what the papers say

Names in the frame

Names a-plenty start to emerge (or resurface) as the January window begins to creak open!

The Independent

"Spurs stunned by £24m Defoe price"

Tottenham
are being frustrated by the huge £24m valuation that Portsmouth have
placed on Jermain Defoe. Harry Redknapp is also fearful that when the
January transfer window draws to a close, Manchester City may outbid
him for both Defoe and Craig Bellamy.

As revealed in The
Independent yesterday, Defoe was unhappy at being left out of the
Portsmouth squad for the match against Arsenal on Sunday before being
reinstated – but only as a substitute. He would go back to Spurs, the
club that he left last January, but Portsmouth are asking for £24m for
one of their key assets. Having sold Lassana Diarra for around £22m to
Real Madrid they are not prepared to allow Defoe to go cheaply.

The
deal for Defoe to join Spurs has advantages for Portsmouth in that it
would clear their outstanding balance on the £7m fee they agreed last
January.

The advantage Redknapp has is that both Defoe and
Craig Bellamy would prefer a move to Spurs over City, but the London
club would be no match for the resources of City's owners, the Abu
Dhabi United Group, if it came to an auction. City had a £15m bid for
Bellamy and Scott Parker rejected by West Ham over the weekend and
Parker, who lives in Surrey, also does not favour a move north.
However, City seem prepared to test West Ham's resolve further.

West
Ham and Portsmouth find themselves under siege even before the transfer
window opens. Matthew Upson is also understood to be a target for Aston
Villa but he has been told by West Ham that they do not wish to sell.
However, it is Defoe's future that would appear to be the lynchpin to
the process. Tony Adams admitted the player is unhappy following his
exclusion on Sunday and, should he move to Spurs, that would allow City
a free run at securing Bellamy's services.

MEN

"Hughes targets Wayne Bridge"

CITY have made Wayne Bridge their top left back target in January.

The
Blues have former Southampton star Bridge, high on their shopping list
and will test the theory that Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has to
sell before he buys.

If
they are unsuccessful in enticing the England international north for
around £8m, they may turn instead to German champions Bayern Munich to
try and bolster their defence with Philipp Lahm, the other man in their
sights.

After luring Shaun Wright-Phillips away from West London for
a knockdown price and out-bidding Chelsea to the British record
purchase of Brazil's Robinho, the Blues are not sure that the title
seekers will be willing to do more business with them when the window
opens on Friday morning.

Relationships between the clubs have
been further strained by stories that each wanted the other's manager
at some point in the summer and Chelsea may also feel that they do not
have adequate cover for their other England left back, Ashley Cole,
should they let Bridge depart.

City would, though, be willing to
pay the asking price for 28-year-old Bridge, who has nearly 250 top
flight games and 32 England caps to his name, but may have to go higher
for one of the others on their list of potential left backs.

Munich's
Philipp Lahm, has emerged as the other name writ large in capital
letters on Mark Hughes' wanted list though he would take some prising
away from one of the glamour clubs in Europe.

Despite being
right-footed, 25-year-old Lahm is considered one of the best left backs
in the world having been voted into the all-star team after the 2006
World Cup. He is also nominated for Uefa's current team of the year.

Although
he had a spell at the start of his career on loan with VFB Stuttgart,
Lahm has been associated with the Bavarian giants since the age of 11
and made his Bundesliga debut almost six years ago.

Since then
he has been one of the most consistent and eye-catching defenders in
the world, being nominated for FIFA’s World Player of the Year in the
last two seasons. Despite a year out of the national side through
injury, he has racked up 52 caps.

Hughes’ other initial targets
include the oft mentioned Roque Santa Cruz, the Paraguyan striker who
also played for Bayern Munich, Arsenal’s Kolo Toure, West Ham’s Craig
Bellamy and Joleon Lescott at Everton.

Hughes will also be looking for a central defender and a goalkeeper in January – Shay Given at Newcastle has been discussed.

The Guardian

"Arteta and Lescott are off limits, City are told"

Everton
will resist any attempt by Manchester City to lure Mikel Arteta and
Joleon Lescott to Eastlands in the ­transfer window, despite the
Spanish midfielder and England defender featuring on Mark Hughes's list
of proven Premier League talents he wishes to sign next month.

Hughes
is a known admirer of Lescott and Arteta, whose recent return to form
at Goodison Park is also attracting attention from Aston Villa, but
Everton are under no financial pressure to sell the pair and have
privately made it known to City that they will not consider any offers
in January. Both Arteta and Lescott are under contract at Goodison
until 2012.

City's manager is expected to spend big next month
after Sheikh Mansour's £200m takeover of the club but wants to bolster
his struggling side with players who are established in England, such
as Blackburn Rovers' striker Roque Santa Cruz, rather than stellar
names in the mould of the Brazilian star Robinho.