5 huge moves that could take place in the January transfer window

The winter transfer window might still be 3 months away, but the rumour mills never stop churning.

January doesn't generally see a lot of traffic on the transfer market. But with the general inflation of player valuations in the post-Neymar-to-PSG era, we've seen that trend changing.

Last winter saw some eye-watering transfers go through. Philippe Coutinho joined Barcelona for a club record fee, and Virgil van Dijk became the most expensive defender of all time when he joined Liverpool.

With all the domestic leagues well and truly underway for the 2018/19 season, clubs have had a chance to assess their squads and shortlist players to target in the next window.

There have already been some huge rumours making the rounds, and we take a look at 5 of the biggest moves that could take place in January:

#5 Skriniar/Romagnoli to Manchester United

It's no secret that Jose Mourinho wanted to sign a centre-back for Manchester United in the summer. Harry Maguire, Toby Alderweireld, Jerome Boateng and Diego Godin were some of the names mentioned, but United failed to land any of their targets.

The erratic form of Bailly, Smalling and Lindelof this season means that the Red Devils will definitely try to sign someone in the winter, and Mourinho reportedly wants to raid his former club Inter Milan.

Milan Skriniar only joined Inter from Sampdoria last summer but has become a mainstay in their defence. The 23-year-old is widely considered as one of the best young defenders in Europe.

AC Milan centre-back Alessio Romagnoli is also a target. The Roma youth product is a left-footed ball-playing defender who has been compared with Alessandro Nesta.

Both of them are valued at around £40 million, but United and Mourinho will have to shell out at least double that amount to try and lure them away from Italy.

#4 Jadon Sancho to the Premier League

Club Brugge v Borussia Dortmund - UEFA Champions League Group A

Let's admit it, we didn't really see this coming at the start of the season.

The Manchester City youngster was snapped up by Borussia Dortmund last summer for £8 million before he even made a first-team appearance. The Germans have a knack of signing promising starlets and selling them for the big bucks, and it looks like Sancho is one of their biggest coups in recent history.

The 18-year-old leads the assists charts in Europe's top 5 leagues with 6 in 7 matches. Known for his pace and dribbling, his excellent decision making has been highlighted in his stats for Dortmund so far this season.

The inevitable transfer rumours have linked him with a move to Chelsea, although Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham are also interested.

Dortmund are reluctant to let him go and have slapped a humongous £100 million price tag on him. If Sancho can keep up his current form until January, we might actually see this move go through.

#3 Paul Pogba to Barcelona

Manchester United v Newcastle United - Premier League

Pogba's deteriorating relations with Mourinho are no secret, and the 25-year-old midfielder has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford since the summer.

The World Cup winner was stripped of his captaincy by Mourinho after the 0-0 draw with Wolves. A run of poor results for United has brought the Portuguese manager under severe pressure, and several players are reportedly threatening to quit the club unless he is sacked.

Barcelona wanted to sign Pogba as a replacement for Andres Iniesta in the summer, having already signed Arthur and Arturo Vidal.

Juventus were also linked with him recently, but their sporting director Fabio Paratici ruled out the move.

In spite of the impressive comeback against Newcastle, Pogba could leave the club in January if Barcelona try to sign him again.

The Catalans still want to sign a midfielder, but Pogba will certainly not come cheap and could cost up to £150 million

#2 Lorenzo Insigne to Chelsea/Liverpool

Transfer mogul Mino Raiola is the agent of Lorenzo Insigne, and he's now trying to seal a Premier League move for his client.

Insigne is arguably the most talented Italian forward right now, and he's already scored 6 goals for Napoli in the Serie A this season.

Capable of playing anywhere in a midfield attacking trio, the 27-year-old is a quick and skilful player known for his dribbling, link-up play, creativity and work rate.

He'd be a perfect fit for Klopp's system at Liverpool, although it remains to be seen if the Reds would want to sign him given that they signed Shaqiri in the summer.

Chelsea could be tempted though if they lose Eden Hazard (we'll come to that soon). But Raiola's tinkering has led Napoli to reach a verbal agreement to insert a £178 million release clause in Insigne's contract, and that could throw a spanner in the works.

#1 Eden Hazard to Real Madrid

Southampton FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League

This one has gone on forever.

Real Madrid haven't really signed a lot of Galacticos recently, but that hasn't stopped them from being linked with the likes of Hazard, Kane, Lewandowski and even Salah.

After Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Juventus, many fans expected them to finally make an approach for Hazard, but the Los Blancos chose not to.

But Real have now failed to score in 4 consecutive matches, and they might be regretting not bringing in a replacement for Ronaldo.

Hazard himself also recently spoke out about his desire to join Madrid after starring yet again in Chelsea's visit to Southampton.

Chelsea are trying to tie down their superstar with a new contract, but if the Belgian wants to leave in January, they can't really stop him. The question of a transfer fee still remains, but it's safe to assume that it would break Neymar's transfer record.

Edited by Sripad