With this summer’s transfer merry-go-round fast approaching, it’s time to see which players have attracted the most attention from Premier League clubs. Whether they’ve been touted as the blockbuster deal of the year or simply become the lower leagues’ most sought after player, they’ve all been discussed in detail by more than one team and will likely find themselves at the centre of a transfer tug of war.

This list looks at 15 players who have already been linked with a number of clubs and qualified as this summer’s most wanted.

Click on Kagawa to unveil the 15 most wanted transfers within the Premier League

Didier Drogba confirmed his faith in Fernando Torres to fill the void and help Chelsea continue their success. Having only scored 7 times for Chelsea since his £50m transfer last January from Liverpool, many critics have slated Torres for his lack of achievement of the Blues.

Drogba was a significant ingredient to the Chelsea first team against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Saturday. He assisted in Chelsea’s lifting of the title by scoring an equaliser in the 88th minute and scoring the deciding penalty to win Chelsea the title. Whereas Torres was left to watch from the bench and revealed his disappointment in not given the opportunity.

With Drogba’s news of leaving the club, it gives Torres the opportunity to step out of Drogba’s shadow and become the foremost strike force for Chelsea. Evidence of his capabilities to fill Drogba’s boots was proven during his period at Liverpool scoring over 20 goals every season in all competitions for the Reds. This was furthermore apparent during 2008 Euros when Torres displayed his scoring ability scoring the winning goal for Spain against Germany in the final servicing his country to victory.

‘When you talk about the Premier League you talk about a lot of players with quality so it’s not easy to pick one, by the is amongst the best’’ – Rafael Benitez 2009

Three years later and many people would read this quote and laugh due to his lack of success at Chelsea even though he was previously considered one of the top players of the Premier League. Although only scoring 7 goals so far for the Blues, the goals have been coming more regularly recently scoring a hat-trick against Queens Park Rangers in April which is a promising sign that he is prepared to step up to the mark.

However, now there will be a lot of expectation from the club, the fans and the critics for his performance to improve and to be demanded into scoring on a regular basis for Chelsea. This therefore places a lot of pressure on the Spaniard which could determine his performance to come.

Torres has shown in previous years that his capability to score goals in inevitable. Whilst at Chelsea he has always been over shadowed by the dominant strike force that is Didier Drogba, yet upon his exit of the club reveals the oppourtunity for Fernando Torres to step up into the limelight.

If you think Torres has got it in him, Tweet me @gmileham.

With the greatest sporting festival in the World now less than 100 days away, those who speculated on buying tickets for the Olympic Football tournament now finally know who they will be watching when the competition begins on Wednesday 25^th July.

Apart from the novelty act of a Great Britain side and the chance to see Brazil and Spain there isn’t a great deal to get excited about. The other European representatives are the footballing powerhouses of Belarus and Switzerland, whilst double gold medallists Argentina are missing, Uruguay being the second South American representative.

The lack of a real box office draw will make the task of selling tickets even more difficult than it already has been. Football is the only sport in the entire Olympic Games which hasn’t sold out, and with the fixtures now released there are going to be some particularly hard sells.

The Team GB games could all go, particularly as all three of their games are part of a double header with the remaining Group A teams. Two matches for the price of one may well tempt fans to the matches, particularly once Stuart Pearce names his 18 man squad.

Brazil visit Cardiff (v Egypt, 26/7), Old Trafford (v Belarus 29/7) and Newcastle (v New Zealand 1/8) whilst Spain are at Hampden Park (v Japan, 26/7), St James Park (v Honduras 29/7) and Old Trafford (v Morocco, 1/8).

The hard sell comes for the remaining games. Those in the Midlands who may have fancied a trip to the Ricoh Arena have slim pickings to watch. Belarus v New Zealand is the opening fixture in Coventry and it doesn’t get much better after that, with the double header on 1^st August featuring Japan v Honduras and Senegal v UAE probably the pick.

After applying for tickets for a host of events in the initial ballot, all I received was tickets for one of the games at Wembley, so in the third round of sales I went for the first day at Old Trafford and have been rewarded with GB’s opening game against Senegal as part of a double header with Uruguay v UAE as the hors d’ouerve.

