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A week after celebrating the birthdays of Jesus Christ and Chris Kamara, the world of football turns its attention to the grand unveiling of yet another highly anticipated transfer window.

The month of January is filled with endless exciting possibilities, ranging from the arrival of new faces to the departure of deadwood. But is this a period that benefits anyone other than the fans themselves? Would a return to the ‘open all hours’ transfer arrangement really signal an improvement to the beautiful game?

In many ways the transfer window only serves to devalue the media industry, which appears only too willing to disregard the facts in search of an alluring story. The rumour mill goes into overdrive as speculation begins to overshadow events on the pitch and managers grow increasingly weary of questions regarding potential comings and goings.

It’s essentially a circus show, built upon numerous games of Chinese whispers that usually originate from a bored teenager’s bedroom. Sure we’ve had some laughs – who can forget the story of Ryan Babel desperately trying to escape Merseyside in his helicopter – but you get the impression the whole process will soon escalate to a surreal level of infuriating chaos.

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I do believe the transfer window enhances the experience of supporting a football club; the marriage of excitement and fear is an incredibly unique feeling associated with the sport. But let’s face it, most fans end up disappointed with their team’s dealings in the market and there’s something very British about that.

‘Deadline Day’ may have overtaken ‘Cup Final Day’ in terms of importance and prestige among the modern day fan, especially since bank accounts have been bolstered by foreign investment, but perhaps we would still be able enjoy the same, if slightly subdued, thrill all year around if the window were to be abolished.

The vast majority of managers would undoubtedly approve such a decision, especially former Nottingham Forest boss Sean O’Driscoll, who was sacked just hours after a 4-2 win against Leeds United, with the club a mere point from the play-off positions. It has since come to light that the impending transfer window essentially forced the club’s Kuwaiti owners into action.

“With the January transfer window approaching, we feel it’s the right time to make a change. We are looking to bring in an ambitious manager with Premier League experience.” (Telegraph)

Unfortunately this is an increasingly familiar tale, with Blackburn’s ever-popular owners, The Venky’s, also ejecting Henning Berg after less than eight weeks in charge. The transfer window provides the perfect excuse to remove an ailing or disliked manager, with their replacement unlikely to succeed without the opportunity to bring in their own reinforcements.

Steve Coppell, director of football at Crawley Town, has repeatedly declared he “cannot see the logic in a transfer window”. What was once introduced to create stability and a level playing field has instead had the exact opposite effect. The performances of unhappy players suffer as they try to engineer a move away via their medalling agents, whose eyeballs turn to dollar signs as they sense an imminent payday.

As the window reaches its conclusion, transfer fees and wage bills soar skywards as clubs conclude more and more deals fuelled by panic. Just how many costly mistakes have been made in the past? During last January’s deadline day QPR spent the best part of £10m on the unreliable Djibril Cisse and the injury-prone Bobby Zamora. The transfer window certainly has a lot to answer for when the abysmal state of football’s finances are discussed.

However, the window does at least restrict the Premier league’s big boys from buying their way out of trouble. It goes without saying that the likes of Manchester City, QPR and Liverpool would have spent a pretty penny given the chance over the past few months. Speaking of Liverpool, it’s incredibly likely that we wouldn’t have witnessed the emergence of Raheem Sterling, had Brendan Rodgers been allowed to quench his thirst for more experienced individuals.

Managers nowadays have to rely on their coaching methods, motivation tactics and man-management skills. If nothing else, the strict rules have helped expose those clearly not cut out for a role at the helm of a football club. Managers of lower league clubs will have once embraced the security of the window, enabling them to hold onto their prize assets. However, in times of financial hardship, they are also restricted from obtaining their easiest and most profitable source of income, which places their existence in jeopardy.

Perhaps the answer is to allow different rules across the four divisions in the Football League. Teams in the Championship could have an extra month in December to help combat an increased number of games, while teams in League One and Two could enjoy flexible circumstances if they had exhausted other options. Loan transfers were once the answer, but they’ve become so complicated and expensive – what with fees and wage contributions – that few can afford it.

