The European January transfer window is open and the British media have been going crazy with rumors about who is going and coming.
Most rumors are about Manchester City and their massive transfer budget. First up for the City appears to be Chelsea full-back Wayne Bridge who is close to joining Manchester City according to reports.
This is a good signing for City who have really struggled defensively this season and have already conceded 30 league goals this season.
It expect that like Jermain Defoe will be leaving Portsmouth with Tottenham his likely destination, while Manchester City money will test the resolve of Blackburn and Roque Santa Cruz.
It looks like the expected fire sale at West Ham will happen after Hammers Chief Executive Scott Duxbury said:
“Each approach will be considered in terms of fee, fitness, form and where the manager thinks the player is in his career.”
Translated that means West Ham wants to get rid of its older, more injury prone players like Scott Parker, Dean Ashton and Craig Bellamy
The credit crunch means that most teams in England need to sell before they can buy, so expect Newcastle to look to sell Shay Givens and Michael Owen to they can add some defensive help and for Wigan to sell Emile Heskey.
Also, with the strength in the Euro and weakness in the British pound, expect more Premier League teams to focus their attention on players already playing in England.
One interesting non-transfer related rumors is that Real Madrid want Arsene Wenger from Arsenal to join them in the summer . The Daily Express reported that Madrid aim to make it a double raid on Arsenal by luring both prize asset Cesc Fabregas and his manager in an astonishing joint package of £55million.
Surprisingly, the Express report that the fragmented Arsenal board would not stand in Wenger’s way if he decides to accept, which is something that I cannot understand. Wenger is one of the best managers in the world, and I don’t understand why Arsenal would be willing to let him leave so easily.
The other non-transfer related rumor is from Goal.com and they claim that Roman Abramovich’s fortune has dwindled from €16.7 billion (£13.2bn) to €2.3bn (£2.25bn) and that he is looking to sell Chelsea. This story is pure speculation, but if Abramovich ever decides to sell Chelsea, you will see a mass exodus for the door as Chelsea do not have a revenue structure like Arsenal or Manchester United to support their current wage structure.