10 big deals that have a decent chance of being completed this month.
David Moyes is pretty much in panic station mode and the fact that the wingers he currently possesses rarely provide anything in the way of invention, creativity, goal threat of even a decent level of assists could well lead to a renewed bid to sign long term target Di Maria.
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The arrival of Gareth Bale may well have acted as a death knell to the former Benfica man’s Bernabeu career and a move to Old Trafford would surely tempt the slightly built wide-man.
Jose Mourinho doesn’t value Demba Ba all that highly and his strike rate since moving to Chelsea a year ago, three goals in 22 Premier League appearances, suggests that the Chelsea boss isn’t likely to object to the Senegal international leaving, be it on loan or a permanent basis.
At the age of 28 Ba doesn’t want to be warming the bench and perhaps the chance to return to Upton Park and save them from the drop will tempt the Stamford Bridge striker.
Arsene Wenger was desperately searching for a fresh attacking option prior to injuries to Olivier Giroud, Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott so the Gunners boss must now be chomping at the bit to land a striker this month and Real Madrid youngster Alvaro Morata may be an ideal target.
The fact that when fully fit Arsenal have a wealth of attacking potential may well lead Wenger to believe a loan capture of Spanish Under 21 international Morata makes a great deal of sense and Carlo Ancelotti may well see the benefit of sending out the lethal finisher to help complete his footballing education at the Emirates Stadium.
Luuk De Jong to Newcastle United
Dutch international isn’t used enough at Borussia Monchengladbach and Alan Pardew is currently relying heavily on loaned in forward Loic Remy so a move to bring in the 23 year old would be a wise one to consider.
Such a move may well aid De Jong’s push for a spot in Louis van Gaal’s 2014 World Cup finals squad.
By all accounts the Colombian loves Arsenal and would love to sign for them and Arsene Wenger would surely gladly welcome in the prolific FC Porto forward.
It would cost around £30m to bring in the Primeira Liga goal machine but perhaps such an outlay is necessary this month to help with the push to land the Premier League title.
Roberto Soldado can only seem to score when offered a penalty and Erik Lamela has turned out to be an even bigger flop therefore one imagines Tim Sherwood would like another striker though chairman Daniel Levy isn’t likely to offer a huge sum for such a move.
Therefore experienced Montenegrin Vucinic could be a solution in January. The Juventus man has seen his first team chances limited by the arrivals of Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich may well elect to back Jose Mourinho to the hilt this month to help bring major silverware to the West London club in the Portuguese manager’s first season back and by all accounts the striker top of the Blue’s wish-list is Gonzalo Higuain.
The added incentive of stealing the Argentine from former Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez, who Mourinho appears to actively despise, may well act as an extra motivating factor in the pursuit of the Serie A hot-shot.
David Moyes needs creative midfield talents to resolve the brittle nature of those options currently in his Old Trafford armoury.
Southampton’s recent run of poor form may well lead to a number of their top performers considering possible moves to ‘bigger’ clubs and having forced his way into the England set-up Lallana may be all the more keen to pursue a possible move to Man United.
The ‘Egyptian Messi’ has impressed over the past 18 months at FC Basel and is firmly established as one of Brendan Rodgers’s top targets and by all accounts a deal is in the works.
Salah would offer the Liverpool boss a fresh attacking dimension, one that is perhaps all the more necessary in January given the average displays put in by loaned in Chelsea man Victor Moses and summer signing Iago Aspas.
Joe Hart hasn’t impressed Etihad Stadium boss Manuel Pellegrini and massive Romanian Costel Pantilimon isn’t likely to be considered as regular first team material, this could lead to the former Real Madrid boss looking to save Iker Casillas from his bench bound fate at the Bernabeu.
The World Cup winner spent pretty much all of 2013 as a sub and will not want to repeat the feat in 2014.
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