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Roberto Martinez hit the nail firmly on the head when he suggested that the transfer window should not overlap the start or middle of the season. There is certainly an argument to suggest it is an unnecessary distraction for both managers and their players.

“I have expressed many times that I don’t agree with the transfer window going on while there are official games. It happens everywhere, it gives you uncertainty and I don’t think that helps the game. The players are footballers but they are human beings.” (Liverpool Daily Post)

I guess public opinion will depend solely on their own club’s current situation. The likes of Manchester United and Everton would be quite happy to continue as normal whereas Newcastle and Arsenal will be desperate to get their hands dirty. There simply isn’t a deal that will please everyone. Except Sky Sports of course, who will be busy dusting off Jim White for another round of sensationalised reporting.

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has been linked with a dramatic move back to the Premier League after failing to fully settle in Spain, with both Manchester United and Chelsea among the interested parties, but which would he suit best and what are the chances of it happening?

In a recent vote conducted by Madrid-based newspaper and mouthpiece of the administration at the club, Marca, Modric collected 32.2% of the vote, beating Barcelona’s summer signing, former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song into second place as the La Liga’s worst signing of the season.

While the 27-year-old finally completed his move from Tottenham after protracted negotiations with chairman Daniel Levy, he has failed to make a spot fully his own in Jose Mourinho’s side as they’ve struggled with poor form all campaign. In total he has made 14 league appearances, but only managing 717 minutes playing time in total with just eight of those appearances coming from the start.

The suspicions of many, myself included, that Modric was a needless indulgence have been confirmed and he lacks a clearly defined role in the side, failing to catch light in a more advanced role in place of Mesut Ozil or in a deeper-lying one alongside Xabi Alonso when granted the rare opportunity to try and impress. In essence, he was signed because Mourinho was unsure about who else to move for and who could actually improve his starting eleven and £33m looks an expensive price for a player sat warming the bench and confined to a rotation role.

After the recent 2-2 draw against Espanyol at home, Mourinho intimated that Modric’s fitness was the main cause for concern: “Modric is still having some small problems, especially when playing two consecutive matches in three days. Each time we pick him twice in a row his performance has not been the best. I took a strategic decision. I thought putting Di Maria on and opening up the flanks could help the team. And it did, because I think that in the second half the team produced more attacking football. So that is why I was sorry to take off Luka, but it was for strategic reasons.”

With the reigning champions sat way back in third place at present, five points behind rivals Atletico Madrid and an insurmountable 16 points off Barcelona at the top, it all adds up to a meek defence of their league title and Mourinho has cut an increasingly divisive figure on the sidelines, being booed by the home support and seeming every inch a man trying to get fired rather than resign, with his continued reluctance to start club legend Iker Casillas proving puzzling to say the least.

While Modric will be reluctant to cut his time in Spain short at such an early stage, the club is besieged by a poisonous environment at the moment and having been pursued so vigorously by Mourinho in the summer, the club may wish to get rid of the last remnants of a failed era in the summer, with the Croat a likely casualty. He would not be the first superb midfield player to have been harshly treated by Real Madrid, with Wesley Sneijder, Esteban Cambiasso and Rafael van der Vaart all serving as prime examples that logic need not always apply to the inner wranglings of the Santiago Bernabeu.

Obviously in the world of football transfer rumours, this equates to him being ready to move and given what time of the year it is, 2+2=5 and Modric is apparently being targeted by both Chelsea and Manchester United; it looks far fetched to say the least in January, but is a summer switch back to these fair shores really that difficult to see?

Firstly, it would take something approaching the £33m Real Madrid paid for him for them to even consider letting him go and with Xabi Alonso now 31 years of age, the diminutive playmaker might be regarded as the Spaniard’s long-term successor in the side. Nevertheless, Chelsea could certainly do with a central midfield player capable of dictating the tempo from deep, with John Obi Mikel failing to impress for the most part during his time at Stamford Bridge and Ramires perhaps best utilised further up the pitch where his all-action style can do the most damage.

