The January transfer window opened in Europe on January 1st. This is the time when all the football clubs can reshape and hope to improve their squads by buying and selling players.

The window remains open until midnight on 31st January and it promises to be a very busy time for clubs and agents across arranging deals and moves for players to new clubs.

In 2006 the English Premier League broke all records and a total of £70 million (US$ 140 million) was spent by clubs in the English top division. It is thought that this year the clubs in the EPL, which is the richest league in the world might smash the record once again.

This is mostly down to the new £1.7 billion TV deal that started this season, and the presence of new rich owners in the Premier League. These new owners are eager to make their mark on their new clubs and aid their quest for Trophies.

The transfer system was made compulsory by FIFA in the 2002-2003 season across UEFA leagues. Some fans love it, some managers hate it!

In England, many managers have spoken out against the transfer window including Gary Megson, Steve Bruce, Sam Allardyce and Steve Coppell.

A lot of managers believe that the system causes football clubs to pay over the odds for players, and that it also causes panic buying in order to compete. Many fans also prefer the older system, where there was a transfer deadline, and clubs could buy and sell new players up throughout the early part of the season, up until the deadline which was in also in January.

It is however, a very exciting time for soccer fans, especially if your team is involved in buying new players.

Who are the big players that might move this transfer window?

There has been suggestions that Dimitar Berbotov might be one of the big moves, although his club Tottenham Hotspur hope to hold on to the player, will they be able to resist if Chelsea or Real Madrid offer £30 million or more?

Luka Modric is another name that has been mentioned as a big move. Will the Croation international move to Barcelona? or will he still be at Dinamo Zagreb when the window slams shut at midnight on the 31st?

I will discuss the potential big moves in more detail on the forums, and I encourage reader participation about the transfer window this year.

Readers are encouraged to post any transfer rumours, or transfers that have been confirmed throughout the January transfer window.

You can join in the forum by following the link below.

I look forward to seeing you there!