Bayern Munich look set to turn their attentions to Barcelona and Spain star Jordi Alba should they fail in their pursuit of French international Lucas Hernandez.

According to Don Balon, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is to pull out all the stops to try and convince Hernandez, who won the World Cup with France this past summer, to stay with Los Rojiblancos, and that if the Argentine is successful in this, Bayern will turn their attentions to Jordi Alba.

Another recent report from Don Balon has noted that Spaniard Alba has decided that he’s to leave the Blaugrana, something that will music to Bayern’s ears.

Alba is debatably the best player in the world in his position, thus it would be a bitter blow for Barca should they end up losing the former Valencia man.

The player’s partnership with Lionel Messi is one of the best in world football, and the Spanish giants would have an extremely difficult time replacing him should he end up departing the Camp Nou.

Alba has decided to leave Barcelona, news that will be positive for Bayern to hear

Bayern fans would surely be over the moon to see Alba seal a move to the Allianz Arena, as the defender’s arrival would give their quality at the back a major boost.

Signing Alba would allow Niko Kovac to do what he pleases with David Alaba, and whether that be move him into midfield or play him at centre back remains to be seen…

It’s arguably getting harder and harder to be an unsung hero in modern football, with access to social media and stats meaning every player is now subject to an almost forensic level of scrutiny in any game in any league all around the world.

Still, we’ve put together a top ten list of some Premier League stars we think could do with a bit more credit than they’ve received this season, featuring some surprise performers at Liverpool and Manchester City who’ve arguably done as much as the glamour names like Mohamed Salah and Sergio Aguero to spark what looks like being one of the most intriguing and dramatic title races for a long time.

Read on for our top ten, in no particular order…

Fabinho (Liverpool)

It’s taken some time, but Fabinho is fast becoming one of Liverpool’s most important players.

Whether it’s in defensive midfield, a more creative role, or even filling in in defence at either full-back or centre-back, Fabinho is a man of many talents who has done brilliantly to out-shine his more glamorous fellow new-boy Naby Keita this season.

If Liverpool do go on to win the Premier League, this will surely end up looking like a superb piece of business for the kind of no-thrills star every successful team needs.

Liverpool can reportedly seal the transfer of defender James Tarkowski if they pay Burnley a fee of £50million this January.

The Reds have something of an injury crisis in defence at the moment, with Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez both out.

MORE: Real Madrid consider transfer swoop for Liverpool star with £72million asking price

With Jurgen Klopp’s side four points clear at the top of the Premier League table, one imagines they don’t want to take too many chances in what may well be their best shot yet at winning their first league title since 1990.

With that in mind, Liverpool are being linked with an interest in taking Tarkowski on loan, though his club only want to sanction a permanent transfer and are asking for a big fee of £50m, according to the Sun.

It remains to be seen how this one will pan out, but LFC would probably do well to just pay whatever Burnley want.

Man Utd are reportedly set to miss out on Atletico Madrid stalwart Diego Godin as he’s closing in on joining Inter on a free transfer this summer.

As noted by the Manchester Evening News previously, it had been suggested that United were leading the race to sign the 33-year-old in the January transfer window.

SEE MORE: BREAKING: Man Utd transfer target has £25m clause ACTIVATED, tipped to LEAVE rivals

Given his experience, pedigree at the highest level and consistency to establish himself as one of the best centre-halves in Europe, he could have been an ideal solution to help tighten up Man Utd’s leaky defence, which has conceded 32 goals in just 21 Premier League games so far this season.

However, barring a late bid and dramatic turn of events, it appears as though the Red Devils have missed out on the Uruguayan international with Calciomercato noting that Inter have swooped in and are on the verge of reaching an agreement to sign him on a free this summer.

Details of the contract offer are even put forward, with Godin potentially set to pen a two-year deal with an option for a third.

At this stage of his career, the length of the deal is arguably the crucial factor and so time will tell if Inter are now given a free path to wrap up an agreement or if they face late competition.

While it would be a huge blow for United to miss out on such an accomplished and quality signing for no fee, it would represent great business from Inter’s perspective and so should they confirm a deal, they’ll undoubtedly deserve plenty of praise for snapping up Godin.

As for United, perhaps their recruitment push for major additions will wait until a long-term appointment is made to replace Jose Mourinho, with interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer expected to only remain in charge until the end of the season.

AC Milan will reportedly have to splash out €38m in total on Tiemoue Bakayoko if they wish to sign him on a permanent basis from Chelsea this summer.