With Frank Lampard certain to depart in the summer now after his agent’s revelations earlier today, despite David Luiz’s successful conversion in recent weeks under interim boss Rafa Benitez to a midfield role, there certainly looks like there’s a spot up for grabs in the squad and meddling owner Roman Abramovich has form when it comes to foisting players onto managers in the past with Andriy Shevchenko, Fernando Torres and to a lesser extent, Luiz, all bought at the Russian oligarch’s behest.

Manchester United would possibly be an even more attractive destination, though, and Ferguson is known to be a long-term admirer of Modric’s, even if he has seemed reluctant to address a systemic problem with the club’s midfield in recent years.

Many have conveniently blamed the club’s back four for the way in which the side have leaked so many goals so far this season and gone behind first in over 15 games across all competitions this term, but it seems a rather simplistic way of looking at things and surely it has just as much to do with the lack of pressure on the ball in midfield from first-choice pairing Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley.

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Of course, bringing in Modric would not change that flaw, nor does it look like it will have an impact on the club’s march to the league title this campaign, but Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs will need replacing eventually, and along with a more combative holding man, the former Tottenham star could bring an element of control to proceedings which they’ve lacked in big games, particularly in Europe in recent years.

At the moment, a return to the top flight all looks a little pie in the sky with regards to Modric and Real Madrid, Mourinho and the player himself will all be reluctant to give up on the move after such a rocky start, with so much invested in the switch, both in terms of money and the reputations at stake. Moreover, while United may have splashed the cash on van Persie in the summer, Ferguson’s lack of movement in that area of the pitch in the last few years means this one just isn’t a goer at the moment, but when it comes to Chelsea, though, it’s difficult to rule them out with any confidence given their penchant for pulling off the odd transfer surprise.

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is keeping tabs on Saint Etienne striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with a view to summer move, according to the Metro.

Aubameyang has been dubbed the ‘African Neymar’ due to his silky skills, electric pace, eye for goal and nifty hair cut.

The Gabon born forward has been in sparking form this season netting 16 times already, including one on Friday night in front of Arsenal scout and former player Gilles Grimandi.

It is not the first time Wenger has sent one of his staff to monitor the 23-year-old who was subject to a January bid from French raiders Newcastle United, only to be turned down.

It is though that the French club want in excess of £15million for their star man but Wenger will look to negotiate that fee as he has done successfully in the past.

The Gunners boss wants to add more firepower to his front line after Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski have failed to set the Premier League alight in their debut seasons.

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Everton boss David Moyes is hoping to fight off competition to sign CSKA Moscow attacking midfielder Keisuke Honda in the summer according to talkSPORT.

Neighbours Liverpool have also been linked with the Japanese international who looks set to leave Russia in the summer as his contract comes to an end at the end of the year.

The Merseyside duo will have to lock horns with clubs from Spain and Italy to ensure the 26 year old comes to the Premier League before the start of next season.

CSKA will not want to lose their star man for free next January and so may look to take whatever they can for him in the summer.

Honda has revealed he won’t be signing a new deal in Russia and so Moyes will look to make his move swiftly.

The Everton boss will want to sort his own future out before making any summer additions but Liverpool are set to pounce if the Toffees cannot pull their finger out.

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Probably many Arsenal fans look forward to this summer with the excitement that £70 million in the pocket provides. The generous spend that the Premier League club are planning ahead of next season comes packaged – and here is the main difference with prior seasons – with the firm intention of keeping their key players in the squad. But if Arsene Wenger wants to take the team back to the top, the mentioned amount doesn’t sound enough to make The Gunners a force once again.

Having a look at the current squad suggests a goalkeeper, a centre back, a holding midfielder and a striker are, for several reasons, vital in order to strengthen the starting line up in positions that have showed weaknesses this season. We are not talking about players to broaden the choice, but signings that suppose a step up to Arsenal’s starting XI, so the expenditure should be concentrated in no more than five big names.

Looking at it that way, the £70million will have to be spent wisely and carefully. Arsenal have invested over £100million in 13 signings over the last two years. Those acquisitions have made a more solid squad in terms of choice and variety, but other than Cazorla, none of them have covered the gap that the stars recently sold – Fabregas, Nasri, Van Persie – have left. It is time now to throw a few cherries on top of the cake.

