Ten European based hot-shots who could be on their way to the English top tier.
10. Oscar Cardozo (Benfica)
TuttoMercato claim that Liverpool are ready to make a €10m (£8m) offer for experienced Benfica forward Oscar Cardozo.
The Anfield side are reportedly looking to line up the Paraguayan as a strike partner for overworked Liverpool ace Luis Suarez and if Brendan Rodgers can pull off such a deal then he may well have the makings of a very able pairing up front.
The 29 year old forward has been netting consistently for Benfica ever since he moved to the Lisbon club in the summer of 2007 but has enjoyed something of a prickly relationship with the club's fans who have on occasion targeted the former Newell's Old Boys star for a fair bit of abuse.
Cardozo has scored 141 goals in 226 appearances for Benfica and has scored 11 in 12 matches this term so one wonders if Liverpool could succeed in persuading boss Jorge Jesus to consider offers for their star striker, especially one of just £8m, which in today's market barely nets a club a lower league youngster.
Rodgers currently relies far too heavily on Luis Suarez for an end product, luckily for the Liverpool boss the Uruguayan has been in red-hot form this term scoring ten of the Merseyside club's 19 Premier League goals this term.
Injured Italian Fabio Borini was brought in over the summer to support Suarez but prior being sidelined the former Roma man hadn't impressed and highly rated teenager Adam Morgan is perhaps not ready for prolonged top tier action, hence the desperate need to invest in the Liverpool attack in the January transfer window.
9. Wilfried Bony (Vitesse Arnhem)
Chelsea are leading the chase to sign Vitesse Arnhem star Wilfried Bony.
Striker Bony, 23, has been earning rave reviews in Holland and has attracted interest from a number of top European clubs.
The Ivory Coast international scored 20 goals in just 36 games and was strongly linked with a move to Newcastle during the summer.
Chelsea are looking to strengthen his forward line in January as he only has Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge to choose from.
Reports in Dutch newspaper Telegraaf claim Chelsea are set to make an £8m offer when the transfer window re-opens in January.
SOURCE: talkSPORT
Udinese and Napoli are also said to be eyeing up in form striker Bony, who has been dubbed the 'Next Didier Drogba' seemingly only due to their shared nationality rather than any similarities in their styles of play.
Chelsea could certainly do with alternative attacking options.
The 23 year old has been in top form this season, scoring 12 Eredivisie goals to help his Vitesse Arnhem side to a solid start to their domestic campaign.
Bony would clearly be a cheaper option than the likes of Atletico Madrid forward Radamel Falcao and one has to wonder if the former Sparta Prague man can convert success in the relatively average Dutch league to meaningful success in the English top tier.
8. Loic Remy (Marseille)
Harry Redknapp wants to make France striker Loic Remy his first signing at QPR. The former Spurs boss tried to take the Marseille forward to White Hart Lane last season.
Now, after admitting he needs more striking options at the Premier League's bottom club, he is ready to spend £8m on the goalscorer to help save Rangers from relegation.
Remy is under contract until 2015 but his agent Bruno Satin said last week: "If they [Olympique Marseille] were to get an offer of £10million, the club would let him leave."
SOURCE: Daily Mirror
Though QPR have struggled in defence this season Harry Redknapp is right to place a striker target at the head of his January wish-list.
The West London club have managed just 11 goals in 15 Premier League matches this season and that's despite the fact that the Loftus Road squad has more than a few striking options available in their squad. Harry Redknapp will hope that the allure of a move to the Premier League appeals to the 25 year old French international.
Remy has finished as Marseille's top scorer for each of the past two seasons but has found first team opportunities few and far between under new boss Elie Baup.
The former Nice man netted last night as Marseille fell to a 4-1 home defeat to Ligue 1 leaders Lyon.
7. Bafetimbi Gomis (Lyon)
Bafetimbi Gomis 'holds talks with Liverpool over January transfer'
Liverpool have opened talks with Lyon over a deal for striker Bafetimbi Gomis, according to reports in France.
