Next is Tier 1: the Italian, David Ornstein (The Athletic), etcetera.
Other writers and organisations who rarely make mistakes are as follows: Matt Law (The Telegraph) and The Independent, to name a couple. Kaveh Solhekol and Dharmesh Sheth of Sky Sports are pretty careful and insightful with respect to suggestions too. Foxes supporters specifically trust John Percy and Rob Dorsett.
Though the focus today is Tiers 4 and 5: the speculative, the click bait and the downright creators of nonsense!
Company consistently get Leicester City updates and news wrong - or have wildly bad sources
A word to the wise; take it as you will. But four major, false stories from this outlet have been debunked over approximately a year. I have named the incidents and supplied links:
Abdul Fatawu/Sunderland (a top journalist debunked this one as well).