Last orders
Some of the most memorable January moves have been those that have come at the eye-watering expense so often required to poach in-form stars midway through a season.
Often, though, the best value can be found by trawling squads for out-of-favour or unsettled players, of which there is no shortage in the Premier League right now. This lot had better get in their agents' ears sharpish...
Lazar Markovic (Liverpool)
Remember him? You’d be forgiven for the name being nothing more than a hazy memory, given the lack of impact that the Serbian has made at Anfield since his £20 million move from Benfica back in 2014. Yes, £20 million.
He's still only 24 and his contract is up in the summer, but he could do worse than leave earlier given that he's not played a single minute of senior football for the Reds since April 2015.
Markovic hasn't been part of the club's plans since then – loan spells at Fenerbahce, Sporting CP, Hull and Anderlecht have all come and gone since – and if he wants to resurrect a once-promising career, he won’t be doing it on Merseyside.
Aboubakar Kamara (Fulham)
It’s safe to say Kamara has made his presence felt this season. He scored away at Arsenal and Manchester United, robbed Aleksander Mitrovic of penalty duties before missing from 12 yards, got banned from Fulham's training ground for fighting with the Serbian, and was then arrested and charged with ABH and criminal damage after fighting a member of staff.
“The club is grateful for the swift attention and action by the Metropolitan police immediately following our reporting of the incident,” a Fulham statement read. “The subject who was arrested is banned indefinitely from Motspur Park and all club activities.”
Probably time he left, then...
Gary Cahill (Chelsea)
Since Maurizio Sarri rolled into town, Cahill has completely dropped out of the equation. Having previously averaged 27 league starts a season in six years at Chelsea, he’s had just 21 minutes of game time this term.
But with such a high salary he would be an expensive gamble for teams outside of the Big Six, while the Blues might be hesitant to hand him over to potential top-four rivals who might be keen (like Arsenal).
The 33-year-old, therefore, could be left in the lurch in what would be a sad end to a commendable career at Stamford Bridge.
Alberto Moreno (Liverpool)
There are two way to get out of a club. You can drop subtle hints to an agent or, like Moreno, you can go for the other extreme.
“I didn’t like the way he [Jurgen Klopp] treated me, you can say that,” the Spaniard said at the start of the month. “Moving back to Spain is something I have thought about. I’m tired of the cold here but I don’t know about interest from other clubs. I’m in my fifth year here, there is no agreement on a renewal and in January I’m free to listen to any offer.”
The left-back is open to pre-contract offers to leave for free in the summer, or a loan move until the season is up, but the wait goes on.
Andy King (Leicester)
Leicester’s stars of 2015/16 are slowly fading into the background. Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel, Danny Simpson and Wes Morgan all started against Wolves last weekend, but the latter two are also on their way out.
That pair, along with the likes of Christian Fuchs and Shinji Okazaki, are all over 32 now and can expect some sort of decline, but King’s situation is more timely – he is still just 30 and hasn’t made a single league appearance this season.
After spending part of last season on loan at Swansea, the midfielder is likely to make another temporary switch to the Championship this week.
Andy Carroll (West Ham)
While Carroll’s injury struggles are a shame, he has been accused of not getting himself into the best shape for a full recovery. Daily Telegraph journalist and Hammers fan Dan Silver aptly described one of his performances this season as “like a drunk wardrobe”.
The former England international is now no more than a last resort bench option and needs to look elsewhere for more minutes if he’s to rediscover his best form, having just turned 30.
With high wage demands being one obstacle, a loan to the Championship could suit both parties – but is he worth the risk?
Morgan Schneiderlin (Everton)
The likes of Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mané have flourished since departing Southampton – but not Schneiderlin.
His dream Manchester United switch fell to pieces under Louis van Gaal and things haven’t got much better at Everton, where the majority of fans weren’t too impressed with 24 limp appearances last season.
Under Marco Silva this term, the France international has featured for just 285 minutes in the Premier League as he tumbles down the pecking order. At the age of 29, it could be time for him to move on in search of more regular game time.
Matteo Darmian (Manchester United)
Darmian has never quite seemed settled in the Premier League, but he is approaching four years at Old Trafford despite having started just nine times in the league since May 2017. He's been regularly linked with a return to Italy, but United’s price tag warded off suitors last summer, when Jose Mourinho was happy for the 29-year-old to leave for a suitable sum.
"I want to leave but we’ll see what happens because we don't know," Darmian said back then. Nothing whatsoever has changed.
Leo Bonatini (Wolves)
For a 24-year-old, Bonatini has got about during his odd career. Starting in Brazil at Cruzeiro, he was loaned to Juventus aged 16 before spells in Portugal and Saudi Arabia. Wolves snapped him up on loan from the Gulf, and made the deal permanent last summer.
The Brazilian was their second-top scorer in the Championship last season too, despite netting all of his 12 goals by December 4. Since Wolves's promotion, he has made minimal impact in the top flight.
Bonatini has come off the bench seven times so far without scoring, with just one of his nine efforts hitting the target at all. Adama Traore has now usurped him as the club’s second striker, so another loan move might not be the worst idea.
Danny Drinkwater (Chelsea)
One of the heroes of Leicester’s title-winning campaign, Drinkwater has failed to make much of an impression at Chelsea under Antonio Conte and now Maurizio Sarri.
The Stamford Bridge club were willing to part with £35 million for the midfielder’s services back in the summer of 2017, but the 28-year-old has managed to make just 23 appearances since and is yet to feature in the Premier League this season.
Drinkwater has been heavily linked with a loan move to Bournemouth recently, which appears to be a sensible option for both parties and would give the midfielder a chance to remind everyone of his top-flight ability.
