WITH the January transfer window fast approaching, teams in the Premier League are starting to think seriously about how they can strengthen their teams.
The issue is, of course, that for the most part these players will not be available on the cheap as teams are less willing to part with their better players half-way through the season.
With that said there are some bargains, or at least relative bargains, to be had this January with players that we believe would be available who have been performing well across the first half of the season.
We’ve identified seven players who we believe Premier League clubs should target when the transfer window opens.
For the most part we have picked our forward players as teams will typically look to add goals at this stage of the season.
Of the seven players on our shortlist, however, there is also one central midfielder and two wingers…
According to Transfermarkt Caqueret is valued at £22million which is, even by Premier League standards, not really a bargain.
The reason that we have included the French midfielder though is that Lyon are currently facing relegation trouble and there is a real chance that they will consider selling off some of their better players.
Caqueret is a dynamic force in the midfield for Lyon having graduated through their youth academy.
In terms of profile, he has the ability to either play deeper from where he can receive and dictate the game or in a more box-to-box role using his energy to push forward and attack.
The 23-year-old midfielder is now in a position that he should be looking to move in order to reach the next level of his career.
In terms of quality, he is more than capable of playing at Premier League level.
He has the quality to find passes to break the line or to make runs in possession through the centre of the pitch but he also has the ability to break up opposition attacks as they look to move through the centre.
We believe that Caqueret should be a target for teams who are challenging towards the Europa League places at a minimum.
Next, we have the 26-year-old Japanese international Daizen Maeda of Celtic.
According to Transfermarkt, he is currently valued at around the £6.5m and that would likely be enough to get the winger out of Scotland and over the border into England.
Maeda was one of the key players that came across to Scotland after Ange Postecoglou took the Celtic job.
He is an energetic and all-action presence on the right wing who combines an incredible work ethic when pressing out of possession with a very direct attacking style of play.
He is quick and direct in possession with the ability to either attack the defender down the outside or when cutting inside and heading towards goal.
He is a hard runner who will press and work for the full 90 minutes out of possession and he has a clear tendency to regain possession close to the opposition goal.
In possession, he carries a goal threat and his technical level is good and would immediately improve several Premier League teams
Similar to Caqueret, we believe that Maeda would be a good fit for a team who are challenging towards the European qualification spaces.
Next, we have another winger with 19-year-old Viktor Djukanovic, who has already made his full international debut for Montenegro after impressing for Hammarby in the Swedish top-flight.
According to Transfermarkt, he is valued at £3m and since the Swedish season has already finished he might be available fairly easily this January
Djukanovic is a true attacking threat from the left-side of the pitch. He finished the season with 11 goals in 25 league appearances and his ability to come inside and to finish with power and accuracy was one of the keys for Hammarby last season.
As a wide attacking player he tends to make intelligent runs off the ball to ensure that he can receive the ball in space.
Djukanovic is not a winger that we will typically expect to see taking the ball and looking to outplay opposition defenders 1v1.
Instead, he will look to receive and then link with attacking teammates before making intelligent runs off the ball to attack space.
When he is given space to make room to shoot he can be exceptionally difficult to defend against.
We believe that a player with Djukanovic’s profile would fit a team in the bottom half of the Premier League who need to add goals.
Our next player is the 23-year-old Togolese striker Kevin Denkey.
He is currently playing in the Belgian top-flight for Cercle Brugge and he is valued, according to Transfermarkt, at £6m.
Denkey has been performing well this season and at the time of writing has 12 goals in 17 league games for Cercle Brugge.
While he is not necessarily the biggest, standing just 6’ tall, he is powerful and displays excellent timing and anticipation when attacking the ball in the air.
This is combined with smart movement to create space for himself in the opposition penalty area and the ability to finish from a variety of positions and angles.
Denkey is not the strongest when asked to come back to link play but he can play back to goal in higher positions where he can use his frame to receive the ball before bringing others into the game.
He is better when using his movement and timing to attack the ball when it is played into the area from wide spaces.
We believe that Denkey could come into a mid-table side in the Premier League this winter and that he would score goals to move them up the table.
Our next player is another who is currently performing extremely well north of the border in 24-year-old North Macedonian striker Bojan Miovski.
He is now in his second season at Aberdeen and his all-round game has improved notably since moving there.
He is currently being linked to both Celtic and Rangers as well as to a move South of the border. Miovski is currently valued at £2m according to Transfermarkt.
Miovski is a left-footed striker who has a balanced and well-rounded skill set.
He is strong in the air and he can receive the ball and link with teammates but he is at his best when displaying movement around the area and composure in front of goal.
He tends to find pockets of space in the penalty area and he is a sharp and composed finisher.
Miovski is a goal scorer and so far this season he has 6 goals in 15 league games as well as a couple of goals in European competitions.
We believe that he has the quality to come into a mid-table level club in the Premier League.
Our sixth player is currently playing closer to home for Premier League clubs with 28-year-old Blackburn Rovers attacker Sammie Szmodics.
He is something of a late developer having played for the likes of Bristol City and Peterborough, amongst others, before moving to Blackburn.
Szmodics, valued at £3m on Transfermarkt, is also difficult to nail down positionally as he can play as a striker but also as a more advanced midfielder.
What is certain, however, has been his performances so far this season and he has scored 14 goals in 21 league games in the Championship with some spectacular finishes.
Blackburn are currently 9th in the Championship and while they will not want to lose the goals of Szmodics they will also be aware of the chance to cash in on him this January.
As a forward he can link play but his ability to make runs to find pockets of space, and then to finish from these areas are the keys to his game.
We believe that Szmodics is the kind of forward who could make an impact for a team who are trying to guard against being dragged into a relegation fight.
The final player on our list is the 25-year-old Greek international forward Vangelis Pavlidis of AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch top flight.
Pavlidis has been in excellent form so far this season and at the time of writing he has scored an incredible 18 goals in 15 league games in the Netherlands.
Combined with his exploits in the Europa Conference League, he is even outscoring Manchester City ace Erling Haaland this season.
He is a striker who can act as a target forward and use his size and frame to create and score chances.
And he can also drop deep to combine in midfield before making runs beyond the defensive line.
He can finish while running in possession or when making smart runs to get on the end of crosses or through passes.
Pavlidis is an extremely modern striker who can play alone in looking to receive the ball and wait for support or turn and drive at the defence but he can also play as one of two strikers comfortably.
We believe that he is a striker who could come into a team who are chasing European qualification and he could score the goals to fire them there.
The January transfer window is a difficult time to do business but as we have shown there are players out there who have the quality to move to the Premier League and to have an impact.
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