The Soccer Blogger
Here’s a quick rundown of the potential ins and out for all the English Premier League teams (in alphabetical order) for the forthcoming mid-winter transfer window.
Arsenal
Arsenal’s manager Arsène Wenger is one to rarely make radical mid-season changes and after encouraging first half of the season that is probably even more likely. However should rival clubs threaten to steal a march on him in the market he’s a wily character will do all he can to help prevent that. Johan Djourou will return from Birmingham to cover for Kolo Touré, bound for the African Cup of Nations, and Jens Lehmann is interesting Wolfsburg, though Wenger may be reluctant to lose the German due to goalkeeper coverage.
Possible Purchases
Luca Modric (Dinamo Zagreb, £10m), Artur Boruc (Celtic, £4m), Luke Freeman (Gillingham), John Bostock (Crystal Palace), Karim Benzema (Lyon, £8m)
Possible Sales
Jay Simpson (Millwall, loan), Jens Lehmann (Wolfsburg or Manchester City), Lassana Diarra (Tottenham Hotspur, £6m), Armand Traoré (Norwich, loan), Matthew Connolly (QPR, £1m), Fran Mérida (Real Sociedad, loan)
Aston Villa
Did you know that Aston Villa have the smallest squad in the Barclays Premier League? There’s one for the pub quiz! Villa’s need for reinforcements is obvious but Martin O’Neill’s cautious approach in the transfer market means that a flurry of new signings is unlikely. The Villa manager is expected to make a right-back his priority, with Porto’s Jose Bosingwa his favoured choice. The goalkeeper Scott Carson’s loan deal from Liverpool may well be made long-term but enticing the striker Jermain Defoe from Spurs promises to be more difficult.
Possible Purchases
Scott Carson (Liverpool), Jose Bosingwa (Porto), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur), Alberto Rodríguez (Sporting Braga)
Possible Sales
Gary Cahill, Thomas Sorensen, Luke Moore
Birmingham City
It will not have taken the new Birmingham manager, Alex McLeish, long to realise that his squad is high in numbers but low in quality. With doubts persisting about the striker Mikael Forssell’s fitness, the former Scotland manager is likely to be in the market for a centre-forward. McLeish has rejected the notion that he will do all his shopping north of the border but a Scottish influx is nonetheless expected at St Andrew’s, with James McFadden, unable to start regularly at Everton, at the front of the queue.
Possible Purchases
Kris Boyd (Glasgow Rangers), James McFadden (Everton), Michal Kadlec (Sparta Prague), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United)
Possible Sales
Neil Danns, Rowan Vine, Martin Taylor
Blackburn Rovers
A sudden downturn has extinguished talk of Blackburn threatening the top four this season and compounded Mark Hughes’s frustration in failing to strengthen his central midfield, though it was not for the want of trying in the summer. That remains a key objective for this window, with the right-back position a key area. Hughes also needs to lift the mood of his South African striker Benni McCarthy. A limited budget may not allow the signing of a proven midfield recruit, however.
Possible Purchases
Lance Davids (Djurgardens), Valeri Domovchiyski (Levski Sofia)
Possible Sales
Jason Roberts, Robbie Savage, Andre Ooijer, Maceo Rigters
Bolton Wanderers
Gary Megson’s budget largely depends on whether the striker Nicolas Anelka gets his wish to leave the club, with Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United among the many suitors. Megson has criticised his defence and will make that a priority but he will also need to bring in a replacement for Anelka.
Possible Purchases
Bruno Alves (Porto), Zoltan Gera (West Bromwich Albion), Paul Robinson (West Bromwich Albion), Kris Commons (Nottingham Forest), Nathan Tyson (Nottingham Forest), Jonny Evans (Man Utd)
Possible Sales
Jussi Jaaskelainen, Nicolas Anelka, El Hadji Diouf, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Lubomir Michalik
Chelsea
Avram Grant has his first opportunity to begin the transformation of Jose Mourinho’s squad into something approaching his own. He is in most urgent need of a striker to replace Didier Drogba, perhaps unsettled but definitely either injured or absent at the African Cup of Nations in January. He may also consider recruiting cover at centre-half given John Terry’s fitness worries and the possible departure of Ricardo Carvalho at the end of the season.
Possible Purchases
Benni McCarthy (Blackburn), Nicolas Anelka (Bolton), Franco di Santo (Audax Italiano), Martin Fenin (Teplice), Luca Modric (Dinamo Zagreb), Willy Sagnol (Bayern Munich), John Bostock (Crystal Palace), Lulinha (Corinthians, nominal)
Possible Sales
Jimmy Smith (Norwich or QPR, loan), Scott Sinclair (QPR or Crystal Palace, loan), Khalid Boulahrouz (Ajax)
Derby County
There is no position that doesn’t need strengthening at Pride Park but Paul Jewell knows that convincing players to join a club resigned to relegation promises to be a thankless task. Expect the Derby manager, who only succeeded Billy Davies at the end of last month, to court several of his former players although short-term loans, rather than permanent transfers, could be the preferred method of business given that the chairman, Adam Pearson, is reluctant to throw money at a lost cause.
