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Oh, the international break; just when the Premier League appeared to be hitting a peak of excitement, drama and unpredictability, it timely returns in an attempt to bore us all to death.

England struggle to beat X, scoreless draws between Malta and Montenegro, Roy Keane saying something slightly controversial whilst donning increasingly dishevelled facial hair – every international break follows a mind-numbingly similar pattern.

But don’t be fooled, the international break is a fantastic chance to broaden your footballing horizons and soak in some of the finest talents not on show in the Premier League, whilst those already employed by the English top flight are suddenly put into a different context.

It’s an ideal opportunity to partake in some scouting on behalf of your respective club and with that in mind, here’s a look at four reported transfer targets Manchester United fans should keep an eye out for over the next ten days.

Gelson Martins

Linked by Mirror Football last month, Gelson Martins has enjoyed a fantastic start to the season, notching up two goals and four assists in 10 Primeira Liga appearances whilst also impressing for Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

The 21-year-old winger-come-right-back claimed his first cap for Portugal earlier this year and considering the frailty of the opposition, he has a pretty good chance of picking up a third against Latvia (likely from the bench) on Thursday night.

Andre Silva

Another Portugal starlet linked with the Red Devils, amongst a host of their Premier League rivals, Andre Silva’s senior international career has begun with a flurry of four goals in as many appearances, albeit coming against tepid opposition in Andorra and the Faroe Islands.

The Porto striker’s domestic form has been equally impressive, claiming seven goals in the Primeira Liga and two strikes against Club Bruges in the Champions League.

Portugal’s struggle to fina a dependable front-man for Cristiano Ronaldo to play off is well known; Silva could well be the answer to that long-standing issue, with Latvia representing another chance to impress.

Virgil van Dijk

Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk will already be well known to most Manchester United fans. The former Celtic star, who was linked with the Red Devils last weekend, has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League since moving to the south coast, but his exposure to international football is notably limited with just eight caps to date.

However, the classy centre-back has been included in Danny Blind’s latest squad and with Oranje’s defensive options hardly outstanding, we expect him to start in the friendly against bitter rivals Belgium on Wednesday night. The 25-year-old’s performance in a high-profile fixture against one of the most talented attacks in world football could give an insight into whether he can cut the mustard at Old Trafford.

Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann has been mooted as a prime Red Devils target repeatedly since the close of the summer window, with Mirror Football, Manchester Evening News and Bleacher Report all giving their take on a potential Old Trafford transfer in recent months.

The majority of United fans will already feel well acquainted with the Euro 2016 Golden Boot winner but should they need further evidence of whether his £89million release clause is justified, he’s certainly worth a watch as France take on Sweden and the Ivory Coast.

While we can almost guarantee the forward getting on the score sheet, how the 38-cap international would fit into Manchester United’s starting XI could become more evident in Didier Deschamps’ 4-3-3 formation.

Dimitri Payet was one of the standout players of the 2015-16 Premier League campaign, and a key contributor to West Ham’s remarkable seventh-place finish. The silky attacker went on to become a pivotal cog in France’s charge to the Euro 2016 final, and attracted interest from a number of top clubs.

At the time, West Ham were preparing to move into their new stadium and seemed like a team on the up, so the playmaker pledged his allegiance to the club by signing a new five-year deal. The Irons’ campaign is in disarray now, though, and if an elite club can come in with enough money to pry Payet away from the Olympic Stadium, the midfielder may well jump from Slaven Bilic’s sinking ship.

Recent reports from the Daily Star suggest that Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has earmarked Payet as his top priority in the January transfer window. The man who made 13 assists in the league last season (see below) could be the ideal creator to supply Zlatan Ibrahimovic with the teasing aerial balls the Swede thrives on. A switch could turn out to be beneficial for both parties; United need that inventive spark, and Payet needs to get back on top after a recent slump.

