Paris: The January transfer window in Europe is poised to open this weekend, with the bulk of the spending set to be done by clubs in the English Premier League.
Among the continent's leading nations, clubs in Spain will be the first ones to be able to sign reinforcements, with the window there opening on Friday and shutting on January 30.
In England, Germany and France, the window opens on Saturday, January 3 and will not shut until Monday, February 2, while a shorter window in Italy opens from January 5.
Premier League teams splurged a record 835 million pounds ($1.3 billion, 1.075 billion euros) in the summer and they should again be the busiest in this shorter window.
Most of the movement is unlikely to come before the final, crazy days of the window, but in the meantime much of the talk will surround Manchester United, who are said to have no upper limit on the amounts they can spend.
The Old Trafford club spent a net sum of 122 million pounds in the summer, but manager Louis van Gaal still needs to strengthen at the back in particular.
He has been linked with moves for fellow Dutchman Ron Vlaar, of Aston Villa, and Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummels, while Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman of Roma is another target.
Elsewhere, Manchester City's spending potential is limited because of Financial Fair Play, but Chelsea are set to sign Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric from Rijeka for 7 million pounds and loan him to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem.
Southampton have agreed a deal to bring in Dutch winger Eljero Elia on loan from Werder Bremen and new managers -- Tony Pulis at West Bromwich Albion and possibly Alan Pardew at Crystal Palace -- will be given funds.
In contrast, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said he will be quiet this month.
"There won't be a lot of activity, if any, in January," he said. "I don't think it is a good time to spend. Last year we never brought anyone in.
"We brought in a lot of players (in the summer) who we felt could develop and they are starting to adapt. My job is to coach and manage the players here and maximise that talent."
Khedira, Alves on move?:
In Spain, Real Madrid are seemingly focusing their energy on the pursuit of Dortmund and Germany star Marco Reus while dismissing suggestions they will allow Gareth Bale to depart.
"We would never listen to any offer for Bale regardless of the amount," said Madrid president Florentino Perez.
Nevertheless, midfielder Sami Khedira is out of contract in the summer so can now negotiate his next move, and the reigning European champions could replace him with Brazilian prospect Lucas Silva, of Cruzeiro.
Meanwhile, Barcelona cannot sign any new players until 2016 after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a one-year transfer ban imposed by FIFA for breaching rules on signing youth players.
Instead they must focus their energy on offering new terms to right-back Daniel Alves, who is out of contract in the summer.
Atletico Madrid have already moved to bring back former idol Fernando Torres, who arrives after a disappointing six months in Italy with AC Milan.
Moving in the other direction is former Torino man Alessio Cerci, who only departed Serie A in the summer.
Much of the transfer speculation in Italy surrounds champions Juventus, who appear unlikely to get Bayern Munich's Xherdan Shaqiri but have been linked with a move for Galatasaray's Wesley Sneijder, and Inter, who recently brought back Roberto Mancini as coach.
January is not usually a busy time in Germany, where Bayern are likely to be busiest trying to offload Shaqiri, while Wolfsburg have signed China midfielder Zhang Xizhe and struggling Dortmund have captured Slovenia midfielder Kevin Kampl from Salzburg.
In France, Paris Saint-Germain -- hampered by Financial Fair Play restrictions -- need to sell before they can buy, while Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has dismissed claims that he will listen to offers for leading scorer Alexandre Lacazette.
However, Andre-Pierre Gignac and Andre Ayew will be out of contract at Ligue 1 leaders Marseille in the summer so can negotiate moves elsewhere.
Top 5 Transfer targets:
Marco Reus:
The 25-year-old Borussia Dortmund attacker will be the most watched player in the transfer market with media reports putting Real Madrid ahead of Manchester United, Chelsea and German rivals Bayern Munich in the race to lure him away.
Though he missed Germany's World Cup-winning campaign through injury, Reus's goalscoring record from an attacking midfield position -- a goal nearly every two league games -- and Dortmund's poor league form mean top European sides have high hopes of signing him.
Reus reportedly has a release clause in his contract allowing a transfer for 25 million euros ($30 million). His German record 540,000-euro fine for driving his Aston Martin without a licence has not put off anyone.
William Carvalho:
The 22-year-old Sporting Lisbon defensive midfielder is considered a top target for Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger who has indicated he has money to spend. The Angolan-born player featured in Portugal's World Cup campaign but it is his form in the Portuguese league and in the Champions League that have made the physically imposing Carvalho such a bright hope for Portugal. Expect a fee above 25 million euros ($30 million).
Edinson Cavani:
Arsenal also have been linked with the 27-year-old Uruguayan striker, who has never looked at ease in France since joining Paris Saint-Germain 18 months ago. He has scored 23 goals in 48 Ligue 1 appearances but was rated as the worst striker in the division in the first half of this season by sports daily L'Equipe.
Perhaps not helped by off-field issues, including a divorce, Cavani has not justified the reported 64 million euros ($77.5 million) PSG paid to Napoli for him. However, they will be looking for around 50 million euros to let him go.
Martin Odegaard:
The 16-year-old Norwegian attacking midfielder is the precocious talent of European football and has been to Manchester United, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and other top clubs in recent weeks. Real Madrid, Arsenal and Liverpool are also reportedly in the chase for the Stromsgodset player who had a spectacular 2014, becoming the country's youngest international when just 15 years and 253 days old.
Odegaard has become known for his acceleration into the penalty area and his incisive passes. "He's an absolutely exceptional talent for his age," according to Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
Wilfried Bony:
The 26-year-old Ivory Coast international has emerged as one of the most wanted strikers in the English league and Manchester City and Chelsea are both said to be ready to spend in the region of 30 million pounds for the powerful and prolific striker.
Even Real Madrid have been linked, but Swansea say they have not received any offers and Bony's participation in the Africa Cup of Nations could deter a move in January.