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Starting the analysis line by line, the goalkeeper position is the least urgent to cover at the Emirates. It is an improvable spot and, if the club come across an experienced goalkeeper at a reasonable price – Victor Valdes could be a good example – the move should be considered. Otherwise, there is no point in blowing half of the budget on a top-class goalie, and investing in a long-term option does not seem as the best idea when Szczesny is only 22 and shows margin for improvement.

The heart of the back-four need a fourth central defender to join Mertesacker, Vermaelen and Koscielny. Having already three relatively solid centre-backs and new blood with the likes of Ignasi Miquel, it would be an unnecessary expense to bring in ‘just another central defender’. If that position is reinforced, it should be with a proven player that notably improves what Wenger already has, able to pair up with Vermaelen or Mertesacker and lift Arsenal’s defence to a higher level. It will mean an ambitious outlay, but there is no point in bringing someone in that role if he is not going to bring the consistency the back-four have lacked in the last few years.

On that line, a right back will most likely be needed as Bacary Sagna could be set to leave. A decent competitor for Carl Jenkinson seems necessary, although it shouldn’t be a position to deposit a vast amount of the budget into.

Moving up to the midfield, the creativity and talent that the likes of Isco can bring to the team sound very appealing, but the urge is in the holding midfield position. With Diaby out of the game until the end of the year and the uncertainty the injury-prone midfielder will inevitably carry when he returns, the signing of a solid defensive midfielder is vital. An experienced anchorman with very specific duties would brace the team defensively and give freedom to players like Arteta or Wilshere to concentrate on what they do best.

Finally, the attacking line need more goals. The fact that Walcott and Cazorla are the team’s top scorers in the league should be enough warning on this matter. There is absolutely no need to bury Giroud, whose first season might not have blown minds but is quite acceptable. Simply a bit of competition for the Frenchman could turn highly beneficial for Arsenal, adding more goals to the squad and possibly releasing a better version of Giroud, who is perhaps a bit too comfortable as the only No.9 choice. A strong investment – Higuain, Lewandowski – is always a guarantee when it comes to goals, and the opportunity should be taken should it present itself, but cheaper options such as David Villa should also be weighed up. Besides, the Barcelona striker can also perform on the left, giving more choice to Wenger when planning his formation.

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Arsenal need to sign a lot of talent and experience to take that step up and join the fight for silverware, and the £70million doesn’t seem that much when you look at it this way. The immediate reaction invites to think recent signings have been poor, but excluding a couple of them, they are not bad.

The squad is relatively strong and most of the faces brought in the last two seasons cover needs that the team had, but the gap left by the big boys sold is yet to be fulfilled.

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Everton, Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion are on standby if Manchester City misfit Scott Sinclair is allowed to leave on loan next season.

Sinclair will seek a loan move from the Etihad Stadium next season – if manager Roberto Mancini keeps his job, but the winger is ready to stay and battle for his place should the Italian be sacked by the deposed Premier League champions.

Sinclair more than quadrupled his £10,000-a-week salary by switching from Swansea for £6.2million last August, but he has started just two Premier League games for boss Mancini, and is yet to score a goal for the club. Sinclair, 24, is reluctant to leave the Blues permanently, however, he is apparently open to a loan move to get him some regular first-team games if Mancini continues to view him as nothing more than a bench-filler.

WBA boss Steve Clarke could have a slight advantage in the race to sign him up, having worked with Sinclair for two years previously at Chelsea.

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One of the salient features of Bayern`s return path to the Champions` League Final has been the significant improvement in the team`s performance in each subsequent round.

After a flawless demolition of Arsenal in the first leg of the Last 16 they meted out similar disdain with a perfect home and away display against Juventus, registering identical scores in Munich and Turin.

The general consensus after the first leg victory in Munich was the game was as close to a 2-0 thrashing as you are ever likely to get. The fact that a two goal margin hardly did justice to Bayern`s superiority was almost incidental but to concede a goal after 27 seconds, and a deflected shot to boot, meant an uphill struggle for the Italian side.

