We are less than a week into the January transfer window and clubs already making adjustments to their squads. After 6 days into the transfer window a total of £29.1m has been spent by English clubs. The two biggest signings has been Daniel Sturridge for Liverpool for a reported £12 million transfer fee and Demba Ba for Chelsea. The two players both made their debuts in the third round of the FA cup and both found their names on the score sheet for their new clubs.
But what else can this window expect to see?
With the majority of business in January usually occurring on deadline day there are sure to be many twists and turns all month in different transfer sagas. Two Championship players whose name are likely to be uttered all the way until the end of the window linked with Premier League clubs are Tom Ince and Wilfried Zaha. Ince is expected to re-join former club Liverpool where he spent his youth development. Zaha on the other hand, despite having been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford. However, Arsenal has stepped up their interest to get the players signature.
Other big named players who just can’t escape transfer rumours are Manchester City bad boy Mario Balotelli. Balotelli has been in the media again in recent weeks after having a training ground bust up with manager Roberto Mancini, leaving fans and pundits questioning how much more before the Italian is shown the door out the Etihad. Due to his fiery temper and behaviour issues that he has displayed during his time at city its unlikely that any Premier League would take a risk on the player, with a move back to Italy seeming the most likely option with a return to the San Siro, only this time Inter Milan’s arch rivals AC Milan.
Other rumours are around Barcelona forward David Villa and La Liga’s hottest property Radamel Falcao. David Villa isn’t been given the playing time a player of his quality usually has due to injury and the quality of Barcelona’s squad! As the player doesn’t seem to start too often or be a key part of manager Tito Vilanova’s plans a move away from the Catalan giants may not be too unrealistic. Despite his age and wage, he is a player that all top clubs in Europe will be likely to be keeping an eye on his current situation. As of late, Arsenal have been rumoured and linked with the player, however, as of yet it is all mere paper talk.
Falcao on the other has a real case for being the best current out and out striker in the world and is La Liga’s second top goal scorer having no shame in missing out on top spot only to Lionel Messi. Therefore it’s no surprise to see his name linked with every top club around the world. This comes despite the player himself claiming he expects to remain at Atletico Madrid at least until the summer. The main teams most likely to persuade the Columbian goal machine otherwise appear to be Chelsea, PSG, Manchester City and arch rivals Real Madrid who not so long ago were reported to of claimed that they were confident of capturing the striker and luring him into the Bernabeu.
A side from individual players it will be an interesting window to see what certain teams do in order to turn around their fortunes from the first half of the season. For example is unlikely that money bags Manchester City will be satisfied with the 7 point gap between themselves and city rivals Manchester United at the top of the league and so it would seem likely that the owners will get their wallets out to allow Mancini to bring in some fresh faces to the squad in attempt to claim a second successive title.
At the opposite end of the table another club not shy of money and hugely expected to do business this window is QPR. Going into the new year rock bottom of the table and 5 points from safety there are a number of changes likely to occur to the squad, both ways with a lot of ins and outs predicted to happen. Oh and their manager just happens to be Harry Redknapp who has a history for his wheeling and dealing during transfer windows, particularly on deadline day!
