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Guessing who the Premier League big boys will be scrambling to sign in January becomes a national obsession around this time of the year, as gossip begins to build towards a post-Christmas crescendo. Here, the Life’s a Pitch team use their expertise and experience to clue us in on who Manchester United, Spurs and Arsenal might be targeting in the transfer window, grading the likelihood of the rumours becoming reality from zero to 10.

The quest to adequately replace Paul Scholes is still a problem that Sir Alex Ferguson has been unable to complete, but the Sunday Mirror’s David Walker believes the Scot has made it a firm priority, as the midfield icon approaches his ‘second retirement’. And David thinks German international Lars Bender could fit the bill.

“He [Sir Alex] is looking for a top quality central midfielder with the passing range, the tackling and the awareness [of Scholes],” says David. “This is the sort of thing you may never replace like for like, but Lars Bender, with the experience he’s had in the centre of the Bayer Leverkusen midfield, is on the list of people they’re looking at. This is a six [out of 10].”

John Cross of the Daily Mirror, meanwhile, is on hand to assess the possibility of Tottenham landing Schalke hotshot Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (pictured). He says: “He’s an outstanding player and I do think Spurs need a striker. They are short on striking options. The chase will be on for Huntelaar, the hunt is on for Klaas-Jan, and I think he’s going to have a lot of clubs after him, perhaps Liverpool as well. The chances of him going to Spurs are about six or seven [out of 10].”

Arsène Wenger has long been a fan of Lyon playmaker Yoann Gourcuff, but is the 26-year-old France international still on his Arsenal shopping list? The Daily Mirror’s Martin Lipton isn’t convinced. “If he was going to go to Arsenal, I think he’d have gone before. He’s a super player, but Arsenal have enough nice little ball players, they want something different. I don’t think it’s going to happen, so that’s a two or three out of 10.”

Watch the full video discussion by clicking on the play button in the image above.

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Watch Arsenal, Spurs and Man United live on BT Vision:
Man City v Tottenham, 1pm, 11 November, Sky Sports 1
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