Possible Premiership January Transfers

Busy month ahead as managers revise their shopping lists to bring in new faces and hoping to be in a more respectable position in the league before the season ends. Rumours have been going on since a couple months back regarding unhappy players wanting to leave and managers hoping to wrap up unfinished business in the summer.

All eyes will be on Manchester City as fans around world would be hoping that their billionaire owner would sign another superstar after smashing the British transfer record by signing Robinho in the summer. Struggling in the league, signing superstars like Kaka, Ronaldinho, Gianluigi Buffon, and Fernando Torres seem unlikely. To make things worse, their realistic target, Lassana Diarra had agreed to sign for Real Madrid in January. Yet, they have not given up hope in signing Shay Given, Kolo Toure, Michael Owen, Roque Santa Cruz, and a few other Premiership players.

Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson thinks his squad is in a good shape and that the Red Devils need not any additions in January.

Roman Abramovich insisted that Luis Felipe Scolari has to sell before buying any player. But the former Portugal coach is determined to sign another striker, with Luis Fabiano reportedly his first choice. Hartem Ben Arfa and Andres D'Alessandro are his other targets. Therefore, he could be forced to sell Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou to raise funds himself. Alex, Carlo Cudicini, Scott Sinclair, and Paulo Ferreira could all be set to leave as well.

Cesc Fabregas is out for four months and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger needs to find a replacement quick to stay in the race for Premiership title. And either William Gallas or Kolo Toure is likely to leave after a bust-up between the two defenders. Wenger has not given up hope in signing Gohkan Inler and is hoping to sign Mikel Arteta as well. And Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin is prepared to take a pay cut to clinch a move to Arsenal.

Jermaine Pennant is strongly linked with a move away from Anfield. He snubbed Real Madrid but Atletico Madrid is preparing to sign him as well. A few other English teams declared their interests in him but he claimed he would fancy a move to Spain. Glen Johnson is linked with a move to Liverpool and Andrea Dossena could be sold back to Italy to finance the bid. Rafa is also keen to bring in another striker with former Liverpool player Emile Heskey among his targets.

Aston Villa are in a good position in the league but Martin O'Neill would need to decide whether or not to sell Ashley Young to Real Madrid in a deal worth more than £20m. And they are also looking for another striker with Emile Heskey, Jermain Defoe, and Darren Bent all linked with them.

Portsmouth had lost Diarra and could lose Defoe as well as Aston Villa and Tottenham are interested in signing the striker. Peter Crouch is linked with a move to Tottenham and Nico Kranjcar is linked with a number of clubs as well.

As Tottenham's many new faces from the summer start to jell, Redknapp wants to bring in more new faces. Defoe, Heskey, Stewart Downing, Sylvain Distin, and Fernando Cavenaghi are all linked with a move to White Hart Lane. Didier Zokora is wanted by former boss Juande Ramos, who's now at Real Madrid, and Aaron Lennon, Ricardo Rocha, and Kevin-Prince Boateng could all be shown the exit to make way for new signings.

Everton are reportedly wanting to sign another striker with Yakubu already sidelined until the end of this season. Michael Owen and Wagner Love are their two targets. They might even make a move for David Nugent.

Blackburn are very likely to lose striker Santa Cruz and full-back Stephen Warnock with the duo keen to link up with manager Mark Hughes at Manchester City. However, Rovers are preparing to bid for Kevin Nolan and El-Hadji Diouf.

The future of Wigan on-loan Egyptian striker Amr Zaki is uncertain, and key players Heskey and Antonio Valencia are all linked with a host of clubs. The Latics might buy Ecuador hitman Christian Benitez and veteran Nicky Butt.

West Ham are more likely to sell than buy this transfer window with Scott Parker, Craig Bellamy, Dean Ashton, Matthew Upson, and Luis Boa Morte all heavily linked with a move away from Upton Park. However, Zola is keen to lure Juventus midfielder Sebastian Giovinco to London.

The rumours here may or may not happen in January 2009 but one thing for sure, it is going to be an interesting and hectic month. The fate of the clubs could well be decided by how well the managers manage their transfer budgets.

Can Liverpool finally win the title? Can Aston Villa finish in top four? Can Arsenal cope without Cesc? Can Hull build on their great start and can Manchester City bounce back to the top 10?