January Transfers - Premier League clubs just looking, not buying?

With the January transfer window now open the usual frenzied media hype about who will go where is now in full flow.

But as yet the two Manchester clubs are the only ones to put their hands into their pockets, with England international full-back Wayne Bridge joining City from Chelsea and United signing Serbians Zoran Tosic and Adam Ljajic from Partizan Belgrade.

As when Roman Abramovich took over at Chelsea the Abu Dhabi United Group's purchase of Manchester City will see an extra few million pounds put on the price tag of any potential transfer target, which has a knock on affect for the rest of the teams in the league.

We have already heard this week from Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill and the Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger that they are both unwilling to pay what they consider over-inflated prices for players. However, it seems only natural to me that the clubs that are forced to sell in order to strengthen their own squads will try and get the best possible price for any departing players.

So at present we have somewhat of a stalemate, with plenty of speculation and rumour but little in the way of business. Has the Premier League bubble burst? It may be a little premature to say that but perhaps the money-men involved are feeling the pinch like the rest of the global markets.

Club Vs Country

With a spate of withdrawals from the England squad in the days leading up to tonight's friendly against Germany in Berlin the usual debate about the validity of such matches has resurfaced again.

Naturally club managers do not want their best players to travel, play and risk injury in what to them is a meaningless game during a critical part of the season with Premier League and UEFA Cup/Champions League matches coming thick and fast.

Conversely from England coach Fabio Capello's point of view it is an essential exercise in preparation for next springs World Cup qualifiers, giving him a chance to experiment with tactics and personnel.

Whilst i would like to think that no English player would willingly give up the opportunity to represent his country, i do wonder how much pressure is put onto them by their respective club managers to withdraw from international friendly squads.

It will be interesting to see how many of the missing players names miraculously appear on the team sheet for their clubs Premier League fixtures this weekend, or am i just being cynical?