January transfers to watch: Varane, Mbappé, Solanke, Toney

The January transfer window is now open for the Premier League (check out the official dates across the rest of Europe here), and clubs are attempting to bolster their squads and prevent their best players from being tempted away by rivals.

And although the winter window is generally reserved for clubs who need to make up for poor summer recruitment or those with injury problems, January offers up the prospect of some significant players making a move.

So with the window now open for business, who are the star players likely to be at the centre of transfer interest this month?

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Ivan Toney

Arsenal and Chelsea are both keen to sign the £80 million-rated striker this month, and Toney is likely to be the player at the centre of the biggest January deal — if Brentford are prepared to offload him. The 27-year-old’s eight-month suspension for breaching the English Football Association’s betting regulations ends on Jan. 16, but having been free to train for the past four months, he will be fit and ready to play as soon as his ban is completed could slot straight into a new team.

However, with Brentford’s seven-goal top scorer Bryan Mbeumo sidelined until March with an ankle injury, the club may be forced to put Premier League survival ahead of the chance to raise a huge transfer and keep Toney as he has netted 32 goals in 68 top-flight games.

Kylian Mbappé

The chances of the Paris Saint-Germain forward leaving Parc des Princes this month are minimal but not impossible due to his contract expiring at the end of the season.

Real Madrid are long-term front-runners to sign the 25-year-old France international and could negotiate an agreement this month for Mbappe to move to Spain in the summer.

But Real will be nervous about the prospect of a Premier League club attempting to do the same. With the financial power of English teams, the cost of signing Mbappe as a free agent in the summer, regardless of his…