10 Championships League stars on the Premier League radar this January

ADAM LALLANA | Southampton

SEASON STATS Age 23 Position Winger Possible destination Fulham, Wolves TRANSFER FILE Season appearances 27 Goals 7 Assists 6

Southampton’s troubles in recent years have, in fact, been timed perfectly for Lallana. On the fringes of the first team as they sank down into League One, the slight drop in quality allowed the skilful youngster, who can play on either flank or behind a striker, to grow into a key role.

He hasn’t looked back since, terrorising Championship defences this season and turning down offers from the Premier League to sign a new five-year deal last January, pointing to his side’s rapid rise as reason to stay.

However, failure to follow through on the Saints’ excellent start to the current campaign could change his thinking.

RICKIE LAMBERT | Southampton

SEASON STATS Age 29 Position Striker Possible destination Newcastle TRANSFER FILE Season appearances 28 Goals 17 Assists 7

His club’s talisman ever since his arrival in 2009, Lambert is an intelligent target man who creates space and links up play with flicked headers as well as boasting an incredible knack for scoring.

The Saints’ No.7 has made the step up to the Championship seamlessly and is arguably a better technical player than Norwich’s Grant Holt, who has followed a similar trajectory from League One to the top flight with success.

Alan Pardew, who brought him to St Mary’s, has admitted that he would love to work with Lambert again, though, with the table as it stands, a January transfer is highly unlikely.

NICKY MAYNARD | Bristol City

SEASON STATS Age 25 Position Striker Possible destination Swansea, West Brom TRANSFER FILE Season appearances 26 Goals 8 Assists 2

2012 could prove to be a make or break year for Maynard, with the 25-year-old now into his fourth season at Ashton Gate since becoming the club's record signing for £2.25 million, and looking to bounce back from an injury-blighted campaign last term.

Having been widely expected to join Leicester before now, Maynard and his goalscoring record could potentially be worth a gamble for a Premier League side in need of goals, with his 20-strike haul in 2009-10 proving the former Crewe man's finishing pedigree.

Both Swansea and West Brom have been linked with a move for the forward and it is thought that he would be keen to leave. With only six months remaining on his contract, Maynard could move remarkably cheaply, especially given that The Robins were said to have rejected a £6m bid for his services only last summer.

MATT PHILLIPS | Blackpool

SEASON STATS Age 20 Position Winger Possible destination Bolton, Norwich, Swansea TRANSFER FILE Season appearances 27 Goals 13 Assists 1

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway has declared that it would take a similar offer to Liverpool’s £20m acquisition of Jordan Henderson to prise away his star man.

The young winger, who scored six in seven games on a short-term loan at Sheffield United earlier this season, has become the most prized jewel in the playoff-chasers’ crown after the summer departures of Charlie Adam and David Vaughan.

The England under-20s youngster has netted two hat-tricks in the last month since putting the tangerine shirt back on, reportedly alerting several clubs to his potential.

NICK POWELL | Crewe Alexandra

SEASON STATS Age 17 Position Midfielder Possible destination Arsenal, Liverpool TRANSFER FILE Season appearances 23 Goals 5 Assists 2

Powell is yet another youngster off the perpetual conveyor belt of talent that is Crewe's famed Reaseheath academy but his performances for the Railwaymen, as well as his list of supposed suitors, suggest he could become one of the Alexandra Stadium's finest ever alumni.

A skilful midfielder with a dangerous burst of pace and occasional eye for goal, Powell is one of the country's most exciting talents and has been linked with all of the Premier League's top clubs at some point or another.

Crewe are in no position to ask for a fee of any great significance and with England schoolboy Max Clayton said to be a target for Premier League side, Steve Davis' squad could soon see two of its brightest prospects leave.

NATHAN REDMOND | Birmingham City

SEASON STATS Age 17 Position Winger Possible destination Liverpool, Man City TRANSFER FILE Season appearances 14 Goals 2 Assists 1

Redmond has only been used sparingly thus far by Birmingham boss Chris Hughton, but the midfielder's obvious potential has seen him linked with a number of leading Premier League clubs already. The pacey right-winger became the club’s second-youngest ever player in the League Cup in August 2010, and has made his way into the club’s first-team plans since signing professional terms in March 2011.

The Englishman is a pacey midfielder who is able to play on either flank and possesses no shortage of skill, and while Birmingham rate Redmond at £10m, they may struggle to keep hold of him yet.

JORDAN RHODES | Huddersfield Town

SEASON STATS Age 21 Position Striker Possible destination Tottenham, Everton, Blackburn, Newcastle, QPR, West Brom TRANSFER FILE Season appearances 27 Goals 27 Assists 3

Since breaking into the Huddersfield Town first team in 2009, Rhodes has never looked back. The Scotland under-21 international broke the 20-goal barrier in each of the last two seasons, but halfway through the 2011-12 campaign, Rhodes has already found the net a staggering 27 times, including back-to-back hat-tricks against Exeter and Preston, as well as four and five-goal hauls.

Huddersfield are keen to keep hold of their man during January, but bids for the striker, who has proved himself to be instinctive, composed and capable of scoring all manner of different goals, are almost inevitable.

JEFFREY SCHLUPP | Leicester City

SEASON STATS Age 19 Position Striker Possible destination Liverpool, Stoke TRANSFER FILE Season appearances 17 Goals 5 Assists 2

A product of Leicester City’s youth academy, Schlupp captured the imagination of many with a hat-trick on his full debut for the club in a League Cup victory over Rotherham. Previously, the striker had enjoyed a prolific spell with Brentford scoring six goals in nine appearances with the League One club.

Schlupp possesses British, German and Ghanaian passports and, despite representing Germany at youth level, the 19-year-old has since been capped by the African nation, making his debut as a second-half substitute in a November friendly against Gabon.

JAMES TOMKINS | West Ham

SEASON STATS Age 22 Position Defender Possible destination Newcastle, Tottenham TRANSFER FILE Season appearances 23 Goals 1 Assists 1

Having made his Premier League debut nearly four years ago, it's easy to forget just how young Tomkins is. A product of the West Ham academy, the England under-21 international is said to have been targetted by both Newcastle and Tottenham ahead of a move this January but with Sam Allardyce's side flying in the Championship, the Upton Park hierarchy will be reluctant to see their man leave.

The interest of the Premier League teams is understandable, with Tomkins having shown a maturity in the centre of defence that has often belied his tender age. Strong performances against Derby County and Portsmouth at the turn of the year will have only served to confirm his status. West Ham may have a fight on their hands to keep him.

WILFRIED ZAHA | Crystal Palace

SEASON STATS Age 19 Position Striker/Winger Possible destination Liverpool, Man United TRANSFER FILE Season appearances 32 Goals 5 Assists 5

Born in the Ivory Coast but an England under-19 international, Zaha is gradually pinning down a first-team spot at Selhurst Park this season. Fleet-footed and thrilling, the young forward is known to be admired by Kenny Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson, both of whom have been in touch with Palace boss Dougie Freedman, who insists that he is going nowhere.

A £10m bid was reportedly lodged to bring him to Anfield last week but colleagues at the London club believe that continued development in the Championship would suit him best.



source: http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/01/17/2844720/wilfried-zaha-jordan-rhodes-10-football-league-stars-on-the