January Transfer Rumours: 12 Strikers Who Could Be on the Market This Winter

We gave the goalies their due earlier this week.

Now it's time for the strikers.

Strikers, whether you like it or not, are the most visible players on the pitch. They're the superstars. They're the ones who more often than not score the goals.

And in the transfer market, they're often the center of attention.

When the world football transfer window reopens in January, that should be the case once again. Here are 12 strikers who could be on the move.

Carlos Tevez

Name: Carlos Tevez

Club: Manchester City

Linked to: Various

The skinny: Tevez has fallen out of favor at Manchester City. His days at the club appeared to be numbered.

Several clubs have been linked with a move for the Argentine striker. Among them are Real Madrid and Corinthians.

Robin Van Persie

Name: Robin Van Persie

Club: Arsenal

Linked to: Various

The skinny: Yes, we know RVP underlined his commitment to the club recently. And he was actually pretty convincing.

"I am committed to Arsenal and that's how it is, despite people making up stories," he wrote in the program notes before Arsenal's 2-1 win over Sunderland over the weekend.

But haven't we been here with an Arsenal player before? Haven't we heard about their commitment to the club?

Yeah, that's what we thought.

Didier Drogba

Name: Didier Drogba

Club: Chelsea

Linked to: Tottenham Hotspur

The skinny: This one seems a little crazy, but the Guardian is passing along a rumor from CaughtOffside.com that Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is ready to make a double swoop for Drogba and Alex.

Make of that what you will.

Ricky Van Wolfswinkel

Name: Ricky Van Wolfswinkel

Club: Sporting (Portugal)

Linked to: Manchester United

The skinny: The awesomely named Van Wolfswinkel has been linked with a move to Manchester United, where we can only imagine the songs that the fans would come up with for him.

A fee of £11 million has been mentioned.

The 22-year-old forward has been capped once by the Netherlands.

Roman Pavlyuchenko

Name: Roman Pavlyuchenko

Club: Tottenham Hotspur

Linked to: Borussia Dortmund

The skinny: Pavlyuchenko has been reduced to a bit-part role at White Hart Lane.

The Guardian reckons Borussia Dortmund could offer him a way out.

Luuk De Jong

Name: Luuk De Jong

Club: FC Twente (Netherlands)

Linked to: Liverpool, Newcastle

The skinny: De Jong is a 21-year-old striker who has scored 21 goals in 52 league matches for Dutch club FC Twente.

Now, media reports suggest he's on Liverpool's radar. He already looks good in red, so you never know, right?

Newcastle have also been linked to the striker.

Mounir El Hamdaoui

Name: Mounir El Hamdaoui

Club: Ajax (Netherlands)

Linked to: Fulham, Blackburn Rovers

The Skinny: Fulham manager Martin Jol has signed El Hamdaoui twice.

The Daily Mail thinks it's about time for a third go-round.

Apparently, Blackburn is also interested.

Frederic Piquionne

Name: Frederic Piquionne

Club: West Ham United

Linked to: Doncaster

The skinny: Rovers apparently want to sign Piquionne, a former French international, or so say BBC.

No fee was mentioned and no timetable given.

Gary Hooper

Name: Gary Hooper

Club: Celtic (Scotland)

Linked to: QPR, Newcastle

The skinny: Hooper couldn't possibly leave a team that's sometimes known as the Hoops, could he?

This article reckons he's off to QPR for £7 million. TribalFootball says it's Newcastle and £5 million.

Hooper scored 23 goals for the Hoops last term and has five so far this season.

Ola Toivonen

Name: Ola Toivonen

Club: PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)

Linked to: Villarreal, Sunderland, West Brom, Liverpool

The skinny: This article says Villarreal and Sunderland are interested in Toivonen, a Swedish international striker.

This one says Sunderland, West Brom and Liverpool are interested.

Vedad Ibisevic

Name: Vedad Ibisevic

Club: Hoffenheim (Germany)

Linked to: Everton, Blackburn Rovers

The skinny: Everton boss David Moyes reportedly sent a scout to watch Ibisevic play recently in Germany.

The Bosnia-Herzegovina international is also wanted by Blackburn. He has scored eight goals in 34 international appearances.

Modibo Maiga

Name: Modibo Maiga

Club: Sochaux (France)

Linked to: Newcastle United

The skinny: United are reportedly mounting a new bid for the Mali international after a failed attempt in the summer.

The fee would be around £7 million.

Maiga, 24, has scored four goals in six matches this season.