Possible Purchases
Calum Davenport (West Ham), Jason Roberts (Blackburn), Ryan Shawcross (Man Utd), Kevin Kilbane (Wigan)
Possible Sales
Giles Barnes, David Jones, Robert Earnshaw
Everton
Ambitious summer spending, and in the right places, has resulted in a strong Everton squad and the club enjoying its finest season for many a year but David Moyes remains short of options in central midfield. The Everton manager made a top-class central midfielder his transfer priority in the summer, with a then club record £11.25m bid rejected for Porto’s Lucho González, and it remains the objective for next month. A loan signing with a view to a permanent deal may have to suffice for the calibre of signing Moyes is seeking.
Possible Purchases
David Albelda (Valencia), Manuel Fernandes (Valencia), Steven Pienaar (loan made full-time from Borussia Dortmund)
Possible Sales
James McFadden, Andy Van der Meyde
Fulham
Lawrie Sanchez spent heavily yet unproductively in the summer and paid with his job; his successor will demand and be granted funds to reshape. Priority areas are up front and at left-back, where cover is needed. Brian McBride’s injury has been felt while Shefki Kuqi will end his loan spell on January 31 and return to the Championship and Crystal Palace. Another midfielder may be on his wish list, Jimmy Bullard’s comeback not withstanding.
Possible Purchases
Hard to say prior to new managerial appointment
Possible Sales
Same as above
Liverpool
Rarely has a January window caused as many problems for a club. Ideally Rafael Benítez would strengthen in several departments - left-back, central defence, left-midfield and up front - but that was before his American employers tightened the purse strings. Now only a central defender seems imminent, and cooling interest in Racing Santander’s £10m-rated Ezequiel Garay reflects the financial situation, although that could change if Aston Villa pay £10m for Scott Carson and Benítez makes other sales.
Possible Purchases
Tomas Ujfalusi (Fiorentina), Ezequiel Garay (Racing Santander), Kakha Kaladze (Milan)
Possible Sales
Scott Carson, Peter Crouch, John Arne Riise, Mohamed Sissoko
Manchester City
Sven-Goran Eriksson has already finalised a one-year loan agreement with the Mexican international striker Nery Castillo but his priority will be to bring in at least one more forward, and City are among the clubs to have identified Nicolas Anelka, who spent 2½ years with them, as a significant target. Eriksson says there will be up to three signings and he retains an interest in the Australian international Mark Bresciano after coming close to signing him in August.
Purchased
Nery Castillo (Shakhtar Donetsk, loan)
Possible Purchases
Nicolas Anelka (Bolton), Mark Bresciano (Palermo), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Yasser Al Qahtani (currently on trial, Al Hilal)
Possible Sales
Ousmane Dabo, Darius Vassell, Rolando Bianchi, Andreas Isaksson
Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson has said that if he does bring in someone it will be a left-back, which might be a source of frustration for those supporters who believe the primary target should be a back-up striker in light of Louis Saha’s persistent injury problems. Ferguson being Ferguson, he might just have been trying to sell the press a red herring - and he will be aware of Dimitar Berbatov’s potential availability at Tottenham Hotspur and Nicolas Anelka’s at Bolton Wanderers.
Possible Purchases
Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham), Nicolas Anelka (Bolton), Branislav Ivanovic (Lokomotiv Moscow)
Possible Sales
Wes Brown, Louis Saha, Johnny Evans
Middlesbrough
Gareth Southgate’s most pressing requirement is to improve his attack and, with Mido proving injury prone, he needs a target man. There could also be a change in goal should Mark Schwarzer, who is six months away from the end of his contract, opt to leave. With funds short Southgate could reluctantly sell one of his two left wingers, Stewart Downing or Adam Johnson, who has returned from a loan stint at Watford. Boro’s manager would love Peter Crouch and/or Jermain Defoe but accepts it would take minor miracles to lure them.
Possible Purchases
Arda Turan (Galatasaray), Rob Hulse (Sheffield Utd), Shola Ameobi (Newcastle), Thomas Sorensen (Aston Villa), Aphonso Alves (Heerenveen) Steve Harper (Newcastle),
Possible Sales
Dong Gook Lee, Gaizka Mendieta
Newcastle United
Sam Allardyce probably needs a commanding centre-half - or two - but Newcastle’s need is not so much acquiring new players as maximising the undoubted talent of those already at St James’ Park - not to mention finally hitting upon a style and formation that suits their respective skills. Even so Allardyce, who will temporarily lose four players to the impending African Cup of Nations, hopes to persuade Newcastle’s board to fund the purchase of three new faces.