That match may well see a full house, but I can categorically guarantee that the match I go to at Wembley will not be watched by a capacity crowd and it’s here that the madness of allocating the largest venues to matches that don’t feature the top seeds comes home to roost.

On the 1^st August, the game scheduled to be held at Wembley was between the sides allocated positions 2 and 3 of Group B. That already meant that it wouldn’t be GB, Mexico, Brazil or Spain. The marketing men’s hearts must have shrunk when it became clear that the biggest stadium in Britain would be hosting Gabon v South Korea, a match that would struggle to fill Wimbledon never mind Wembley!

Either of those sides could be GB’s quarter final opponents should things go to plan for Stuart Pearce’s team, with Brazil a potential semi-final foe. If there is still home interest at that stage, then the attendances may rise. If not then empty seats may be the biggest contribution of the most popular sport in the world to London 2012.

Unsurprisingly these futile explanations rear their head all too often in the world of football. Rather than graciously admit defeat players and managers alike will frantically search for an ulterior motive, which can involve anything from fashion to food supplements. Whilst ultimately hilarious, it can all become rather bizarre as these ten examples will prove.

Click on Alan Hansen below to reveal The Top 10 Worst Excuses For Failure In Football

Follow me on Twitter @theunusedsub where I’ll will freely admit that I once missed a penalty because the sun was in my eyes. 

All too often referees seem bereft of any common sense whatsoever, they seem incapable of waving play on, keeping their cards in their pocket or in these examples below, correctly observe the events that unfold before them. It’s impossible to truly know what the impact of these judgments might have had on the outcome of the game, whether they would have inspired a comeback or merely existed as a consolation goal but as we can all appreciate, it’s the ‘what ifs’ in football that hurt the most.

Click on Clive Allen to see the 11 goals that were ridiculously ruled out

 Got a favourite? Let me know on Twitter @theunusedsub

Winter was adamant that Torres should remain in the team, to re-find his form, which Winter assumed was bound to return, citing the tired old cliché that if only his scissor kick onto the bar against Sunderland had gone in, he would then have gone on a run of goals. Yes, one goal opens the floodgates, it’s a scientific fact, and it never fails to happen.

Custis disagreed. And his reasoning was surely the more logical of the two. He said: “You get to the point where you think this is just not working”, mentioning that Sturridge should have run in the middle of the attack, suggesting that you could at least move Torres out wide, if he must be played.

Winter: “Needs someone to put arm around him and tell him he is loved.” Having agreed that mentally he was gone, his confidence shot to pieces, he argued that putting on the bench wouldn’t solve matters. But then playing him isn’t either surely? And Winter pointing out that he used tob e brilliant and has “won finals for Spain” is not really of much use now is it?

Steve Cording in the Evening Standard this week agreed with Winter in as much as he defended the seemingly starling goal scoring stats, pointing out that the stats cover the number of times he hasn’t been allowed 90 minutes on the pitch, his treatment under Ancelotti, and a team formation that isn’t suited to him. He added:

 “Chelsea go away this week for five days warm-weather training in Majorca. It is the perfect opportunity for the manager to make his striker feel wanted again. Not just an arm around the shoulder but the man-management that tells Torres he is important and not a player who will be subbed as soon as things go awry.”

I can’t say I agree to be honest. Torres has had ample chance to re-find his form, previous occasional goals have not opened the floodgates, and what’s more, he is beginning to handicap the team. Maybe there is a point to be made on tactics – but the Chelsea manager cannot revolve his tactics around one misfiring striker, so it may be the player rather than the system that will have to be sacrificed. But as the other Sunday Supplement guest Martin Lipton screeched into the cameras, he has played under two different managers and four different tactical set-ups, and nothing seems to be working.

Meanwhile, commentators are desperate for him to succeed. I can see why, in a way. Being your average bitter, prejudiced football fan, I would normally take great delight in seeing a rival’s big-money signing flop so spectacularly. But I don’t really. It is painful to see a £50m player that only a couple of years ago was one of the world’s elite strikers so utterly stripped of his power, of his talent, a man so devoid of confidence you pray for a goal just to give the man a break, to ease the pain not only for him, but for everyone watching.

