ISL 2017: 5 Midfielders who could join in January

The January transfer window opens in India from January 16 to February 15, 2018, and this winter window throws up an opportunity for Indian clubs to import reinforcements for their teams. Some sides are dealing with long-term injury breaks whereas some will look at this as a chance to bolster their squad owing to poor performances so far in the season.

We look at five players who could be on their way to the ISL in the upcoming winter transfer window:

#5 Pedro Morales

Pedro Morales is a 32-year old former Chile International midfielder who earned a total of 12 caps for La Roja. Morales began his career with Huachipato before his promising performance in the FIFA U-20 World Cup grabbed the attention of one of Chile's oldest and most popular clubs - Universidad De Chile.

Morales played two seasons for the Chilean giants and then moved to Europe where was snapped up on a 5-year contract by Croatian bigwigs Dinamo Zagreb. His tenure at the Croatian club included a hat-trick of league titles but Morales was plagued with injuries and poor form in Croatia.

In 2012, Dinamo loaned him back to Universidad De Chile where he won the Apertura, the Chilean top division title and then moved to Malaga in Spain the next season. In 2014, Morales made a jump to the Major League Soccer with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

In January 2017, he signed for Chilean club Colo Colo on a free transfer but was soon released and is currently a free agent. His credentials and experience around the world in Chile, Spain, Croatia and US can be a major attracting point for the I-League and ISL sides to boost up their midfield with a creative player.

#4 Danny Guthrie

Danny Guthrie is a 30-year old English midfielder who has represented the England Under-16s at the international stage. He began his footballing career at the Manchester United Youth Academy and then moved to the Liverpool Academy at the age of 16.

Guthrie made his senior Liverpool debut in 2005 and started his first match for the Merseyside club in the UEFA Champions League against Turkish side Galatasaray. He went out on loan spells to Southampton and Bolton Wanderers before signing a four-year contract with Newcastle United. Over the course of four years, he made 92 appearances for the Magpies in the Premier League. He was released and joined Reading on a three-year deal.

Guthrie went on loan to Fulham for the 2015 season and then signed for Championship side Blackburn Rovers where he plied his trade until the last season.

Now that Guthrie has practically finished his career in England, India could be a promising destination for the gritty midfielder, especially with presence of English managers like Steve Coppell and Teddy Sheringham in the ISL.

#3 Jan Kirchhoff

Jan Kirchhoff is a 27-year old German defender who has featured for Germany at various age groups like U-18, U-19 and U-21 at the International level. Kirchhoff made his professional debut in the German second division, for FSV Mainz 05 in 2008.

Kirchhoff played for Mainz and earned promotion to the Bundesliga and later signed a pre-contract with German giants Bayern Munich to join them for the 2013–14 season as a free agent. Unfortunately, he only made 7 appearances for the Bavarian side over three seasons and was sent on loan to Schalke for one and a half year.

In January 2016, Kirchhoff signed for English side Sunderland on an 18-month contract. He played as a defensive midfielder and earned plaudits for his performance even winning the PFA Fans' Player of the Month for April that season as Sunderland battled relegation.

Kirchoff left Sunderland when his contract expired at the end of last season and has been a free agent since then. Kirchoff is still just 27 years old and could be a huge asset to any Indian club due to his versatile play in defence and midfield.

#2 Mathieu Flamini

Mathieu Flamini is a 33-year old French footballer who has represented France at the U-21 and senior international level. Flamini began his career at Ligue 1 side Marseille in 2003. In 2004, Flamini signed for Arsenal and had a long spell at the North London side playing four seasons making 102 appearances where he was used as a utility player across the midfield.

Flamini then moved on to Serie A giants AC Milan and went on to win the Scudetto in the 2010-11 season. Flamini made 97 appearances for the Rossoneri and was deployed in the midfield as well as in the defence sometimes further establishing his utility. He made a return to England in 2013 with Arsenal again. He had a good three season second spell with the Gunners before becoming a free agent in 2016.

Flamini was then snapped up by fellow London side Crystal Palace for the 2016-17 season but has been released after the end of the season. Flamini has a wealth of experience having played with a lot of football legends like Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, David Beckham and many more.

He has a combative quality to his play and can be utilised all across the midfield by any side. The Frenchman's signing by any Indian club in the transfer window can prove to be almost a marquee-level signing.

#1 Lassana Diarra

Lassana Diarra is a 32-year old French midfielder who has featured for the France U-21 time and the French national team. Diarra began his professional career in 2003 at Ligue 1 side Le Havre and then moved to England with Chelsea in 2005. He played two seasons for the Blues but was mostly on the bench for the Blues. He moved on deadline day in 2007 to fellow London club Arsenal.

Diarra made a limited number of appearances for the Gunners and moved to Portsmouth the next season. He was a crucial cog in the Pompey side and his performances earned him a call-up to the French national side for Euro 2008.

This prompted his big move to La Liga giants Real Madrid where he played three seasons winning one league title. Diarra then moved to Russia playing for Anzhi Makhachkala and Lokomotiv Moscow for one season each before moving back to France with Marseille.

Diarra played the last two seasons for the French side and then moved to UAE Pro League side Al Jazira in April 2017, but is currently a free agent after being released by the club recently.

The Frenchman is an aggressive, hard-tackling defensive midfielder and for the right price, can be pursued to move to India in the January window. Any club in both the leagues will benefit immensely with the addition of the Frenchman.

Edited by Nived Zenith