It was David Alaba, optimistically letting fly from fully 35 yards who got the ball rolling for Bayern with a little unknowing assistance from Vidal to help deflect it past Buffon.

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The introduction of Robben for Tony Kroos after just 13 minutes was certainly unlucky for the Turin giants who found the errant Dutchman`s forays down the flank an effective deterrent to their forward momentum on that side. Robben even forced a fine save from Buffon after a great set up from Lahm.

Robben then made a hash of an even better chance and Juventus were outwardly delighted to go in at the interval just one goal adrift but soon after the restart Bayern served notice that they were going for the jugular and only another excellent Buffon save prevented Mandzukic from doubling the home lead.

That signalled a change in the match dynamic as Bayern sought to maintain the pressure while Juventus looked happy to settle for a 1-0 reverse. But it was the pressure that prevailed just past the hour when Gustavo`s long range effort bounced disturbingly in front of Buffon who could only parry into the path of Mandzukic. He cut the ball back for a simple Muller tap in. Antonio Conte responded with a couple of substitutions and one of them, Mirko Vukinic set up Lichsteiner who forced Neuer into his first save of the evening but far from looking like conceding Munich looked more likely to add to their advantage though a 2-0 result was regarded as a job half done ahead of the trip top Turin.

As if Bayern needed any more of a boost ahead of the 2nd Leg, winning the German League before flying out to Italy was a bonus.

Juventus got off to as flying start but Vucinic`s weak effort failed to trouble Neuer.

But the stopper had to work harder when Pirlo`s 20 yard drive had to be turned away.

The first goal of the night and the one which effectively killed the tie came just past the hour and there was an element of irony about it.

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Mandzukic had picked up a harsh booking for a challenge that was no more than 50-50 that rattled the shin of Chiellini meaning he would miss the semi-final first leg but he made amends in the 63rd minute when he turned home the rebound after Buffon had saved from Martinez.

Although play continued to swing from end to end it was all over for Juventus even before Pizzaro swept home Bayern`s second of the night, in stoppage time, to clinch a 4-0 aggregate victory.

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Over at Everton, one budding youngster is fast-growing in reputation. 19-year old Ross Barkley has had a sensational start to the 2013/2014 Premier League season, racking up one goal and one assist in five domestic appearances.

The Toffees prodigy has produced such strong and consistent form that Roy Hodgson awarded him his first cap at senior level in a World Cup qualifier against Moldova earlier this month, and according to the tabloids at least, he’s now the at the centre of a bidding war between Chelsea and Manchester United for his services.

The future certainly looks bright for young Barkley, considering he’s already emerged as one to watch this season without even reaching his 20th Birthday.

And with that in mind, we’ve come up with a list of the FIVE reasons the Everton playmaker has been the English top flight’s most impressive individual so far this season.

CLICK HERE or on the England international to reveal the FIVE reasons Ross Barkley has been the most impressive Premier League player this season

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Footballing personalities and pundits alike stood by wide-eyed and baffled to bits when Nigel Adkins got the boot at St. Mary’s this January. Not even in the current climate of frequent managerial changes could anyone anticipate the sacking of the man who had taken Southampton back into the top tier before making them not only easy on the eye, but a solid mid-table team. As much as everyone questioned Chelsea’s judgment in relieving Roberto Di Matteo of his duties not even six months after being crowned champions of Europe, the Adkins sacking was quickly branded pure lunacy.

Fast forward ten months and the scorned scouser’s replacement, Mauricio Pochettino, has taken the Saints to a current fifth spot in the league. Not only is the Argentine’s Southampton side getting results, they are stunning the very best teams in the league with their intense pressure and possessive football. Pundits are even discussing whether they can make it into Europe next season.

Which begs the question: did the Southampton board know something we didn’t?

When Nigel Adkins furiously left St. Mary’s he had finally built some momentum for his team. After a vigilant but tough start to the season, the Saints had to fight their way out of the bottom three, playing positive attacking football, but suffering from a defensive line that leaked worse than John Terry’s publicist after hitting an ice berg. The flair and reliability of Rickie Lambert, Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana, though, kept the Southmapton ship floating, and the fans loved it. Adkins was regarded a true hero.

