Antoine Semenyo
While Semenyo would doubtless prefer to be in Morocco at the moment, one of the advantages to Ghana’s failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations has been that the 25-year-old is in the same country as all the clubs who have expressed an interest in signing him. With a contract at Bournemouth containing a £65m release clause that becomes active for the first two weeks of January, Manchester City appear to have won the race for the player who has scored 20 Premier League goals since the start of last season. Chelsea and Tottenham have now moved on to other targets but could Liverpool or Manchester United attempt to steal a late march on their rivals? They need to get a move on if so.
Marc Guéhi
The England defender has been outstanding for Crystal Palace in the first half of the season despite being denied his move to Liverpool in August. But while Guéhi has signalled his desire to leave on a lucrative free transfer in the summer, this is Palace’s last chance to cash in on their captain and his long list of suitors that also includes Manchester City could tempt them into selling in January. That scenario still appears unlikely given how Guéhi’s departure would go down with the manager, Oliver Glasner, although the Austrian has still not signed his own contract extension and could also be off at the end of the season. Guéhi is free to sign a pre-contract with an overseas club from 1 January and Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Inter are all believed to have shown an interest.
Brennan Johnson
Thomas Frank insisted after Tottenham’s win against Crystal Palace on Sunday that the Wales forward is still “an important player”, even if it is understood that they are open to selling him in January for the right price. Johnson has started only six Premier League games this season and could be forgiven for being frustrated at his lack of action given that he finished as top scorer last year under Ange Postecoglou. Bournemouth are leading the race for the 24-year-old, with Spurs thought to value him at around £40m. Aston Villa, Brentford and Crystal Palace are also believed to be among the clubs who have expressed an interest.
Rúben Neves
The Portugal midfielder has been in Saudi Arabia since 2023 after spending six years at Wolves but could be on his way back to the Premier League next month. Still only 28, Neves is yet to sign a new deal with Al-Hilal despite a proposal being on the table for several weeks and is out of contract in the summer. Manchester United – who want to sign one of Elliot Anderson, Carlos Baleba or Adam Wharton in the summer – and Liverpool have both been credited with an interest, while there have been reports in Spain that Neves would accept a significant pay cut to join Real Madrid.
Marc-André ter Stegen
Hansi Flick has made it clear that his compatriot is now Barcelona’s third-choice goalkeeper behind Joan García and Wojciech Szczesny and a January move looks on the cards for the 33-year-old. Ter Stegen has been at the Camp Nou since 2014 and made more than 400 appearances but fell out with the club’s manager in the summer and then required back surgery that kept him out for three months. There had been talk of a move to Aston Villa but that doesn’t seem likely now, with clubs in Turkey and Saudi Arabia having also been linked in recent days.
Ivan Toney
There are plenty of Premier League clubs who could do with Toney’s goals in the second half of the season: the 29-year-old has managed 28 in the league during a year and a half at Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia and is keen to return if he is to stand any chance of making England’s World Cup squad. The issue is that Al-Ahli don’t want to sell Toney and he is earning a reported £400,000 a week so it could be very difficult to strike a deal. Everton and Tottenham have both been linked, while Manchester United also hold a long-term interest.
Conor Gallagher
As many as 16 Premier League clubs were reported to have made an inquiry to sign the former Chelsea midfielder in the summer but he ended up staying at Atlético Madrid. The 25-year-old has made only four starts in La Liga this season and is believed to be keen to boost his World Cup chances, so there is likely to be more interest in the coming weeks. Manchester United have been strongly linked and Crystal Palace would also love to re-sign the player who starred on loan at Selhurst Park under Patrick Vieira in 2021-22 but may not be able to afford his wage demands this time around.
Harvey Elliott
Elliott was named player of the tournament at the European Under-21 Championship in the summer thanks to some dazzling performances but he has made only six appearances since moving to Aston Villa on an initial loan. Unai Emery has already indicated that there is no chance he will make enough appearances to make his move to Villa permanent for £35m at the end of the season. Given that Elliott has already played for them and Liverpool this season, he is unable to join another club until next summer and a return to Anfield could be the only solution.
Kenan Yildiz
The eye-catching Turkey forward has scored seven goals and provided six assists in 23 appearances for Juventus this season and has yet to sign a new contract with the Italian giants, who want to tie the 20-year-old to a deal until 2031. That has alerted a host of Premier League clubs, with Tottenham thought to have joined Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool in the race to sign him. Juventus are expected to hold further talks with his father and representatives in the coming days but they will be desperate not to lose one of the most promising young players in the world.
Kees Smit
The flame-haired midfielder has drawn comparisons with Kevin De Bruyne for obvious reasons and he was voted the player of the tournament at the European Under-19 Championship in the summer as the Netherlands won the title for the first time ever. Smit has since become a regular for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie and is tipped for a call-up for the World Cup in the summer. The 19-year-old seems likely to depart in January, with Newcastle believed to be facing competition from Real Madrid for what is expected to be AZ’s record transfer of around £22m.