The move to the Olympic Stadium seems to have cursed West Ham this season, and nothing is going right for Bilic or his players. Although research from Voucherbox has found that Hammers fans can watch a home game for less than any other supporters in the league, the fans are surely missing the menacing threat that the Boleyn Ground imposed on visiting teams. The players certainly don’t feel as though they have a home advantage at the moment, partly due to the fact that they haven’t settled in yet, but the running track that distances the fans from the pitch is also a factor. This gap makes for a far less threatening atmosphere.

Bilic will be desperate to hang on to Payet in the transfer window, as the Frenchman could be the key to helping the Irons claw their way back up the table and away from the threat of relegation. With Andy Carroll finally back from injury, the 29-year-old will have a lethal target man to get on the end of his crosses. In West Ham’s favour, penning a new deal with the player earlier in the year to tie him to the club for the next five years was a smart move. The London club are under no pressure to sell.

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On the other side of the coin, Payet has looked a shell of last season’s player in this campaign, and if a club comes in with a big enough offer then it could actually be beneficial to West Ham to offload the Frenchman. It would free up funds to move in for a prolific striker, and the Irons have been linked with Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge in recent months.

The ideal scenario for Bilic would be to keep hold of Payet, revitalise the player, and get the whole side psychologically set to perform in their new surroundings. But the way West Ham’s season has gone so far, January could spell a time of even more chaos and uncertainty.

Arsenal are closing in on completing their first signing of the January transfer window, with manager Arsene Wenger confirming the impending arrival of Hednesford Town left-back Cohen Bramall, according to Squawka.

What’s the word?

Wenger is not usually one for snapping up non-league talent, but he has deemed Bramall worthy following a trial at the Gunners’ Colney training base.

The Mirror reports that the Premier League outfit will seal the youngster’s signature for £40,000 and will hand him a two-year contract at the Emirates.

Wenger reportedly confirmed the deal, describing the new arrival as having similar attributes to Ashley Cole, who spent nine years – including two in the academy – at Arsenal.

The Frenchman told beIN Sports: “[Bramall] has signed for us. He’s an exceptional physical talent. I don’t think he’s ready, today, to play in Premier League.”

Who is Cohen Bramall?

Well, the footballer’s agent Dan Chapman revealed in an interview with Football.London that Bramall’s move to Arsenal is somewhat of a fairytale after the youngster was recently made redundant from a full-time job in a Bentley factory.

The report also claimed that Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday have been keeping eyes on the full-back, but Arsenal managed to push aside the competition.

In terms of his ability on the pitch, one of Bramall’s biggest strengths is his pace, but not only does he have quick feet, he has a physical presence that could fair him well in one-on-one tussles.

Could he be fast-tracked into the first team?

Well, looking at Wenger’s quotes, it’s clear that he intends to place Bramall in the Under-23 squad in order to help the young gun develop.

However, there are opportunities for him to progress into the senior setup quicker than he may have elsewhere due to the Gunners’ weak right-back positions.

At the moment, Nacho Monreal and Kieran Gibbs occupy that side of the field, but both have struggled to hit the heights this season, plus the latter’s contract expires at the end of next season.

As suggested, it is unlikely that Bramall will be thrown into the first team upon his arrival this month, but the potential is there.

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After two consecutive defeats in the Premier League, Arsenal managed to get back to winning ways at the Emirates Stadium today but it was far from a routine victory for the Gunners and there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Late drama was present at the Emirates Stadium, as Olivier Giroud scored a very late winner for Arsene Wenger’s side to ease the tension upon the under-performing North London giants and ensured they didn’t fall further behind leaders Chelsea.

It certainly wasn’t a vintage performers from the Gunners but Arsenal got the result they needed in the end, although the fans will want to see a better performance later this week against struggling Crystal Palace.

The focus today though is very much on the narrow victory for the hosts and here are the five images that summed up a hard-fought victory.

