January Transfer Window: Predicting the Price for the Most Coveted Players

If a deal is done correctly and behind closed doors, it's usually quite late in the day that the media and public learn about what is happening at a football club when it comes to new signings.

Modern technology sometimes makes that information available a little sooner, and people often tweet sightings of players being seen at airports as they frantically try to work out where they might be heading for a medical.

For the most part, there are vast amounts of players that could move clubs at any time.

It doesn't really matter what their status is anymore as the money in the modern game can be so tempting.

Here is a list of players that are highly sought-after—for one reason or another—and the prices that they could fetch should a deal occur.

I have to make it clear that I don't expect many—if any—of these deals to happen, but they have all been mentioned in the media of late so they can't be written off as idle gossip from an old man in a pub.

Let me know what you think of the values mentioned in the gossip column below.

Thanks for reading.

Demba Ba

Demba Ba's goalscoring feats last year have amazed the most hardened of football fans.

Ba is technically the most prolific striker in Premier League history, as he averages a goal every 109 minutes.

Obviously his Premier League career is young, but his 21 goals in 30 games has made the whole of Europe take note.

Newcastle signed Ba on a free transfer in January 2011 and now face speculation of losing him to the likes of Liverpool FC for £10 million due to a reported release clause.

Robin Van Persie

Robin Van Persie has finally got over his injury problems and is showing the world what he is capable of.

2011 was an amazing year for the Gunner who showed that he was the most prolific striker in Europe behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

Beating Lionel Messi shows how good the Dutchman has been this season.

Van Persie has been linked with a £30 million move to Manchester City and whilst his value is considerably more than that in today's market, his remaining contract length at Arsenal causes his price to drop significantly.

Wayne Rooney

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is never a stranger to headlines and this January will be no different.

It has been reported that Rooney may leave United in the January transfer window due to the clubs lack of ambition in his eyes.

Rooney asked for a transfer request last season and then retracted his request after emergency meetings with the club's hierarchy.

Should Rooney go on the market, I would expect bids upwards of £50 million.

Carlos Tevez

Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez might not be flavour of the month at the Etihad Stadium right now, but you can't say he's not a striker with amazing ability and pedigree.

Any team would want the player if he could sort out his disciplinary issues.

AC Milan and Inter Milan are currently heading the charge for his signature and I expect the value to be approximately £25 million if he does put pen to paper.

Gonzalo Higuain

Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain has been linked with a move to a few Premier League clubs but it is uncertain as the whether the player wants to leave the Bernabeu.

Higuain has reportedly been sounded out for a move to Chelsea by Andres Villas Boas, but should any bid be accepted, I'm sure other clubs would soon follow suit.

At 24 years old, Higuain is expected to fetch at least £25 million.

Frank Lampard

Chelsea's Frank Lampard has found his position under threat this season as manager Andres Villas Boas seeks to find his starting 11.

At 33 years of age, Lampard still has a few seasons left in him and his quality would interest a number of European clubs if he were to become available—Manchester United are reportedly such a club.

Lampard's age would mean a high profile move but not for much money as PSG are already linked with the Englishman.

I'd expect a move under £6 million if one occurred.

Neymar

Neymar is one of the biggest names in Brazilian football right now and Santos have been fending enquiries from Barcelona and Real Madrid for the star striker.

If Santos are smart, they'll know Barcelona and Madrid will pay big cash for the youngster who is valued at around £40 million.

Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is a player whose reputation is growing and growing.

Blessed with endless energy and pace, he is a defenders nightmare.

Recent speculation has linked the Welshman with a move to Barcelona, and should it happen, Tottenham should be asking for money in the region of £40 million or more.

Bale's potential is frightening for his age, despite Barcelona apparently not wanting to pay more than £25 million.

Emmanuel Adebayor

Emmanuel Adebayor is technically still a Manchester City player despite being seen in a Real Madrid shirt last season and a Tottenham one this season.

His two loan spells in as many years suggests Manchester City are keen to offload the Togo striker, and his performances for Spurs this season should attract some interest.

His cost will likely be over £20 million to potential suitors.

Wesley Sneijder

The Inter Milan midfielder was a strong target for Manchester United last summer, but Alex Ferguson didn't snare his man.

Since then, Wesley Sneijder has hinted that a January move might not be out of the question, and if Manchester United were the team to purchase him, they would have to be offering in the region of £30-35 million.

Afterthoughts...

So there you have it, some highly sought-after players and their predicted values.

People will argue day and night whether a player will ever leave a club, but usually their argument is based on pure opinion rather than inside knowledge.

Please take the time to share your thoughts below on whether you think the fees I've quoted are accurate, or whether you think someone is seriously misvalued.

Once again, thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read this article and if you want to see a list of my preferred football websites then click here.

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