And despite what I have said, I can see why Villas- Boas perseveres with him. It’s hard to ditch a £50m signing. He pretty much needs him to re-find his form – the consequences of him not are too shocking to contemplate. And whilst the “one goal will change everything” theory is rubbish, each single goal will chip away at the frailties he now possesses.
“Strikers live off goals,” Villas-Boas said recently. “Their confidence builds up and the movement improves. You can’t say that he is not trying. He is making the right movements, he is present in the box. One day I think it will go for him.”

But it is now 919 minutes since he scored a goal for club or country – and that was back in October against Genk. He has not scored for 11 consecutive Premier League matches – not surprisingly the worst barren run of his career.

To a lesser extent, this scenario is also playing out at a couple of other clubs. One obvious example is Andy Carroll, Liverpool’s replacement for Torres, a £35m purchase who looks like a hung-over Sunday league player, another player whose value has more than halved in under a year. Over at Manchester City, £27m Edin Dzeko has also had a small crisis of confidence, failing to find the net for a relatively long period. He can rest more easily though having grabbed a couple of goals in the last fortnight, and having 14 goals for the season. The pressure on him isn’t quite the same, nor the inability to hit the target.

But should Chelsea persevere, can they afford this pampering of their biggest ever signing? So far, disaster has been averted – at least the disaster that is not qualifying for the Champions League, the biggest disaster of all for those teams looking to consistently challenge for titles. With 16 games to go, Chelsea are 13 points behind Manchester City. The title challenge has gone – they can’t overhaul City, United and Spurs. They are 5 points clear of 5^th place, but they have the heavyweights of Arsenal and Liverpool behind them, both of whom are capable of putting together a run of results. They are still in the FA Cup, and the Champions League. Their season can still be a successful one. The problem is that they average one goal a game over the past seven league games, which if they are to pick up points puts an awful lot of pressure on the defence to keep clean sheets. They need to score more goals (in the league at least), so logic suggests the striker with 9 league goals has more merits than the striker with 2. If current form continues, Andres Villas-Boas has got some difficult decisions ahead. Few other strikers would get such a chance like tihs – is it simply because of his price-tag, and a case of pining for the great player we all used to know?

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When we look overseas to see examples of our compatriots flourishing in other leagues we tend to be disappointed. With the exception of a handful of players such as Gary Lineker, Paul Gascoigne or David Beckham our players have left little impact on the minds of our continental brothers and sisters. Even during sixties when there were severely restricting wage caps on the English game there was hardly a mass exodus to more profitable climates. I think that Denis Law summed it up perfectly when he left Manchester City to sign for Torino in order to earn more money, he said: ‘I loved everything about being in Italy, except for the football.’ Clearly Law was Scottish but I think the sentiment rings true for most English players when they consider life abroad.

For that very reason it is refreshing to see Joe Cole not only playing well but also enjoying his football at French champions Lille OSC, even if he does still commute from London. The thirty-year-old has slowly been rediscovering the form that lead to him being so highly regarded in the dawn of his career. Drafted in on a loan deal to replace the Arsenal bound Gervinho in the summer, Cole has been dispelling myths on both sides of the Channel. For us: he is testament to the fact that Englishman can succeed abroad and you would like to think that to the French that the former Chelsea and West Ham man is using his impressive technique and elegant style to demonstrate that English football is not all speed and brawn.

But the significance of his season in France runs deeper than just his role as an ambassador for the English game. It invokes the old argument that perhaps more of our players should be encouraged to move abroad in order to help the international team, but is that necessarily the case?

No

You only need to look at the Spain squad to realise this isn’t true. Not only do nearly all come from the same league the Spanish side is made up almost exclusively from players from the country’s top two clubs. Clearly the Spanish national side consists of exceptionally talented footballers but so are many other national sides. What makes them such a formidable team is that they are exactly that – a team. Having the experience of playing with their national team-mates on a weekly basis is their core strength. You can just as easily look at the Brazilian or Argentinean national sides and see an equally impressive team on paper but what they lack is the cohesion and understanding to make them strong. Moreover, their sides are made up of players from a variety of leagues giving them experience playing against a variety of nationalities yet without that harmony they are ineffective. It might be a cliché but football is a team sport, and familiarity breeds team spirit.