Safe hands

Although the flag went up and the goal wouldn’t have stood, Petr Cech sprung into action to brilliantly prevent Solomon Rondon from finding the back of the net and the veteran’s performance was crucial to a match where the Gunners finally kept a clean sheet. This was one of just many incidents where Arsenal relied on their stopper, who seemed back to his best.

One of those days

An image that summed up exactly how Arsenal fans were feeling during the game, Arsene Wenger was looking pretty frustrated on the sidelines as his side couldn’t find a breakthrough. Clearly feeling the pressure mount in the Emirates Stadium, Wenger’s tactical approach was called into question during the match and was desperate for a victory.

So close

Often the hero for Arsenal this season, Alexis Sanchez was extremely close to breaking the deadlock as he beat Ben Foster and the West Brom defence but was prevented from finding the back of the net by the crossbar. It fitted the course of flow in the match, where things weren’t quite going Arsenal’s way.

A thousand words

Penny for the thoughts of Alexis Sanchez, who faces a huge year in 2017 as he enters the final 18 months of his deal with Arsenal. Whether he extends or not likely depends on the fortunes of the Gunners this season and hand Alexis’ side fallen to 11 points behind leaders Chelsea today, his future would have come under even more scrutiny.

Finally a breakthrough

Finally, Arsenal got the breakthrough they needed and secured three points courtesy of Olivier Giroud’s match-winning goal. Moving six points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, at least for the time being, it could well be a vital moment in Arsenal’s season as they continue to charge towards launching a genuine challenge for the Premier League crown.

As you’d expected given their resources in comparison with other teams in the country, Celtic have by far the most talented squad in the Scottish Premiership.

That’s not true simply of their first-choice XI, but through regular bench choices and even players who don’t feature in matchday squads.

Inevitably, that means that a bit of bloat creeps into the player pool over time, with footballers not quite good enough to make it at the club, many of whom could pursue a playing career elsewhere, still picking up big wages.

Brendan Rodgers likes to work with a core group of players who have something to offer the first-team and as such might be looking to move on some of his squad before the end of January. Outside of youth players, six moved on in the summer after the manager’s arrival, including the likes of Stefan Johansen and Anthony Stokes.

This month Eoghan O’Connell and Kristoffer Ajer have gone out on loan with the focus being getting some first-team football so they can return and make an impact at the Bhoys. Nobody has left permanently yet but there’s still plenty of time.

Who should stay and who should leave?

Here are THREE Celtic players we think should be shown the door this January…

Nir Bitton

Let’s be fair to Nir Bitton, he is a good footballer. He just isn’t the right fit for Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic. There’s no doubt he can perform adequately in Scottish football for the majority of the time but in Europe his lack of urgency and commitment has been frustrating for supporters.

The Israeli midfielder has struggled for game time since Stuart Armstrong burst onto the scene. He did make a start in Sunday’s Scottish Cup action against Albion Rovers but that was only his second start since October.

Unlike others, Bitton is probably a fairly valuable and sellable asset and that makes us think he should be moved on more, rather than stick around.

The Hoops brought in Ivorian midfielder Kouassi Eboue this January meaning Bitton probably falls further behind in terms of opportunities for first-team football. He’s too good to sit on the bench and finding a new club is probably the best for all parties in this situation.

Nadir Ciftci

Nadir Ciftci has never really settled into life at Celtic. Scoring just four goals in his two seasons at the club, he’s barely featured for Rodgers – his only two appearances this season came against Gibraltar-based minnows Lincoln Red Imps.

With Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele in front of him, there’s little chance of him getting first-team football anytime soon, especially as he’s unlikely to develop into a better player.

On top of this, Celtic should be in the market for another forward to offer a more viable alternative should either or both of the Bhoys’ in-form strikers should get injured or go through a prolonged period without scoring.

Moving Ciftci on would be key to that. He’s unlikely to be on massive wages but with the Hoops’ limited budget, finding him a new club would get some vital cash into Rodgers’ transfer coffers.

