Antoine Semenyo
Having started the season with a brilliant double at Anfield, Semenyo’s release clause of £65 million – to be activated before January 10 – has made him the transfer window’s most coveted player. Liverpool viewed him as a logical long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah, but Manchester City appear to have moved ahead in the race to sign him. The thought of Semenyo in harness with the likes of Jeremy Doku and Ryan Cherki, with Erling Haaland playing ahead of them, is a frightening one.
Adam Wharton
Crystal Palace are unlikely to sell him in January, especially given that they remain in the hunt for European qualification, but Wharton is a man in demand. Manchester United want him, while Liverpool and City have also been watching closely. A complete midfielder capable of dictating a game’s tempo and threading precise passes, Wharton will be in an even better position to pick and choose if he has a good World Cup. But will someone try to break the bank in January?
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Mark Guehi
Oliver Glasner, Palace’s manager, vetoed Guehi’s summer move to Liverpool at the midnight hour. He is out of contract in the summer. Do Palace let him wind down the deal and lose him for nothing, or do they try and recoup a fee in January? Guehi has played at a consistently high standard despite all the rumours, and would clearly improve Liverpool and most other sides interested in him. Does he want to stay in England or go to, say, a Real Madrid and an entirely different challenge?
Elliott Anderson
Like Wharton, Anderson – who Newcastle reluctantly sold to Nottingham Forest to meet financial fair play requirements – is an all-action midfielder who would walk into most EPL sides. United, who have Casemiro out of contract in the summer, again look likely bidders, but Forest are under no pressure to sell and probably won’t when they’re involved in a relegation battle. A good World Cup will only bump up his price tag too.
Kobbie Mainoo
There was a time, a year and a half ago, when Mainoo was Manchester United’s blue-eyed boy, the latest graduate from the famous academy. But under Ruben Amorim, Mainoo has fallen down the pecking order. With a World Cup looming, he needs minutes under his belt to make the England squad. Even with Bruno Fernandes injured, there’s no guarantee of game time, not when Mainoo himself is struggling with a muscle problem. Napoli, where Scott McTominay revived his career, are rumoured to be interested, as are several EPL teams including Chelsea and Everton. But will United let him leave when their season is in danger of stalling?
