Take a look at these ten potential long-running transfer sagas that will dominate the January headlines – and how we expect them to be unraveled.
Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton)
Linked teams: Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur
Likely outcome: Stay at St. Mary’s. Southampton showed how much they value Schneiderlin in the summer and that won’t change now. No one will pay his asking price.
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Martin Montoya (Barcelona)
Linked teams: Arsenal, Liverpool
Likely outcome: Move to Liverpool. The Reds really, really need a right back and Montoya fits the bill.
Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion)
Linked teams: Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur
Likely outcome: Stay at The Hawthorns. Berahino’s form has tailed off slightly of late and he should stay in the West Midlands to continue his development.
Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa)
Linked teams: Manchester United, Arsenal
Likely outcome: Move to Manchester United. Represents a sensible stop gap for the Red Devils until they can spend big in the summer.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Linked teams: Arsenal, Liverpool
Likely outcome: Stay at the Bernabeu. It seems bizarre that an exit is even a possibility for the Frenchman.
Tyrone Mings (Ipswich Town)
Linked teams: Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace
Likely outcome: Move to Arsenal. It would be so Arsenal to spend £10m on a Championship right back, wouldn’t it?
Martin Odegaard (Stromsgodset)
Linked teams: Liverpool, Manchester United, Celtic, Real Madrid
Likely outcome: Move to Liverpool. The Reds seem well placed to secure the precocious teenager.
Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
Linked teams: Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City
Likely outcome: Stay at Dortmund. We expect Hummels to remain at the Westfalenstadion until the summer at least.
Pedro (Barcelona)
Linked teams: Arsenal, Liverpool
Likely outcome: Move to Liverpool. It seems a logical fit for both player and club.
Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
Linked teams: Manchester United
Likely outcome: Stay at Atletico. We would be surprised if United spent £28m on one player in January.