Reds manager Brendan Rodgers is targeting at least one new striker when the transfer window opens in January, with Luis Suarez being the club's only option up front at present.
One of the watching sides was Liverpool, who have now made an approach to Lyon to try and negotiate a deal, according to French magazine Le 10 Sport.
The publication claims Liverpool representatives have offered around £8million for the striker, who has 10 caps for France and has previously been linked with Real Madrid.
SOURCE: Metro
Brendan Rodgers needs fresh attacking options and interest in Lyon forward Bafetimbi Gomis is not surprising given that Lyon have severe financial problems.
The Stade Gerland side made a decent sum from the sales of Hugo Lloris, Aly Cissokho and Kim Källström to Tottenham, Valencia and Spartak Moscow respectively but the Ligue 1 side still need to sell according to this source.
27 year old French international Gomis has been in fine form this season, culminating in a hat-trick away at Marseille that helped take Lyon to the top of the table.
The former Saint-Etienne man has scored 13 goals in 19 matches thus far this term and managed a solid 15 and 14 goals in his first two seasons at Lyon but last season upped his game to produce a career best of 25 goals across all campaigns.
Currently Liverpool must rely solely on Luis Suarez as arguably the Anfield side's only effective attacking weapon.
6. Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao)
TOTTENHAM target Fernando Llorente has confirmed he plans to leave Athletic Bilbao on a free at the end of the season.
The powerhouse striker, 27, rejected a new contract and said he wanted to quit during the summer — but the La Liga outfit refused to let him go.
Now the Basque side will lose the forward for nothing when his deal expires — with Premier League teams including Spurs likely to be interested in snapping him up.
SOURCE: The Sun
Tottenham will be one of many sides who will be readying moves to capture the consistent Spanish marksman next summer though Athletic Bilbao will surely attempt to sell the giant forward in January so as to recoup some funds from his sale.
Fernando Llorente may well stick to his guns so that he can make the most of his free transfer status in order to attract as big a pay packet as possible.
Andre Villas-Boas may well need attacking alternatives though he seems loathed to use those he has at his disposal. Currently the Portuguese boss has steadfastly stuck with Jermain Defoe, who has rewarded that loyalty with an excellent run of form.
This has led to summer signing Emmanuel Adebayor sitting on the bench waiting for his chance to prove himself.
Come next summer Villas-Boas may have a clearer idea of what his squad is capable of and any free transfer move for a player of Llorente's ability would be a sensible one to consider.
Last term the Pamplona born forward netted 29 goals in all competitions but his decision to hold off contract talks has seen his first team chances limited this season.
5. Andre Schurrle (Bayer Leverkusen)
Bayer Leverkusen star Andre Schurrle will not be joining Chelsea in the January transfer window but a summer move could be a possibility, according to his father.
The forward reportedly has a get-out clause in his contract which allows him to move at the end of the season if any club meets a fee of €35million (£28.5m).
Leverkusen, who sit second in the Bundesliga, could therefore try to sell Schurrle in the winter transfer window to gain a higher price.
European champions Chelsea could take advantage and are understood to have tried to sign the forward in summer 2012 while the struggles of Fernando Torres could inspire a new bid
But Schurrle's father, Joachim, has ruled out any move before the end of the campaign, as he told Express newspaper: "We have plenty of time left until the next summer.
"Until next summer, there is no reason to move."
SOURCE: Sky Sports
All signs point to Bayer Leverkusen opting to keep hold of in form forward Andre Schurrle until at least the summer which will then leave the way open for Chelsea to stump up the £28.5m needed to land the young German international at the end of the current campaign.
With Chelsea already some way back from the top of the Premier League and the club's Champions League hopes dashed Blues owner Roman Abramovich may feel that it's sensible to wait until the end of the season to bring in big additions, especially if, as in this case, they can be picked up for smaller fees.
Chelsea have failed with previous bids for Schurrle and are certainly interested in the 22 year old but perhaps will now look to hang on until the summer to land the former Mainz man.