Yes

The other way of looking at it however is that, whilst as a general rule you don’t want all of your international players in one league, it would be helpful for your players to have some experience of playing against a different style of football. How can our national side be expected to know how to break down, for example, the Italian defence if the vast majority of them have no experience of playing against a team like that. Also, whilst the Spanish national side are primarily based in Spain they do have a selection of impressive players such as Torres, Silva, Fabregas and Mata who have experience in other leagues. Therefore were they ever to be in a situation where there normal tactics were not working they would at least have the option of introducing players who were capable of playing in a different style.

The problem with both of these arguments is that there are external factors that need to be looked at. First of all it is possible for the English national team to achieve success despite a lack of overseas experience, but in order for us to be effective there needs to be a team spirit. The disagreements between factions in the English national side have been well publicised over the last few years and so even though our players might be familiar with each other they fail to act as a team. The other point is that if we are going to have all of players playing n the Barclays Premier League then we should appoint a manager who understands English football. Players may be able to adapt to the wishes of foreign managers, but not when that manager only gets a few weeks a year to work with the players. Ultimately there is little we can do to encourage our players to move abroad, subsequently the FA have to be the organisation to recognise the limitations of our squad and act accordingly. If that means bringing in an English manager then so be it.

Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay

It was the year of the World Cup fiasco and as always it was the year of Sepp Blatter. The guy who seems to employ the same PR company as Liverpool football club was at it again, batting away accusations of corruption due to the overreaction to the entirely sensible decision to award the World Cup to a country situated in the desert where it’s too hot to go outside much of the year. But don’t worry, FIFA have thought of that. The games will be run over four quarters, in air-conditioned stadiums. In January. The world also reeled from allegations of corruption that went right to the top of FIFA. Other shocking news to emerge was that cats like milk and that night follows day.

Dollops of sexism were the order of the day over at Sky Sports as Richard Keys and Andy Gray fell on their swords, and who can say they have been missed? A female lineswoman was all it took (plus Jamie Redknapp’s sex life) to bring out their true feelings, and off to Talksport they went. Gary Neville made matters worse by annoying Manchester City and Liverpool fans alike by being quite good at punditry and talking in a fair and balanced way. Strange days.

Elsewhere, “my word” said Ray Wilkins. A lot. Sky’s newest co-commentator seemed at peace with the world, seeing joy from a pinged cross into row F, or a slice past the far post, the antithesis of the miserable, joyless Alan Green. Most of the time he wasn’t saying my word he seemed to rely on two other words, namely “young man”. Mine were slightly different. Shut. And up.

There were great games aplenty too of course.

The current season started in an orgy of goals, as on the same day Manchester City won 5-1 at Spurs before neighbours United beat Arsenal 8-2. And then of course City went to Old Trafford and left with a staggering 6-1 victory.

The previous season, we were treated to Newcastle United 4 Arsenal 4 in February – a four-goal comeback from Newcastle, four down in 26 minutes, capped by Cheick Tioté’s equaliser on 87 minutes with Arsenal down to 10 men. Another great game was Tottenham 3 Arsenal 3 in April, with a 5-goal flurry in the 1st half.

Manchester United claimed their 19th league title, sending Liverpool fans into despair. The Champions League was one step too far though as Barcelona showed their class in defeating United comfortably in the final. It was their year once more, as the debate raged as to whether they are the greatest club side of all. Little doubt that Lionel Messi is the greatest player in the world at the moment, though Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring record continued to reach the stratosphere.

Back in England though, and Manchester City ended a generation of hurt as the blue moon rose with their first trophy in 35 years, a 1-0 victory over Stoke bringing home the FA Cup. Arsenal couldn’t end their barren run, managing to lose the Carling Cup Final to Birmingham, who proceeded to celebrate by getting relegated.

Chelsea had new blood in charge yet again, and it’s been a difficult few months for Andre Villas-Boas. Already out of the title race by Christmas, expect them to react by spending big in the January transfer window. The question is, will Roman Abramovich’s twitchy finger press down on the red button, or will Villas-Boas get longer to force through a revolution? Only time will tell.

