Who’s hot and on the move this January.
Arsenal
The Gunners have had their eye on a number of players so far this season and whilst some have been rather ambitious despite their current standing at the top of the table, others have been reasonably well rounded and believable.
FC Basel’s Fabian Schar is one such player that could very well be on his way to the club as contract talks with Bacary Sagna have still yet to be resolved.
The young Swiss full-back has gained a lot of admirers over the past couple of months, and though the temptation must be there to sign for the first big club to come knocking, Arsenal would do well to snap him up and loan him out to a capable Bundesliga side where he can establish himself as one of the best players in Europe before making the move back to the Emirates.
Aston Villa
Villa are in need of goals, and fast. Last season’s top scorer Christian Benteke is struggling to cope with injury and the added pressure of a second year in the Premier League, whilst Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann have both found finding the net difficult.
There is not a lot of money flowing through Villa since Randy Lerner decided to tighten the purse strings, so it may be loan options that the club look to.
Manchester City striker John Guidetti is one possibility, as he looks for game time after failing to break into the first team at the Etihad this season.
Going the other way, there have been reports that Stoke City are looking to sign Stephen Ireland on a permanent deal in January despite his contract being up at the end of the season, while striker Nicklas Helenius could be allowed out on loan after failing to make a single start in the Premier League so far.
Cardiff City
There can’t be any movements at Cardiff until the future of manager Malky Mackay has been sorted since falling out with owner Vincent Tan.
The Scottish manager has done an admirable job for the Bluebirds since taking over, and a reported fall out occurred last week since comments to the press were taken out of context claiming that he had hoped to sign up to three new players during the January window.
A meeting between the two is scheduled for later this week, but whatever the outcome Tan must reverse his promise that “not a single penny will be made available in January.”
Chelsea
The Blues are likely to kiss goodbye to everyone’s favourite Sideshow Bob lookalike David Luiz this winter as he edges closer to a move to Barcelona. With that in mind the club will be hoping to bolster their defensive options after conceding an unprecedented amount of goals already this term.
One name who has been linked recently is Inter Milan’s Andrea Ranocchia. However, there are doubts that he is any better than what they already have as his defensive positioning frequently comes under scrutiny.
Jose Mourinho will also be hoping to bring in a new striker as Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o have failed to impress.
Crystal Palace
Palace are set to wave goodbye to veteran striker Kevin Phillips in the new year as he looks to move on after falling behind in the pecking order to Arsenal loanee Marouane Chamakh.
New manager Tony Pulis will hope to make the most of a meagre transfer budget by bolstering his defence after the club missed out on William Gallas over the summer.
Everton
The Toffees exploited the loan system well over the summer and are seeing the results pay off as they are well on course for a spot within the top four.
However, they are still looking to boost their defensive options as Sylvain Distin has just turned 36, and a shock link to Hull City’s Curtis Davies has emerged recently.
If Davies can finally overcome his injury troubles he would provide a viable option for Roberto Martinez who is comfortable with the ball at his feet.
Fulham
The Cottagers will be able to welcome former star Clint Dempsey back to the club in the new year after coach Rene Meulensteen confirmed that the United States international would be returning on a short term loan deal.
Fulham have struggled in an attacking capacity this season despite having Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Bent and Adel Taarabt, and though Dempsey would only be linking up with the club for two months he will certainly provide a different outlet and bring a wily experience that will aide the club in their struggle against relegation.
Hull City
The Tigers are still looking for goals in order to maintain their position in the division and West Brom’s Shane Long is still the most frequently linked name as the transfer window approaches.
However, one player that the club were watching was Nantes’ Filip Djordjevic, has reportedly signed a pre-contract agreement with Italian giants Lazio.
Liverpool
The Reds are now favourites to sign highly-rated FC Basel winger Mohamed Salah after his friend Mohamed Zika claimed that he was “99% sure” that the deal would go ahead.
Brendan Rodgers is known to be looking for more creativity in his midfield as the club look to keep the pressure on Arsenal and put space between themselves and the chasing pack.
However, former boss Rafa Benitez is hoping to snare a deal for defender Daniel Agger to take him to Napoli, something which the club have said they will reject.
