A quiet transfer window this month has seen relatively little activity so far, but those who stay put could still be in line for an exit at the end of the season
Most of the Premier League’s marquee names will stay put this month as their clubs shut the curtains and turn off the fax machine to avoid any unwelcome interest.
But it will be a different case in the summer when ambition, money and the prospect of a new challenge combine to provide a cocktail of enticing possibilities for those with big reputations.
Here, Goal.com analyses the players that will be faithful to their employers in the current window but are ready to flutter their eyelashes at long-standing admirers in the summer.
Luka Modric is not the only leading light who could leave the Tottenham stage this summer if an eye-watering offer comes the club’s way.
Assuming Bale does not fancy career suicide and a gargantuan pay day in the Far or Middle East, the most likely suitors are Manchester City, who made enquiries for the coveted winger last year, or one of the two Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, both of whom could offer Bale the left flank and a platform to hoover up trophies.
Much depends on how Tottenham finish the season, the future of Harry Redknapp and Bale’s own maturity. A move abroad this summer is likely to be at least 12 months too early for the 22-year-old, who is only starting to get used to the attention that his rapid rise has brought.
Seemingly unloved by Manchester United, the Bulgarian will be on the lookout for a happier relationship in the summer.
Although United insist they can take advantage of a clause in March which allows them to extend Berbatov’s contract for another year, the player’s status as fourth-choice striker would appear to mean that the only advantage for the Premier League champions in doing so would be to extract a bigger fee when they sell him.
Berbatov told the club before last season’s Champions League final that he would run down his current deal, which might explain why he did not even make the substitutes' bench against Barcelona that day.
Rumours of a switch to the Bundesliga, where he established his reputation, abound although former club Bayer Leverkusen have publicly distanced themselves from a move for the striker.
One of the most instrumental figures in the modern Chelsea success story, Drogba will be on the market this summer and almost certain to bring down the curtain on a glittering Stamford Bridge career.
He can sign a pre-agreement with a foreign club at any point before then, which is the most likely scenario given Chelsea’s reluctance to increase the striker’s offer of a contract extension to two years.
Drogba is safe in the knowledge that Chinese, Russian and MLS clubs will offer him cosy semi-retirement and suitcases of cash, while the carrot of a greater challenge will be offered by the cream of Italy, Spain and France.
Don’t discount a switch to another Premier League club. Drogba loves London life and his growing political status in the Ivory Coast is smoothed by his connections in the capital.
There is not a major club in Europe who has not paid close attention to the heady rise of the finest Belgian export since Stella Artois.
Hazard’s camp told Lille last summer that the playmaker would stay for one more season so the stampede to sign one of Europe’s most coveted young players will begin in earnest in the build-up to the summer window.
The 21-year-old has given mixed messages about where he would like to take the next step in a career that has been spent entirely in France since joining the Lille academy seven years ago but few realistically expect him to go anywhere other than one of the plum English or Spanish clubs.
Reports of a pre-contract with Real Madrid have been strongly denied but neither the La Liga leaders nor great rivals Barcelona can be discounted, while Chelsea have good relationships with the agents representing the cream of Belgian talent after buying Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois last summer and closing in on the purchase of Kevin De Bruyne.
He may be only nine months younger than his manager but there has been a chasm in the relationship between the pair at times this season.
Andre Villas-Boas has kept his distance from the senior Chelsea players and Lampard has seen his once untouchable status considerably diminished.
With his current contract due to expire in the summer of 2013, Lampard’s Chelsea future will be a hot topic of debate over the coming months.
His own desire to stay at Stamford Bridge could depend on whether Villas-Boas remains in the dugout next season.
Midfielders who can provide a cast iron guarantee of goals are worth their weight in precious metal and, if Manchester United’s early January enquiry is anything to by, there will be plenty of top Premier League and European clubs offering a platinum pension to the player, who turns 34 in June.
Tottenham are already steeling themselves for another summer of endless speculation about the future of the player who makes them tick.
Chairman Daniel Levy put his reputation on the line to fight off the advances of Chelsea last summer and will have to dig his heels in equally deep to keep the player out of the clutches of one of his many admirers.
Chelsea, who offered Spurs £40m for the midfielder hours before the end of the 2011 summer window, still have a Modric itch that has not been scratched while Sir Alex Ferguson is pushing Manchester United to bring the Croatian to Old Trafford this summer and a concerted campaign to prise him from White Hart Lane will begin in May.
Only an offer around the £45m mark from a Premier League rival will make Levy blink, although he might take a more realistic line with the up-and-coming nouveau riche on the Continent, such as Paris Saint-Germain or Malaga. Given his age and status, Modric is likely to prefer one of the established Champions League heavyweights.
The France international has stated he will not leave Marseille before the summer but he has left the door wide open for a likely switch to the Premier League.