Mario Balotelli spent 2011 on a one-man mission to keep the front and back pages of the newspapers full. When he wasn’t visiting womens’ prisons, he was crashing his car, throwing darts out of windows, burning his house down with fireworks, dumping glamour models, driving round Manchester high-fiving City fans post Derby-wins (in a blue Santa suit), giving money to homeless people, paying for homeless people to stay in the Hilton, handing in bullies to school headmasters and amassing a fine collection of parking tickets (some of these stories may be made up). He wasn’t too bad on the pitch either. Ashley Cole tried to compete, but settled for shooting a student.

A good year too for Harry Redknapp, which will be followed by an uncertain 2012. A storming run in their debut Champions League season has been followed by an excellent first half of the 2011/12 season. Currently the top dogs in London, the nailed-on choice for next England manager seems to be having doubts about the job, but let’s not mention that court case on 23rd January for tax evasion eh?

It wasn’t good for everyone though, with another year for flops. Everywhere you looked, footballers were flopping. The main flopper was undoubtedly Fernando Torres, who even Tim Howard is now catching in the goal-scoring charts. His £50m move to Chelsea has been a disaster for all involved, but the man brought in to replace him at Liverpool for a cool £35m, Andy Carroll, has fared little better. As I watched him labour round the pitch at the Etihad stadium this week, I almost felt sorry for him.

But sadly it was also the year of racism scandals. The biggest domestically came at the end of the year as Luis Suarez was banned for eight games for racist comments made towards Patrice Evra. The row rumbles on as Liverpool refuse to accept their lot, but with John Terry due in court next month, the topic is going to remain in the news, especially after a crowd incident in Liverpool’s FA Cup match v Oldham Athletic. If only everyone had taken Sepp Blatter’s advice and shaken hands at the end of the match – problem solved!

The end of the year also plunged the world of football into deep shock, as Gary Speed took his own life. It was a story that people struggled to comprehend, a man who seemingly had it all, but it turned out didn’t. A reminder, along with the tragic death of Gary Ablett in the New Year, that it is only a game. It will never be more important than life or death. Never had a disputed penalty or a last minute equalizer seemed less important.

But the year ended with great promise for the months ahead. Two new teams competing for a Premiership title whilst at the other end the promoted teams hold their own. The race for 4th place and Champions League football will be intense. The Championship as ever is hard to call and full of drama and dollops of great football, as are the lower leagues. Fabio Capello will bow out at the European Championships, and the media will once more build up our chances, before the team crash out at the first knockout stage. There are, as always, some exciting times ahead.

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Fabio Capello’s side will face former European Champions France in a repeat of their clash in the opening stages of the 2004 tournament in Greece that ended in such dramatic circumstances. They’ll also have to take on co-hosts Ukraine in Group D and then Sweden who beat 1-0 at Wembley last month.

The Republic of Ireland, on the other hand, were handed an impossible task with Giovani Trapattoni’s men placed in Group C with current World and European Champions Spain and will also have to pit their wits against tournament veterans Italy and Ukraine.

Group A: Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic.

Group B: Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal.

Group C: Spain, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Croatia.

Group D: Ukraine, Sweden, France, England.

Debate has raged this week over FIFA’s decision to ban the England side from wearing poppies on their shirts this Saturday despite it being the day after Remembrance Day. Fortunately football’s governing body has seen sense and allowed the national side to wear a poppy on a black armband as opposed to on the shirt. There have also been disputes over the inclusion of John Terry after the Chelsea defender was caught up in a racism scandal after he accused of abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand in a recent meeting between the sides. Whilst Fabio Capello has stuck with the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ rule it’s surprising that the 31-year-old has been permitted by the FA to take part in the game despite the seriousness of the allegations.