After overcoming a tricky start, the 24-year-old has established himself as a fundamental figure in the Milan midfield over the past few months, emerging as an ever-present in Gennaro Gattuso’s starting line-up.

SEE MORE: AC Milan transfer news: Boost as top summer target’s valuation drops to €80m

With that in mind coupled with the fact that the Italian giants could secure qualification for the Champions League this season, it may lead them to opting to sign Bakayoko outright from Chelsea.

However, Calciomercato report, via the paper edition of Tuttosport, that it will cost them €38m in total to sign the Frenchman, with the Blues not interested in offering any discounts.

As per Calciomercato last summer at the time of Bakayoko’s arrival, it was suggested that Milan had an option to sign him for €35.5m at the end of the season, and so that would suggest that the latest figure includes any possible loan fee.

In turn, it presents the Rossoneri with a difficult decision, as that’s a significant fee to splash out, but Bakayoko has proven to be a pivotal figure in their push to return to Europe’s top table.

As a result, it could be argued that they should spend the money, while Bakayoko could be open to a move given he was loaned out almost immediately after Maurizio Sarri’s arrival at Stamford Bridge as he doesn’t seem to fit with the Italian tactician’s preferred style of play.

Meanwhile, that isn’t the only touted move that Milan will make this summer, as Goal Italy report that Barcelona starlet Marc Cucurella is on their radar, and contact has been made with the Catalan giants and the player’s agent to discuss a potential move to the San Siro.

The 20-year-old is currently on loan at Eibar and has made 22 appearances so far this season to gain crucial experience at his age.

However, the report above suggests Milan will have to spend up to €11m to prise him away from the Nou Camp, while he would act as a replacement for Diego Laxalt as Ricardo Rodriguez’s back up option at left back.

Gonzalo Higuain should be having his medicals with Chelsea right about now if a recent tweet by Fabrizio Romano is anything to go by.

The trustworthy Italian journalist claims Higuain has now landed in London and a deal can soon be made official after he completes the final stage of the transfer process.

MORE: Chelsea take key step to ensure Higuain transfer goes through in time for him to play vs Tottenham

Additional information from Angelo Mangiante states that the Argentina international should have his first training session with the Blues this afternoon.

All in all, this looks an exciting signing for Chelsea, who have long looked in need of a big-name signing up front after the struggles of Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud.

Eden Hazard has ended up playing a lot of games up front this season, but the Belgian has not convinced in that position either, as he’s made a career for himself as a winger or attacking midfielder.

Higuain has been prolific in his time in Italy despite struggling on loan at AC Milan from Juventus this season, and if he can show the kind of form he showed under Maurizio Sarri in their time together at Napoli, he’ll surely be a big hit at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona are reportedly joining Real Madrid in showing some interest in a potential transfer swoop for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.

The England international is in superb form at the moment for the Red Devils, looking a player reborn after being moved from out wide to centre-forward since interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho in December.

MORE: Manchester United shoot up from 20th to 1st in the Premier League in this area since Solskjaer replaced Mourinho

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there has been talk of interest from Real Madrid in Rashford, referenced by the Telegraph as they state Man Utd are working to get him to sign a new contract.

However, MUFC may also have to fight off interest from Barcelona, who are linked as admirers by Spanish outlet Don Balon.

The 21-year-old could be a superb signing for the Catalan giants, who will soon surely need to think about replacing Luis Suarez up front.

Marcus Rashford is a rumoured transfer target for Barcelona

Manchester City are reportedly closing in on a transfer move for Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos, which means Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen replacing him at the Bernabeu.

This worrying Tottenham transfer update comes from Spanish outlet Don Balon, who claim German midfielder Kroos already has ‘a foot and a half’ in at the Etihad Stadium ahead of the summer.

MORE: Real Madrid ready to accept demands to seal £98m Chelsea transfer raid

It seems from this report that Kroos is looking set to make the move to City and that this has set the wheels in motion for Madrid to move for Eriksen, who would cost £68.5million to prise away from Spurs.

The Denmark international has been a top performer for Mauricio Pochettino’s side down the years and will be a big loss, but it’s perhaps unrealistic to think they could have kept such a world class player for much longer.

Eriksen could get into almost any side in Europe on his day and will no doubt want to get his hands on some silverware soon after a lack of success at Tottenham.

Christian Eriksen to Real Madrid and Toni Kroos to Manchester City?

While the north London side have no doubt punched above their weight, their last trophy win came in 2008 and a footballer’s career isn’t really long enough to stick it out for too much longer.