Schurrle has helped Bayer Leverkusen into second spot in the Bundesliga with a series of good all round performances.
4. Hulk (FC Porto)
Chelsea are keeping a close eye on developments at big spending Russian side Zenit as they look to mount a move to sign Brazilian striker Hulk.
The former FC Porto forward, who was previously strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, is not having the best of times since his move to St Petersburg and is reportedly set to demand an exit from the club after falling out with manager Luciano Spalletti and this has led to an increase in interest in the 26 year old.
In playing terms Hulk hasn't taken all that well to life in the Russian Premier League, managing just two goals in eight domestic appearances and Chelsea's pursuit of further attacking options has led them to consider a big money offer for the powerful striker.
They will have to hold off on such a bid until next summer as UEFA guidelines prevent Hulk from representing another side in the 2012/13 season as he has already represented FC Porto and Zenit this term. However this is not seen as such an issue for Blues owner Roman Abramovich and there is some speculation that due to the Russian league format such a move could be conducted next month.
3. Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke)
Arsenal apparently see the Dutch international as their number on January target and are willing to make a £6m offer for the 29 year old as they look to supplement their meagre striking options.
The Schalke man is in the final year of his contract and having resurrected his career in the Bundesliga following indifferent spells with Real Madrid and AC Milan the former Ajax man appears ready for a new challenge and could well be the right man, in the short-term, to fill the void left by national team colleague Robin Van Persie.
Huntelaar has scored 71 goals in 102 appearances for the Gelsenkirchen side and could well offer Wenger an alternative to summer signing Olivier Giroud.
2. Robert Lewandowki (Borrusia Dortmund)
Man United agree £12m deal for Dortmund striker - reports
Manchester United are set to land Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski, according to Sky Deutschland.
Lewandowski, the Poland international, played a key role in Dortmund's back-to-back title wins of 2011 and 2012.
He has found the back of the net 52 times since the start of the 2010/11 season and his goalscoring exploits have caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson, who has no shortage of attacking options at Old Trafford.
But that hasn't stopped him from pursuing the 24-year-old and sources in Germany claim United have reached an agreement with the Bundesliga side to sign the forward for £12m.
SOURCE: talkSPORT
As reported on CaughtOffside over the weekend it appears that a number of sources believe that Man United have agreed a £12m deal to sign Polish international forward Robert Lewandowski.
Lewandowski netted 30 goals in all competitions last term as he helped Jurgen Klopp's side to a domestic double but things have not fared so well this term for the Westfalenstadion side with Bayern Munich having already opened up an eleven point gap to their rivals. The two sides go head to head today and if the Bavarians triumph then the chances of a third successive Bundesliga title triumph pretty much goes out the window.
This hasn't affected Lewandowski's personal form with the powerfully built striker netting 14 goals in 20 matches thus far this term.
Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been strongly linked with interest in the former Lech Poznan forward in the past and whilst the club has a host of attacking talent, which has left Javier Hernandez having to spend much of his time on the bench, the Scot is still seemingly very interested in the Borussia Dortmund forward.
And so this source suggests a deal has already been agreed that would see Lewandowski reunited with his former Dortmund team-mate Shinji Kagawa.
1. Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid)
Rafa Benitez is set for a busy January transfer window as the Metro reports the Spaniard is readying moves to re-shuffle his Stamford Bridge squad.
The newly appointed Blues boss will reportedly demand funds to bring in two targeted strikers whilst he will also consider the futures of five players who could be heading for a West London exit when the transfer window re-opens.
The former Liverpool boss will meet Roman Abramovich in the coming days and look to the Russian billionaire to fund moves to capture a pair of attacking talents who could greatly improve the relatively threadbare forward options Benitez has available to him.
Benitez will reportedly look to push on with efforts to sign the Colombian, who will apparently cost in excess of £40m. The Atletico Madrid man netted 36 goals last term and has continued to thrive in La Liga this term, scoring 10 goals in 11 domestic league games whilst also managing a hat-trick against Chelsea in the European Super Cup Final against Chelsea.
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