Efe Ambrose

The Celtic support have a love/hate relationship with Efe Ambrose. The love his attitude and obvious passion for the Hoops, yet fans can’t shake a number of terrible performances and key mistakes made in his time at Celtic Park.

Ambrose has made close to 170 appearances for Celtic but has featured only twice under Rodgers. Like Ciftci, those both came in early Champions League qualifiers last summer and the defender has not managed to force his way into the team despite absences from Jozo Simunovic, Kolo Toure and Erik Sviatchenko.

Rodgers prefers to utilise right-back Mikael Lustig in the middle rather than turn to the Nigerian, which perhaps shows how far down the pecking order he is.

So while popular personality and presence-wise, he has no future in the squad and Celtic can’t afford to keep players around who can’t contribute. Fans will be hoping a team comes in for him between now and 31st January.

Swansea City have rebuffed a £30m bid for Gylfi Sigurdsson from a club in the Chinese Super League and have made it clear they won’t sell the Icelandic international this month, Wales Online reports.

What’s the word?

The increasingly ambitious Chinese Super League, who’s clubs secured moves for Oscar and Odion Ighalo from the Premier League during January, have now seen some of their sides identify Swansea City’s Gylfi Sigurdsson as a new big-name target.

Sigurdsson was heavily linked with an exit from the struggling South Wales club during the January window but Swansea rebuffed approaches for their Euro 2016 star, with two enquiries coming from the Chinese Super League.

With Swansea desperate to keep the 27-year-old and Sigurdsson himself keen to stay, an offer of £30m was rejected and any chances of a saga this month have been ruled-out.

Will he move in February?

The transfer window for the Chinese Super League closes at the end of February, meaning that Sigurdsson could still theoretically move to the Far East, but, with neither Swansea or the player interested in an offer, he’ll stay at the Liberty Stadium.

Sigurdsson is crucial to Swansea’s battle against the drop, which was evident this week as he netted the crucial winner to defeat Southampton and see the Swans rise out of the relegation spots in the Premier League, and the club had decided before the transfer window opened that Sigurdsson will not be going anywhere.

That stance remains for this month and is likely to last until the summer, although by that stage Swansea may find it difficult to keep hold of their talisman- especially if the club are relegated to the Championship.

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Ronaldinho has clearly been very impressed by Manchester City starlet Gabriel Jesus as he has backed the teenager to one day become the best footballer in the world.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi is widely regarded as the best in the game after winning five Ballon d’Or crowns.

Real Madrid main man Cristiano Ronaldo is the current holder of the award, but from Ronaldinho’s point of view, Messi is the world’s number one.

Jesus is only 19 years old, but he has already made his mark in Pep Guardiola’s City side having scored three Premier League goals.

The Brazilian, who also has an assist to his name, has made four appearances in the top flight since joining from Palmeiras in January.

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Most would argue that it is very early days to compare Jesus to the best players in the game, but Ronaldinho believes that the youngster has all the attributes to make it to the top. The Brazilian World Cup winner is quoted by The Mirror as saying:

“Manchester City have a very special player with Gabriel Jesus. Maybe even, in the future, the best player in the world. At the moment it is Messi. I have always said I think one day it will be Neymar. But at 19, in the future, it can be Gabriel. He has all the abilities to make that happen.”

With regards to the international stage, Jesus has netted five goals in his last six games for Brazil.

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Former Everton defender Alan Stubbs has told the Liverpool Echo that the club gave up on signing Eric Dier two years before he joined Tottenham Hotspur.

What happened?

Dier has become a regular first-team member of Mauricio Pochettino’s team at Spurs, but before he moved to White Hart Lane he had an opportunity to sign for Everton.

The now 23-year-old spent 18 months at Goodison Park on a loan deal from Sporting Lisbon in the 2011-12 season, and according to Stubbs, who was Under-21 coach at the time, the Toffees were keen to land him permanently.