The future of Luis Suarez is still up in the air too, despite him penning a new deal earlier this month Real Madrid are still known to be sniffing around.
Manchester City
City are another side looking toward fresh defensive options as Manuel Pellegrini’s experiment with signing Martin Demichelis hasn’t worked, he doesn’t trust Joleon Lescott and Vincent Kompany’s continued injury problems continue to give him a headache.
They have been linked with a move for Villarreal’s Mateo Musacchio, though they will have to go up against Spanish champions Barcelona if they want to win that race.
There have also been tenuous links with Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, with the likes of Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero calling for him to link up with the Eastlands club. However, those reports may need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Manchester United
David Moyes is determined not to be disappointed in the transfer market this time around and has armed himself with a number of attainable targets as he looks to mould the squad in his image.
The Red Devils are another club to have been linked with the in-form Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic and could look to press ahead with a move, though the Spaniards have told them that they will have to part with £33m in order to land his signature.
Moyes is still keeping an eye on Everton’s Leighton Baines as well as Athletic Bilbao’s Ander Herrera after narrowly missing out on him at the end of the summer.
Newcastle United
Magpies boss Alan Pardew will be looking for goals during the January market as the alarming decline of Papiss Cisse continues.
Once again he will be relying on Joe Kinnear to do most of his work for him and confidence will not be high considering the club only managed to bring Loic Remy on board on a season long loan deal from QPR.
The club have reportedly been keeping an eye on Lorient striker Vincent Aboubakar, who could provide them with a solution to their goalscoring problem after bagging six goals in his last six games.
Norwich City
Chris Hughton will be looking to make additions in the new year with a mind on the fact that only Leroy Fer was his major success story from the summer. Strikers Ricky Van Wolfswinkel, Johan Elmander and Gary Hooper have all struggled in front of goal this term and the club have been left to languish around the relegation zone for some time now.
Southampton
The Saints’ major concern in the new year will be hanging onto players rather than bringing new faces in.
Full-back Luke Shaw is still very much on Chelsea’s radar as they continue to look for a long term replacement for Ashley Cole, whilst Liverpool have been credited with an interest in newly capped England international Adam Lallana.
Stoke City
The Potters are reportedly interested in bringing in veteran Croatian striker Ivica Olic for one final swansong before he retires to the MLS as Mark Hughes continues to search for an out and out striker to help solve their goalscoring record.
A permanent deal for Aston Villa’s Stephen Ireland could also be on the cards, even though he is available for free in the summer, and QPR are looking to bring striker Peter Crouch back to Loftus Road.
Sunderland
There could be a fair bit of business going on at the Stadium of Light next month as manager Gus Poyet will be looking to move some of Paolo Di Canio’s disastrous signings out for some quality in a bid to become only the second club behind West Brom to survive the drop after being bottom at Christmas.
Swansea City
Swans star Michu has been pretty vocal about his hope of seeing compatriot Iago Aspas join him at the Liberty Stadium after failing to impress at Liverpool since signing on over the summer.
The former Celta Vigo has failed to find the net in eight appearances for the Reds this term and Michu believes that the club’s collection of Spaniards will help him to settle into life in the UK.
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs will need to figure out who will be leading them before looking at players they want to sign after Andre Villas-Boas was let go earlier on in December.
However, one name that is still being heavily linked is Juventus striker Mirko Vucinic. Tottenham have been struggling in front of goal this term despite having three top class strikers on their ranks and see the Montenegrin forward as the ideal man to provide support after falling down the pecking order in Turin.
West Bromwich Albion
The Baggies will be seeing a fair few clubs sniffing around striker Shane Long as he continues to find himself on the fringes of the squad. Hull are still the most interested in his service, but like Spurs they will want to get their vacant manager’s post filled before launching into the transfer market to make any signings of their own.
West Ham United
Hammers boss Sam Allardyce is still desperate to land a striker to help the club find the net on a more regular basis in the absence of record signing Andy Carroll.
Southampton ace Rickie Lambert has been linked, though the Saints are said to be reluctant to let him go.
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