Tottenham tried to entice the striker this month and Liverpool and Newcastle have also paid close attention to a player who has a good scoring record, frequently from a wide position, without quite pulling up any trees in Ligue 1.
Harry Redknapp’s possible England appointment will not lead to a drastic change in Spurs’ recruitment plans over the coming months and the foundations are likely to be put in place in readiness for a summer swoop.
Hastily arranged statements from Manchester United and Wayne Rooney denying stories of an imminent move from Old Trafford have temporarily ended rumours of a split in the relationship between club and star player.
But there is growing evidence that the Rooney-Sir Alex Ferguson marriage is no longer an innocent, affectionate one.
The England and United talisman was furious about being fined a week’s wages for his Boxing Day misdemeanours when he felt some of his team-mates got off more lightly.
Should Ferguson feel that Rooney’s commitment or effectiveness has waned, don’t discount a sensational summer exit from United.
Manchester City would be a bridge too far for anyone with Old Trafford affections but the club were genuinely interested in signing him 15 months ago and could not be discounted again as possible suitors. Outside of Manchester, only a tiny elite of clubs would be able to afford Rooney’s wages and offer him the prospect of career fulfilment.
The Dutchman has been flying this season after continuing where he left off in the second half of 2010/11 but the shadow of his long-term future continues to hover on Arsenal’s horizon.
As revealed by Goal.com last September, Van Persie’s camp have told the club they will not start contract talks until the end of the season.
Given that he turns 29 in August, has been at Arsenal throughout their six-season trophy drought and can double his wages at the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, London’s most successful club face a huge battle to prevent Van Persie doing what Samir Nasri did last summer.
Whispers that City will make a huge push to add van Persie to their battalion of ex-Gunners refuse to die down and they are expected to head what is likely to be a lengthy queue of Europe’s elite for the striker’s services.
Like Robin van Persie, the England international will not be short of options in the summer as he weighs up whether to commit himself to Arsenal beyond 2013.
The club have held two sets of informal contract talks with Walcott’s representatives and the player himself will sit down with Arsene Wenger in the next few weeks to see where he fits into the manager’s long-term plans.
It is likely that Walcott will wait and see how the club finish the season before signing his name to what would be the third contract of his Arsenal career.
Suitors abound. Liverpool and Manchester City have been long-term admirers and, further ashore, where Walcott arguably has a better reputation, Juventus head the queue of Italian and Spanish clubs who are monitoring his situation.
Here, Goal.com analyses the players that will be faithful to their employers in the current window but are ready to flutter their eyelashes at long-standing admirers in the summer.
| Gareth Bale | Tottenham |
Luka Modric is not the only leading light who could leave the Tottenham stage this summer if an eye-watering offer comes the club’s way.
Assuming Bale does not fancy career suicide and a gargantuan pay day in the Far or Middle East, the most likely suitors are Manchester City, who made enquiries for the coveted winger last year, or one of the two Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, both of whom could offer Bale the left flank and a platform to hoover up trophies.
Much depends on how Tottenham finish the season, the future of Harry Redknapp and Bale’s own maturity. A move abroad this summer is likely to be at least 12 months too early for the 22-year-old, who is only starting to get used to the attention that his rapid rise has brought.
| Dimitar Berbatov | Manchester United |
Seemingly unloved by Manchester United, the Bulgarian will be on the lookout for a happier relationship in the summer.
Although United insist they can take advantage of a clause in March which allows them to extend Berbatov’s contract for another year, the player’s status as fourth-choice striker would appear to mean that the only advantage for the Premier League champions in doing so would be to extract a bigger fee when they sell him.
Berbatov told the club before last season’s Champions League final that he would run down his current deal, which might explain why he did not even make the substitutes' bench against Barcelona that day.
Rumours of a switch to the Bundesliga, where he established his reputation, abound although former club Bayer Leverkusen have publicly distanced themselves from a move for the striker.
| Didier Drogba | Chelsea |
One of the most instrumental figures in the modern Chelsea success story, Drogba will be on the market this summer and almost certain to bring down the curtain on a glittering Stamford Bridge career.
He can sign a pre-agreement with a foreign club at any point before then, which is the most likely scenario given Chelsea’s reluctance to increase the striker’s offer of a contract extension to two years.
Drogba is safe in the knowledge that Chinese, Russian and MLS clubs will offer him cosy semi-retirement and suitcases of cash, while the carrot of a greater challenge will be offered by the cream of Italy, Spain and France.
Don’t discount a switch to another Premier League club. Drogba loves London life and his growing political status in the Ivory Coast is smoothed by his connections in the capital.
| Eden Hazard | Lille |
There is not a major club in Europe who has not paid close attention to the heady rise of the finest Belgian export since Stella Artois.
Hazard’s camp told Lille last summer that the playmaker would stay for one more season so the stampede to sign one of Europe’s most coveted young players will begin in earnest in the build-up to the summer window.