Never the less this friendly should turn out to be an exciting one with both teams in strong form ahead of next summers European Championships in Ukraine and Poland. England have experienced an uplifting 2011 after their disaster in last years World Cup and haven’t tasted defeat since France beat them 2-1 at Wembley last November. Despite some uninspiring performances four wins in seven games has seen Capello’s men qualify for next years championships with ease and go into this game as the form team. Despite missing Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard, Capello has a strong squad at his disposal although it’s expected that the Italian will forgo any major tactical experiments in this game in an attempt to keep his cards close to his chest before next summer.

Vincent Del Bosque’s Spain side travel to Wembley on the back of four consecutive wins after defeat to Italy in August have an admirable record against England. With the big hitters like Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta back in the squad the Spaniards are at full strength and Del Bosque is expected to name a strong starting starting eleven in what will be one of their three warm up games before the Euro’s. They’ll be confident of securing a fourth successive win over England in what will be one of the tougher friendly matches they’ll contest before they defend their European crown next summer.

England

Last Five

Montenegro 2-2 (A) 7/10/11, Wales 1-0 (H) 6/9/11, Bulgaria 3-0 (A) 2/9/11, Switzerland 2-2 (H) 4/6/11, Ghana 1-1 (H) 29/3/11 

Potential Starting X11

1. J. Hart 2. G. Johnson 3. A. Cole, 4. S. Parker 5. J. Lescott 6. G. Cahill 7. T. Walcott 8. F. Lampard [C] 9. D. Bent 10. D. Wellbeck 11. J. Milner

Injury News

Phil Jagielka broke his toe during the week which could see John Terry play more of a part than first expected. The Everton defenders condition is being assessed on a daily basis by England’s medical team as he battles to be fit. Capello is keen to use Jagielka as he continues to experiment with players before next summer.

Key Player

Theo Walcott: The Arsenal man has been in blistering form during the past month and an accomplished display against the world champions could book him an early ticket to the Euro’s next summer. Despite lacking the conventional attributes of a winger the  22-year-old has harnessed his explosive pace into a refined weapon that can seriously harm teams at the flick of a switch.

Match Fact

Frank Lampard is the only England player in the squad that featured the last time they beat Spain way back in 2001. The game at Villa Park saw the national side run out 3-0 winners in Sven Goran Eriksson’s first game in charge with Nicky Barmby, Emile Heskey and Ugo Ehiogu on the scoresheet.

Spain

Last Five

Scotland 3-1 (H) 11/10/11, Czech Republic 2-0 (A) 7/10/11, Liechtenstein 6-0 (H) 6/9/11, Chile 3-2 (H) 4/6/11, Italy 1-2 (A) 10/8/11 

Potential Starting X11

1. I. Casillas [C] 2. S. Ramos 3. Jordi Alba, 4. G. Pique 5. C. Puyol 6. Xavi 7. D. Villa 8. A. Iniesta 9. F. Torres 10. J. Mata 11. S. Busquets

Injury News

Spain will keep an eye on Iniesta after he missed their last two games against Scotland and the Czech Republic with a niggling hamstring injury. Apart from that Del Bosque has no major concerns with his squad all fighting fit.

Key Player

Xavi: Part of the furniture for both Spain and Barcelona the elegant midfielder has picked up numerous trophies and accolades during his illustrious career. His graceful gliding around the pitch and razor sharp passing ability have made him one of the best players on the planet. England should be wary of  giving him too much time and space on Saturday as he will cut them open without a seconds hesitation.

Match Fact

This will be only the 22nd meeting between the two sides and surprisingly Spain trail England in terms of victories. The Spanish have won only eight of the meetings between the two whilst England have triumphed in 11. However three wins on the trot has closed the gap for Saturday’s visitors and they’ll be hoping to narrow it even further on Saturday.

Last Time in England

07/02/2007

Old Trafford, Manchester

England 0-1 Spain

Iniesta, 63

Attendance: 58,207

Referee: M. Weiner

PREDICTION

England have enjoyed an uplifting year after the underwhelming 2010 World Cup campaign and go into this game brimming with confidence. A few players can expect to make their debut and their introduction to international football will give fans hope for the future. However Spain are still the best team in the world and will pose a serious threat to England’s unbeaten 2011. With the home side set to give debuts to new players that inexperience may count in Spain’s favour. Whatever the outcome of the game it will be a thriller!

Score 1-2