Who Should Liverpool FC Buy in the January Transfer Window?

Note that this article is about who we can realistically buy, not who I want us to buy in fantasy land. Liverpool Football Club have been strongly linked with Turkish whiz-kid Arda Turan recently, and I see this as an ideal move. Reportedly Arda (Turkish players are commonly known by their first name rather than their surname) would be available for around £10m, and we could easily raise that amount of cash with the sale of Andriy Voronin, Ryan Babel and Andrea Dossena. The Turk often plays on the right wing but has been known to play in central midfield before, making him a highly versatile player (the kind that Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez likes).

The second player that could really benefit our team is veteran Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistlerooy, who, at his peak was one of the top marksmen in the world, but sadly now can't get a game for Real Madrid (his current club) due to their heavy squad redevelopment in the summer (where they spent over £200m on new players).

Another player that could be quite handy is Simon Kjaer. The Danish defender is one of Europe's hottest defensive talents, and the 20 year old who currently plays at Palermo would be a great addition to our squad and would certainly help to sure up our uncharacteristically leaky defence. Despite this, I think buying Kjaer might be a step too far for us, as we probably don't have the funds and our money would be better spent on quality attacking players.

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Will Chelsea Sign Anyone in the Transfer Window?

With the January transfer window now open, the big question on everyone's lips remains the same. Will Chelsea FC sign any players during the window? Their team is nowhere near full strength at the moment, and with an aging squad the problem may only get worse. In my opinion, they need to sign a couple of players at least. Due to their transfer embargo they won't be able to sign any players until 2011 otherwise.

Their best players are out of action right now. Drogba (their best striker), Kalou, Mikel John Obi and Essien (their best defensive midfielder) are all at the African Cup of Nations for the entire month of January, and Nicholas Anelka (their second best striker) is out with an injury he recently picked up whilst training. Many fans have been left bewildered by Chelsea Manager Carlo Ancelotti's comments that he would 'streak on the pitch' if he signed any players during this transfer window.

That being said, they are top of the English Premier League, so maybe Carlo Ancelotti (who is, lest we forget a proven winner wherever he's been) knows exactly what he's doing. In the F.A. Cup against Watford FC he played the young striker Daniel Sturridge up front and he repaid the manager's faith in him by scoring two goals in a 5-0 win.

News has leaked out recently that Chelsea are looking to buy Italian striker Giampaolo Pazzini from surprise Italian package Sampdoria. The deal would reportedly be for around £22 million pounds, although a potential stumbling block could be that Sampdoria would want Pazzini loaned back to them for the rest of the season.

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The Transfer Window in English Football

Many football leagues in Europe used to have a transfer window of some description. During the season of 2002-03, the football governing body FIFA made the transfer window compulsory. This was done in an attempt to stop clubs buying success. The finer points such as regulations and exceptions are left to the individual governing body.

There is much debate about the merits of having a transfer window in English football. Many people within the game are firmly opposed to a window because it restricts their ability to buy and sell players when the need arises. Supporters do not like this rule either as the option of improving their team by signing players is lost for a large part of the season.

When the transfer window is closed the options for a club can be severely limited. If players are lost through injury clubs no longer have the option of bringing new ones in. The only solution in these cases is to sign players on loan deals. These are temporary arrangements where the club borrows a player from another club. These deals are usually on a monthly basis although longer deals are also used. A club can also use the emergency loan system if their quota has been exhausted.

For many years English football had a transfer deadline. This was known as transfer deadline day and saw a frenzy of activity as many clubs attempted to sign players. Deals would often be completed with only seconds to spare. This was usually around March with only a few games remaining. No players could be bought or sold after this point although clubs could use emergency loans in some cases.

This was considered a much better kind of transfer deadline and the majority of people within English football would like to see a return to this system. Whether or not this will happen is unclear as FIFA will have the final say in these matters. Critics of the transfer window say it encourages panic buying.

Because it is so unpopular, there are doubts about whether the transfer window in English football and elsewhere will stay in place. At the very least, many football people would like to see this rule relaxed. This would be less restrictive compared to the transfer window in its current form.

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