The 21-year-old has given mixed messages about where he would like to take the next step in a career that has been spent entirely in France since joining the Lille academy seven years ago but few realistically expect him to go anywhere other than one of the plum English or Spanish clubs.
Reports of a pre-contract with Real Madrid have been strongly denied but neither the La Liga leaders nor great rivals Barcelona can be discounted, while Chelsea have good relationships with the agents representing the cream of Belgian talent after buying Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois last summer and closing in on the purchase of Kevin De Bruyne.
| Frank Lampard | Chelsea |
He may be only nine months younger than his manager but there has been a chasm in the relationship between the pair at times this season.
Andre Villas-Boas has kept his distance from the senior Chelsea players and Lampard has seen his once untouchable status considerably diminished.
With his current contract due to expire in the summer of 2013, Lampard’s Chelsea future will be a hot topic of debate over the coming months.
His own desire to stay at Stamford Bridge could depend on whether Villas-Boas remains in the dugout next season.
Midfielders who can provide a cast iron guarantee of goals are worth their weight in precious metal and, if Manchester United’s early January enquiry is anything to by, there will be plenty of top Premier League and European clubs offering a platinum pension to the player, who turns 34 in June.
| Luka Modric | Tottenham |
Tottenham are already steeling themselves for another summer of endless speculation about the future of the player who makes them tick.
Chairman Daniel Levy put his reputation on the line to fight off the advances of Chelsea last summer and will have to dig his heels in equally deep to keep the player out of the clutches of one of his many admirers.
Chelsea, who offered Spurs £40m for the midfielder hours before the end of the 2011 summer window, still have a Modric itch that has not been scratched while Sir Alex Ferguson is pushing Manchester United to bring the Croatian to Old Trafford this summer and a concerted campaign to prise him from White Hart Lane will begin in May.
Only an offer around the £45m mark from a Premier League rival will make Levy blink, although he might take a more realistic line with the up-and-coming nouveau riche on the Continent, such as Paris Saint-Germain or Malaga. Given his age and status, Modric is likely to prefer one of the established Champions League heavyweights.
| Loic Remy | Marseille |
The France international has stated he will not leave Marseille before the summer but he has left the door wide open for a likely switch to the Premier League.
Tottenham tried to entice the striker this month and Liverpool and Newcastle have also paid close attention to a player who has a good scoring record, frequently from a wide position, without quite pulling up any trees in Ligue 1.
Harry Redknapp’s possible England appointment will not lead to a drastic change in Spurs’ recruitment plans over the coming months and the foundations are likely to be put in place in readiness for a summer swoop.
| Wayne Rooney | Manchester United |
Hastily arranged statements from Manchester United and Wayne Rooney denying stories of an imminent move from Old Trafford have temporarily ended rumours of a split in the relationship between club and star player.
But there is growing evidence that the Rooney-Sir Alex Ferguson marriage is no longer an innocent, affectionate one.
The England and United talisman was furious about being fined a week’s wages for his Boxing Day misdemeanours when he felt some of his team-mates got off more lightly.
Should Ferguson feel that Rooney’s commitment or effectiveness has waned, don’t discount a sensational summer exit from United.
Manchester City would be a bridge too far for anyone with Old Trafford affections but the club were genuinely interested in signing him 15 months ago and could not be discounted again as possible suitors. Outside of Manchester, only a tiny elite of clubs would be able to afford Rooney’s wages and offer him the prospect of career fulfilment.
| Robin van Persie | Arsenal |
The Dutchman has been flying this season after continuing where he left off in the second half of 2010/11 but the shadow of his long-term future continues to hover on Arsenal’s horizon.
As revealed by Goal.com last September, Van Persie’s camp have told the club they will not start contract talks until the end of the season.
Given that he turns 29 in August, has been at Arsenal throughout their six-season trophy drought and can double his wages at the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, London’s most successful club face a huge battle to prevent Van Persie doing what Samir Nasri did last summer.
Whispers that City will make a huge push to add van Persie to their battalion of ex-Gunners refuse to die down and they are expected to head what is likely to be a lengthy queue of Europe’s elite for the striker’s services.
| Theo Walcott | Arsenal |
Like Robin van Persie, the England international will not be short of options in the summer as he weighs up whether to commit himself to Arsenal beyond 2013.
The club have held two sets of informal contract talks with Walcott’s representatives and the player himself will sit down with Arsene Wenger in the next few weeks to see where he fits into the manager’s long-term plans.
It is likely that Walcott will wait and see how the club finish the season before signing his name to what would be the third contract of his Arsenal career.
Suitors abound. Liverpool and Manchester City have been long-term admirers and, further ashore, where Walcott arguably has a better reputation, Juventus head the queue of Italian and Spanish clubs who are monitoring his situation.
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