Aug 2020 Update– We have updated the below list to downgrade a few journalists, upgrade a lucky few and remove some altogether.

Who are the most reliable football transfer sources?

• Fabrizio Romano- Currently the most reliable football journalist for transfer news
• David Ornstein
• Mohamed Bouhafsi
• Di Marzio
• Simon Stone

Football Transfer Source Reliability Tiers

• Tier 1 – Almost undisputed when discussing a Transfer Rumour. They may not be the first to discuss a rumour, but if they are talking about it; then it is almost certainly true, and possibly close to complete.
• Tier 2 – Known to have current sources, but are still fallible and just short of being considered an authority on rumour discussions. However, multiple individuals or sources from this tier reporting the same rumour may indicate a strong possibility of truth to the rumour.
• Tier 3 – Unreliable, and not to be trusted solo. They fall into near click-bait practices and are often fighting for relevance in a sea of rumours.
• Tier 4 – Not to be trusted at all. These companies make money out of ensuring that you read them and they will make up anything to get you to harness advertising revenue.
• Tier 5 – Don’t waste your time reading them

 

Tier 1 Transfer Rumour Sources

Fabrizio Romano (Here we go!) – Currently the best!

Simon Stone (Manchester Clubs)

David Ornstein (London Clubs)

Adam Blackmore (Southampton) – BBC (England)

Ben Pearce (Spurs) – Freelance (England)

Mohammed Bouhafsi – RMC (France)

Mike Verweij – Telegraaf (Nederlands)

Gerard Romero (Barcelona) – RAC1(Spain)

Edu Polo – Mundo Deportivo (Spain)

Gianluca Di Marzio – Freelance

Sky Italia- (Italian related Transfers Only for Tier 1)

RTP 1 (Portugal)

Alfredo Pedulla (AC Milan) – Freelance (Italy)

Romeo Agresti (Juventus) – Goal.com (Italy)

Stephan von Nocks & Frank Lußem – Kicker(Germany)

Ruhr Nachrichten (Schalke & Borrusia Dortmund) (Germany)

Sam Lee – Goal.com (England)

Craig Norwood(Manchester United) – Freelance (England)

George Caulkin (Newcastle United) – The Times (England)

Keith Downie (Newcastle United) – Sky Sports (England)

Craig Hope (Newcastle United) – Daily Mail (England)

Reviersport (Schalke)

Paris United (France)

Adam Leventhal (Watford) – Sky Sports (England)

Paul Joyce (Liverpool & Everton) – Times (England)

James Pearce (Liverpool) – Echo (England)

 

Tier 2 Transfer Rumour Sources

Matt Law (Chelsea) – Telegraph (England)

James Ducker (Chelsea & Manchester Clubs) – Telegraph(England)

Bild (Germany)

COPE (Spain)

Dan Kilpatrick (Spurs) – ESPN (England/US)

Lyall Thomas (Spurs) – Sky Sports (England)

Ed Aarons (Spurs) – Guardian (England)

Martin Blackburn (Manchester City) – The Sun (England)

Simon Mullock(Manchester City) – The Mirror (England)

Lee Ryder (Newcastle United) – The Chronicle (England)

Daily Echo (Southampton)

L’Equipe (France)

Amy Lawrence (Arsenal) – Guardian (England)

Raphael Honigstein – Sky Germany (Germany)

NTVSpor (Turkey)

Serdar Saridag – Millyet(Turkey)

oJogo (Portugal)

Ahmet Ercanlar (Fenerbache) – Hürriyet Gazetesi (Turkey)

Sky Sport Italia (Italy)

LigTv (Turkey)

BeIn (Turkey)

Radio Catalunya (Barcelona) (Spain)

Radio Renascença (Portugal)

Cadena SER (Spain)

Sid Lowe – Freelance (Spain)

Melissa Reddy – Independent (Liverpool)

Leverkusener Anzeiger (Bayer Leverkusen) (Germany)

Der Westen (Germany)

 

 

Tier 3 Transfer Rumour Sources
Telegraph (England) Guardian (England) Independent (England) Sky Sports (England) Ian Ladyman (Manchester Clubs) – The Mirror (England) Manchester Evening News (England) Jim White – Sky Sports (England) ESPN (Various) The Echo (LiverpoolEverton) (England) RMC Sport(France) Futbol Arena (Turkey) Record (Portugal) aBola (Portugal) Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy) Corriere dello Sport (Italy) Il Tempo (Italy) la Repubblica (Italy) Get French Football News (France) Le Parisien (France) Transfer Merkezi (Turkey) Mundo Deportivo (Spain) Sport (Spain) COPE(Spain) Onda Cero (Spain) Sport1 (Germany)

Tier 4 Transfer Rumour Sources
Paul Merson (England) The Sun (England) Daily Mail (England) Guillem Balague (England/Spain) Duncan Castles(England)Metro (England) Mirror (England) NBC Sports (US) Sports Witness (Various) Marca (Spain) The Times AS(Spain) Fotomaç (Turkey) Fanatik (Turkey) Aspor (Turkey) Hurriyet (Turkey) Haberturk (Turkey) Correio da Manhã (Portugal) Tuttosport (Italy) Voetbalzone.nl (Nederlands) Pierre Menes (France) Sky Germany (Germany) Bleacher Report (Various) The Athletic Miguel Delaney(Freelance) (England) Andy Mitten (Manchester United) – Freelance (England) Talksport (U.K.) Here is the City (Manchester Clubs) (England)

Tier 5 Transfer Rumour Sources
Tancredi Palmieri IndyKaila Daily Star Don Balon SquawkaLadBibleCaught Offside Joe.ie Joe.co.uk 90min ExpressMuzzy OcanDiario Gol

Most Reliable Football Transfer Sources on Twitter

Below is a list of most reliable twitter accounts to follow if you want the most reliable football transfer sources.

• Fabrizio Romano
• David Ornstein
• Simon Stone
• Gianluca Di Marzio

Feel free to add

Centralised sources, never miss a beat!

Ripped article i found with some searching, Teir list too much effort to find headshots of every decent source!

Ornstein > Romano

And not sure Di Marzio should be tier 1 anymore. 

@LongtimerLurker - he has the sauce!

 

@JM7 - Lucky number 7

Cfcnewspage on Instagram is pretty good. Seems to have insiders at the club and gets praised by Fabrizio quite often so he must be doing something right! 

Paul Merson? Is that ex Arsenal Paul Merson?

The only rumours I imagine he is reliable for is the location of the nearest pub lock in.

2 minutes ago, DarkMata said:

Paul Merson? Is that ex Arsenal Paul Merson?

The only rumours I imagine he is reliable for is the location of the nearest pub lock in.

• Tier 4 – Not to be trusted at all. These companies make money out of ensuring that you read them and they will make up anything to get you to harness advertising revenue.

I was expecting to see 90% of the sources in Tier 5 !

Top of the list in Tier 1 should be the official club website  

5 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

I was expecting to see 90% of the sources in Tier 5 !

Well, Everything after tier 3 can be thrown away but i thought at least it gives us forum nerds a clue to whos who, Its also 2yrs old 

Sick of having to deep dive the net for news/info so i thought we may all benefit from some lists of people to watch so everyone is ITK

Slow work day lol

23 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

I was expecting to see 90% of the sources in Tier 5 !

All of them should be in tier bollocks....

11 minutes ago, dkw said:

All of them should be in tier bollocks....

I didn't see Ben Jacobs listed anywhere in 1-5, so I guess that's where he is !

I think Romano has been the most reliable in recent times.