It has been claimed by Stubbs that Everton were unwilling to pay a fee upwards of £1m for Dier.

While speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Stubbs said:

“We wanted to sign Eric and, at one point, thought we were going to get him. It took us the best part of eight months to get him up to speed but you could see his game coming on 10-fold and that was when we decided we wanted to sign him and we were in negotiations to do it but, at the time, it was going upwards of £1m, which wasn’t where Everton were at the time.

“Now they wouldn’t blink at two, three or four million for him, so for Eric at that time it would’ve been a case of right place, wrong time.”

Have Everton missed out?

This season Dier has not been as effective as he has been in recent campaigns.

After joining the North London outfit in 2014 he became an integral part of the team in a defensive midfield role, but he has since been shifted about.

Victor Wanyama’s performances in the middle of the park have forced Dier to play as a central defender at times, and that is where he has struggled on occasion this season.

Nonetheless, the former Sporting man is a top talent and a fully-fledged England international at his young age.

Dier would have provided plenty to Ronald Koeman’s lineup at Everton had he stayed and progressed at Goodison Park.

Given that the Merseyside outfit could have nabbed him for around £1m proves that they missed out on a great bit of business.

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As reported by The Daily Record, Rangers’ quest for a new manager appears to be coming to a head with the front runner Pedro Caixinha apparently willing to do whatever it takes to take charge at Ibrox.

What’s the word?

Rangers’ urgent need for a new boss has lessened slightly following some good results under Graeme Murty but they still need to move quickly so any new manager has as much time as possible before the new season to assess how to take the club forward.

According to The Record, the man Rangers chiefs want at Ibrox is Portuguese manager Pedro Caixinha and it seems the feeling is mutual.

Caixinha is reportedly willing to pay up to £300,000 of his own money to secure his release from his current contract at Qatari side Al-Gharafa and take charge of the Gers as soon as possible. The prospective boss is said to be very keen to begin his reign before the side travel to Celtic Park next week for the massive derby.

Who is he?

Caixinha may be far from a household name but he has a lot of experience as a coach, assistant manager and manager behind him with spells in Portugual, Greece, Romania, Saudi Arabia and Qatar behind him.

He found his greatest success as manager of Santos Laguna, winning the league and cup there while also guiding them to the final of the CONCACAF Champions League.

While he may not be raised on a diet of Scottish football, that may be no bad thing with a fresh perspective needed at Ibrox to help bring them to where they want to be; challenging Celtic.

Besides, it’s clear from the latest reports in The Daily Record that he’s just as passionate about managing Rangers than any more familiar name would be.

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Pedro Caixinha has given his first match-focused press conference since taking charge of Rangers, speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon about the upcoming game with Hamilton Academical.

That match takes place on Saturday and Rangers supporters are eagerly anticipating their first look at a Caixinha XI.

As reported by STV, Caixinha spoke at length about what he wants to see from his Rangers team, favouring an aggressive and attacking style that is sure to excite supporters.

Quoted by the outlet, Caixinha said:

I want a team that is much more aggressive in arriving at the final position. After that, I want a team that is always attacking so we have the ball, we attack the opponent’s goal. We don’t have the ball, we attack the ball again.

However, for some that’s not the main takeaway of his session with reporters. For some it was about the big differences between the way Caixinha talks about upcoming games and the way Mark Warburton did.

The former Rangers boss often wanted to speak about his own team on these occasions, rarely taking the chance to speak about the opposition. That couldn’t have been more different to the new man at Ibrox, as you can see from these reporters’ tweets.

It’s an interesting change in style, but does it really point to the manager doing more research on upcoming opponents than is normal?

What do the fans think?

Let’s be honest, at the heart of it, the only difference Rangers fans really want to see between Caixinha and Warburton is results.

If Caixinha produces more consistent results than his predecessor then it doesn’t really matter what he says in press conferences like this.

However, the difference has been noted and some fans took to Twitter today to share their thoughts on it all…

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