But if we compare that to Pochettino’s team, it is easy to spot a few contrasts. Southampton has become a defensive solidity, claiming the majority of possession in most games, and even daring to stand toe-to-toe with the mighty Manchester United at Old Trafford. Their pressing style has been compared with the approach used by Barcelona, the current universal football ideal, and this is hardly a coincidence.

Newly appointed Barcelona boss Tata Martino was greeted with maybe as much bafflement as Pochettino when he arrived at Camp Nou. However, the Catalans tend to choose their managers by approach rather than merit, and Martino fit the bill in terms of carrying on the tradition of high pressing, possessive game. This philosophy is shared by Pochettino and Martino, as they were shaped as footballers in the same environment.

In the early nineties, they were both integral parts of Marcelo Bielsa’s Newell’s Old Boys. Bielsa, one of the architects of the modern pressing game, shaped his strategy while at Newell’s and can be credited with some influence on how teams like Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Spain play football today. Although Martino and Pochettino’s approaches are not entirely the same, one of the main principles are identical: they both have heavy emphasis on regaining possession through a high pressing game.

Pochettino’s results with this have been truly remarkable. Southampton have only conceded three (!) goals so far this season; the best defensive record in the premiership. They aslo average above 50 per cent of possession, and this is a natural bi-product of their pressing style. If you regain possession effectively, you will own the ball for the majority of the game. Combine this with the attacking threat of a Lallana, who is forcing his name into the England international discussion, and the always reliable Rickie Lambert who’s justifying Roy Hodgen’s recent selection, all balanced by an excellent Morgan Schneiderlin, who might receive a France call up if he keeps his level. This way we can easily understand that the Saints have turned into a formidable opponent over the last year.

If we take a look at the stats from their 1-1 draw at Old Trafford last weekend, we can see that he ball spent more time in Manchester United’s half than Southampton’s. They were deemed lucky to get a late equalizer, but in fact they had two attempts more on target than the champions. United are struggling with getting into their stride at the moment, but the intense and well organized pressure inflicted by the Southampton midfield restrained the Red Devils from finding space and paid of through a late goal and an impressive away point.

If we compare Pochettino’s stats with Adkins’s when they had played an equal amount of Premier League games, 22, we find that the Saints have conceded only about half as many goals (22) with the Argentine at the helm, and their possession have moved from an average of 49,8 per cent to 55,9. Little doubt that despite his unwillingness to speak English in interviews (rumor has it he’s actually quite the skilled in the language) Pochettino has conveyed his message effectively to his players.

The Southampton board must simply have identified Pochettino as the chance of a lifetime. The sacking of Adkins was certainly a case of acquiring an invaluable asset rather than disposing of an unqualified one. And sadly for Nigel Adkins, it all came at his cost.

There is little suggesting the points tally at St. Mary’s should halt immediately, as Southampton take on Stoke and Hull in the coming weeks, before they will get tested away to Arsenal and Chelsea. Although European football in 2014 might be a dream too audacious, they are certainly moving in the right direction.

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Is Southampton capable of finishing in the top six this season?

Join the discussion below.

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Manchester United have been told they will have to spend big money in order to land Juventus star Arturo Vidal, according to the Daily Mirror.

The Chilean has been one of the many names linked with a January move to Old Trafford, as David Moyes hopes to strengthen his struggling midfield.

The 26-year-old has often stated his desire to remain with in Turin, but reports from France suggest he may be willing to make the switch to Old Trafford should he be offered an extremely lucrative deal.

Any deal would be viewed as a major coup for Moyes, with Vidal only signing a new contract with the Old Lady last month.

Moyes is set to be a busy man during the January transfer window, with Manchester United being linked with a host of new faces.

Vidal is believed to be amongst other targets that include Everton duo Leighton Baines and Ross Barkely.

Moyes is also understood to be plotting a move for Atletico Madrid playmaker Koke.

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The United boss is likely to step up his efforts to sign new players this week, after watching his side crash to a sixth Premier League defeat of the season at the hands of Tottenham yesterday – a result that leaves their hopes of retaining their title in tatters.