England
City Move For Johnson
Manchester City have made a bid for Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: As much success as City have had with producing and molding young talent, this move would be a good one for Johnson from a development standpoint. But he could well get lost in the shuffle at City if more big, established names are brought in, so perhaps it might serve him better to make a small step up before making the big step up.
Sneaky Spurs Snatch Gudjohnsen, Close On Kaboul
It looked like former Chelsea star Eidur Gudjohnsen was all set for a move to West Ham, but Tottenham have come in late on and nicked the Monaco man from their clutches. (The Sun)
Analysis: I’m guessing that Harry Redknapp and Daniel Levy might not be on West Ham’s Christmas card list this year. We’ll see if opportunities are nearly as plentiful at White Hart Lane as they would have been at Upton Park, but helping a club fight for the Champions League does sound just a little more appealing than helping a club fight to stay out of the Championship.
Another former Tottenham castoff could be set to make his return to the club soon, as Spurs are in talks with Portsmouth over a deal for defender Younes Kaboul. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: At least when Portsmouth are playing in the Championship, it’ll look a little more natural for them to be Tottenham’s glorified feeder club. Not to mention the fees that Spurs will pay to get [insert name…say, Jamie O’Hara, perhaps] their old players back will decrease.
Fulham Revive Okaka Deal
Roma striker Stefano Okaka was set to fly to London today to try to thrash out a deal with Fulham, as the Cottagers have gone back in for him after their initial loan move had collapsed earlier this month. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: Fulham still need some extra options up front after the loss of Clint Dempsey, and they were knocked back in their pursuit of a more experienced striker in FC Basel’s Marco Streller, so time is definitely of the essence here.
Birmingham Close On Dindane
The hits keep on coming for Portsmouth, as Lens have accepted Birmingham’s £4m bid for their on-loan striker Aruna Dindane. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: He’s not quite Ryan Babel, Roman Pavlyuchenko, but he has more Premier League goals (four) than both of them combined (two – two for Babel, none for Pavlyuchenko), and he comes at less than half of what either would cost.
Wolves Bullish On Hunt
The third time wasn’t the charm for Wolves with their pursuit of Hull City star Stephen Hunt, as they had a bid of £3.5m plus add-ons for the former Reading man rejected. Nonetheless, they’re not ready to give up, as a fourth bid is likely forthcoming. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Ah, the annoy until they get tired of saying no and relent method. It’s one that isn’t always successful, but sometimes persistence does pay off. Hunt’s well worth the persistence, that’s for sure.
Burnley In For Fox
Burnley have reportedly made a bid of £1.8m for Celtic defender Danny Fox. (Daily Mail)
Analysis: Fox never got a taste of Premier League action during his time at boyhood club Everton, so this is no doubt an appealing chance for a player who, just two years ago today, made the jump from League One to the Championship.
Germany
Frankfurt Land Altintop
Eintracht Frankfurt have signed Turkish international attacker Halil Altintop from Schalke 04. (Goal.com)
Analysis: Eintracht are a surprising seventh in the Bundesliga a little more than halfway through the season, and being able to add someone with the quality and experience that Altintop brings could well help push them into a European place come the end of the season.
Turkey
Fener Fancy Pedersen
Fenerbahce are interested in Blackburn star Morten Gamst Pedersen, and Pedersen has . admitted that a move to the Turkish top flight leaders would be of interest to him. (Sky Sports)
Analysis: Pedersen wants to play in the Champions League, and he stands to get that opportunity a lot more quickly somewhere else than he will at Blackburn, so whether they sell him right now (which might be a tough sell, given how close the end of the window is) or lose him for nothing in the summer, it’s looking quite likely that his days at Ewood Park are coming to an end sometime soon.
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