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10 Premier League players who could move in January
The winter transfer window is set to be a busy one this year following hot on the heels of the World Cup, and the Premier League has a habit of spending the most money these days…
From clubs looking to clear out deadwood to nascent players not yet plying their trade at the level their talent perhaps deserves, expect to see plenty of movement in January.
Football Transfers looks at 10 of the most likely winter movers when the January window finally opens…
Christian Pulisic's time at Chelsea looks to be drawing to a close, with consecutive managers in Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter reluctant to trust the American winger at Stamford Bridge. A €64 million arrival from Borussia Dortmund in 2019, Pulisic has reportedly attracted interest from Manchester United and Newcastle at home and Juventus further afield.
READ: Revealed: Chelsea's asking price for Man Utd target Christian Pulisic
Jorginho signing/ruining a fan’s Pulisic jerseys 💀 pic.twitter.com/jIjkxfV9bG
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) July 12, 2022
Hakim Ziyech is in a similar position, quite literally, to Pulisic. Another wide man struggling for minutes at Chelsea, Ziyech has had a stellar World Cup with Morocco, helping his nation to a shock semi-final place. With Raheem Sterling signed in the summer and RB Leipzig man Christopher Nkunku in Chelsea's crosshairs, the club are unlikely to hold up a move to AC Milan.
While the transfer future of Diogo Dalot is somewhat uncertain - he is out of contract in the summer, but Man Utd have an option to extend - the man he has consigned to the bench, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, should leave Old Trafford before him. Wan-Bissaka has played just four minutes of Premier League football this season, and United are unlikely to demand anything like the €55m they paid for him.
Youri Tielemans is one of the most in-demand central midfielders in world football, yet playing for a Leicester side who have been stuck in the relegation quagmire for much of the first half of the season. Out of contract in the summer, and Arsenal are at the front of a queue which also includes Barcelona.
READ: Arsenal given hope in Barcelona chase for Tielemans
Youri Tielemans could be set for a big World Cup...
And an even bigger January 🤩@jacobsben explains the latest twist in the transfer saga pic.twitter.com/AcBqFHytXp— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) November 18, 2022
Ivan Toney was one of the more controversial omissions from Gareth Southgate's England squad for the World Cup after racking up 10 goals in 14 Premier League games with Brentford. The Bees could struggle to keep him even if he didn't get that extra exposure in Qatar, with Chelsea and Man Utd both in the market for a genuine No.9.
Billy Gilmour only left Chelsea for Brighton in the summer, but days later the manager who signed him, Potter, left to replace Tuchel at Stamford Bridge. Has since sat on the bench while Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo have dominated the central midfield positions. Villarreal are the latest to have offered him a way out.
N'Golo Kante
A former Chelsea teammate of Gimour's, N'Golo Kante was one of the players in his way at Stamford Bridge. Still a world class operator when fit, the Frenchman is out of contract at the end of the season, and Barcelona could be tempted to pounce in January even if he currently has a hamstring injury, thus beating off the competition.
Man Utd are due a clear-out with the Erik ten Hag beginning to impose his will on the dressing room, and despite the fact that Donny van de Beek won a Dutch domestic treble under him with Ajax in 2019, his Old Trafford days look to be numbered. Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan would be interested in signing the midfielder for a cut-price fee.
James Maddison was the only Leicester player to make the England squad for the World Cup, and looks to have outgrown the Foxes after hitting seven goals and four assists in the first half of their season despite their travails. Newcastle have emerged as a likely destination, with Three Lions teammates Kieran Trippier, Callum Wilson and Nick Pope no doubt in his ear in Qatar.
'He had no right to score from there'
Should Man Utd have signed James Maddison? #MUFC pic.twitter.com/sVtmnD9h2F— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) January 15, 2021
Last but by no means least is Jadon Sancho. An €85m arrival at Man Utd from Borussia Dortmund the summer before last, he has fallen from a greater height than Wan-Bissaka or Van de Beek, and his future is beginning to look similarly bleak. Didn't make the mid-season tour of Spain and could soon have yet another player in his way in Cody Gakpo.