Possible Purchases
Wes Brown (Man Utd), Tal Ben Haim (Chelsea), Nikola Zigic (Valencia), Lassana Diarra (Arsenal), Tamas Kadar (Zalaegerszegi)
Possible Sales
Shola Ameobi (Middlesbrough or Norwich), Steve Harper (Middlesbrough)
Portsmouth
Harry Redknapp’s principal concern at present will be the absence of numerous members of his first-choice side at the African Cup of Nations. He cannot cover for them all, so some wheeling and dealing in the market is inevitable. He may be in the market for loan signings, particularly up front and on the right of midfield. “I’m making lots of inquiries about who might be available,” he said. “We’ll be looking home or abroad, and it might be a case of getting a loan with a view to a permanent deal.”
Possible Purchases
Fabrice Pancrate (Sochaux, loan), Jerrel Britto (San Juan Jabloteh), Fernando Meira (Stuttgart, loan), Habib Bellaïd (Strasbourg), Jonas Gutierrez (Real Mallorca), Nathan Dyer (Southampton), Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke 04, loan)
Possible Sales
Matt Taylor (Tottenham, Reading or Fulham), David Nugent (Derby County, loan)
Reading
Reading are not renowned for their muscle in the transfer market but their manager, Steve Coppell, has received assurances that he will have an opportunity to spend freely when the window reopens next month. With long-term injuries to Glen Little and John Oster, Coppell is keen to recruit a right-sided midfielder although he might also be tempted to make a move for West Ham United’s striker Bobby Zamora if Leroy Lita makes his expected exit from the Madejski Stadium.
Possible Purchases
Bobby Zamora (West Ham), Sébastien Puygrenier (Nancy)
Possible Sales
Leroy Lita
Sunderland
Every area of the team is flawed and Roy Keane hopes to improve it by signing “three or four” players of “pure quality”. His greatest need is central midfield enforcer but they also have a lack of finishing ability and can wobble alarmingly at the back. Moreover, they are collectively short of pace. Having spent £36m last summer Keane needs to select the right recruits now. Sunderland are in talks with a couple of European sides about players but would prefer to sign proven Premiership performers.
Possible Purchases
Wes Brown (Man Utd), Jonny Evans (Man Utd), Bobo Balde (Celtic), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Robbie Savage (Blackburn), Gavin McCann (Bolton), Stephen Hunt (Reading), Jason Roberts (Blackburn), Kevin Doyle (Reading)
Possible Sales
Daryl Murphy (QPR), Graham Kavanagh
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham have stabilised under Juande Ramos with players whose futures might have been in jeopardy, such as Paul Robinson, Younes Kaboul and Tom Huddlestone, having rediscovered form. Still, Ramos needs to address the problem on the left with Gareth Bale and Benoît Assou-Ekotto long-term casualties, while he would like an experienced centre-half and a midfielder. A deal has been agreed for Chris Gunter, the Cardiff full-back. Ramos insists that Dimitar Berbatov is going nowhere.
Purchased
Chris Gunter (Cardiff)
Possible Purchases
Urby Emanuelson (Ajax), Lassana Diarra (Arsenal), Daniel Jarque (Espanyol)
Possible Sales
Wayne Routledge, Teemu Tainio, Hossam Ghaly, Paul Stalteri.
West Ham United
Barely a week has gone by without a lament from Alan Curbishley about his injury list. He remembers how difficult it was to strengthen last January but his fears will compel him to look for reinforcements this time out. His top target will be Giles Barnes, the Derby County midfielder, who was the subject of several failed bids over the summer. He may also try again for Nicky Shorey, the Reading left-back. Curbishley will work with the club’s owner and new chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, who has replaced Eggert Magnusson.
Possible Purchases
Giles Barnes (Derby), Nicky Shorey (Reading)
Possible Sales
Luis Boa Morte, Nigel Quashie, Bobby Zamora, Christian Dailly
Wigan Athletic
Having paid a record £3m for a manager last month Wigan’s chairman Dave Whelan is not expected to hold back in the transfer window that could shape his club’s Premier League status. The last two games have been notable for the lack of defensive mishaps that undermined Steve Bruce’s start at the club but reinforcements for the defence remain a necessity, while over-reliance on Emile Heskey and the on-loan Marcus Bent for goals may be addressed also.
Possible Purchases
Gary Cahill (Aston Villa), Damien Johnson (Birmingham)
Possible Sales
Josip Skoko, Julius Aghahowa
How many of those do you think are going to happen? Knowing me, not many!
A very Happy New Year to you all from
The Soccer Blogger
