Premier League clubs readying themselves for busy end to January window

The Premier League winter transfer window will shut at 11pm on Monday and there is plenty of business to be completed by top-flight clubs.

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are keen to offload big-money stars while another side in the capital, Brentford, are hoping to offer Christian Eriksen a fairy-tale return to football.

With Everton and Newcastle down the lower echelons of the table following a poor first half of the campaign, they are two of many near the bottom likely to be active during the next 24 hours.

Will Arsenal’s batman disappear?

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has not featured for Arsenal since December 6 after a second disciplinary breach of 2021 and this latest one resulted in the forward losing the club captaincy. Boss Mikel Arteta has refused to discuss the future of the Gabon international in detail since, but a move away on the final day of the January transfer window suits all parties. Barcelona and Juventus went head-to-head for the 32-year-old and it seems a temporary switch to LaLiga will be the final result. It could leave Arsenal light on attacking options after they missed out on Dusan Vlahovic, but it will be further evidence of the backing Arteta is receiving at the Emirates following a similar exit for Mesut Ozil this time last year.

Paratici plate spinning for Spurs and Conte

Fabio Paratici’s arrival at Tottenham as director of football in the summer was meant to make signings more straightforward for the north London club but they are still to make a single addition this month. After missing out on Adama Traore and Luis Diaz, it does seem Spurs will break their January duck, with Juventus pair Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur set to swap Serie A for the Premier League. Antonio Conte will welcome the arrivals and could also see several out-of-favour squad members move on. Tanguy Ndombele, Dele Alli, Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil are some of those linked with a departure and it means Paratici’s phone will not stop ringing during the next 24 hours.

Donny a Toffee?

With Frank Lampard set to be confirmed as Rafael Benitez’s successor, Donny Van De Beek should be his first transfer as Everton boss. The Dutch ace has struggled for game-time at Manchester United since he moved to the club 18 months ago and will hope to reignite his career on Merseyside. It could be the start of a busy day for the Toffees, who have lost 10 of their last 13 matches and been dragged into a relegation battle as a result. Full-backs Vitaliy Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson joined at the beginning of January but more firepower is required and a late move for Dele Alli is one to keep an eye on.

Newcastle eye extra ammunition

Newcastle were able to secure the addition of Bruno Guimaraes from Lyon on Sunday to further boost their battle to beat the drop. It followed the arrivals of Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood, but Eddie Howe is determined not to finish there. With Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium eager to support their manager since October’s takeover, a fee has been agreed with Brighton for the purchase of Dan Burn and he should sign on deadline day. Others could follow, though, with the Magpies desperate to kick-start their campaign.

Eriksen set for Premier League return?

Christian Eriksen looks likely to make a fairy-tale return to football and more specifically London and the Premier League if he signs for Brentford. Bees boss Thomas Frank has stayed coy about his countryman this month but reports over the weekend suggested he was close to offering the former Tottenham playmaker the opportunity to resume his playing career. A cardiac arrest during a Euro 2020 match against Finland in June could have ended Eriksen’s life – let alone his footballing career – but after a defibrillator on the pitch saved the Dane, he was fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator – a type of pacemaker. While the ICD means Eriksen can no longer play in Italy, Inter Milan released him in December and he is expected to finalise a move to the west London club on Monday.