A global journey…
The January transfer window is traditionally a slow-moving affair, carried along on a sea of exciting rumours that never come to anything, unless you have the money to pay the slightly higher fees you expect half way through a season when contracts seem more secure. For that reason, one of the more surprising rumours surrounding Man City has actually come to fruitition. The major signing of the transfer window so far is Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira arriving at Eastlands, to rejoin his old Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini after falling out of favour with Jose Mourinho. Voted higher on Arsenal fans' list of favourites than the likes of even Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas, he is there to restore an old rivalry with Manchester United. His first game could indeed be the all-Manchester clash in the Carling Cup, if the weather stays the same.
A poll on football.co.uk named Liverpool as the Premier League club most in need of signings this January. With a struggle for fourth place lying ahead of them with clubs who, with healthier finances, have more depth available to them this is surely true. Here you can see a list of players who have seriously been linked to Liverpool in more than Chinese whispers, and they include Scott Parker, Turkish winger Arda Turan and strikers Victor Moses and Luis Suarez of Ajax.
Rafa's signings must be made on a budget, and despite the logical conclusion being that what he receives from sales he gets to spend, he is avoiding the sale of Ryan Babel for an amount of around £9 million after being told he can not re-invest the revenue he generates. Dossena and Voronin have left for a combined amount of over £6 million, but he will not see a penny and needs to negotiate deposits on players such as Parker and Suarez, who, if a deal is done, would remain at their current club until the summer.
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