Edin Dzeko is Arsenal’s top target in striker search

It appears Arsene Wenger has inadvertently left his January shopping list lying around and somehow it has ended up in the hands of the Daily Mirror. The paper claims the Arsenal manager has drawn up a list of seven names as he spends the rest of the month "scouring Europe for a striker to fill the gap" left by the injuries to Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner.
 
Two of the seven are teenagers, 18-year-old Eden Hazard, and the 19-year-old Italian stallion Mario Balotelli, currently impressing at Inter Milan. Hazard plays for Lille in Ligue 1 and though a Belgian his touch is more reminiscent of a Brazilian. "Arsenal have been tracking Hazard for months," says the Mirror, and a £6 million move is a possibility, if not in January then certainly in the summer.

Balotelli, nicknamed "Super Mario", is in his third season at Inter and though he is in Wenger's sights the Gunners' boss admits that Chelsea have the greater purchasing power should the Italian club wish to sell.

Two of the names on Wenger's list are Premier League players – West Ham's England striker Carlton Cole and Aston Villa's 23-year-old dynamo Gabriel Agbonlahor. The Mirror says Wengers admires Cole "because he's big, strong and scores goals", and likes the Villa man's "ability to destroy opponents".  Agbonlahor comes with a £20m price tag, according to the paper, but Cole – with his injury record – is a much more reasonable £9m.
 
Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh is among the "Magnificent Seven" despite the Moroccan-born forward's recent assertion that he is happy in France, at least until the end of the season. Apparently Arsenal would be prepared to wait until the summer but "want him to sign now".

A surprise name is Ruud van Nistelrooy, the 33-year-old Dutchman, currently languishing on the bench at Real Madrid. Not the most popular man with the Arsenal faithful during his time at Manchester United, van Nistelrooy would only arrive at the Emirates on a loan deal if Wenger failed to land any other big names.
 
But the player who is "top of Wenger's wanted list", according the Mirror, is Edin Dzeko, the towering 23-year-old Bosnian striker who plays for German club Wolfsburg. "Arsenal have tracked him for more than a year," the paper says, and though they had a £10m offer shoved back in their faces last season, this time they are prepared to buy at £25m.

Meanwhile across the snowy streets of north London, Spurs have become the third Premier League club to join the chase for Giampaolo Pazzini. The Sampdoria star has been linked with a £22 million move to Chelsea but the Mirror says Tottenham and Manchester City are also "in the frame" for the Italy striker.  The 25-year-old Pazzini should feature in this summer's World Cup and Spurs boss Harry Redknapp thinks money is no object when it comes to the Italian.

The apparent fall-out between Sir Alex Ferguson and Nemanja Vidic has led United to start looking for replacements. Palermo centre-back Simon Kjaer and Juventus's Georgio Chielleni are reported to be in the frame. A move for either might not go down well at Manchester City who have also been linked with the defenders.

United's third option is reported to be Bolton's Gary Cahill. The Mirror suggests Bolton might sell to give their new manager, probably Owen Coyle, funds to play with before the transfer window closes

On the other hand the Sun says that peace has broken out at Old Trafford, Vidic insists he has "a marvellous understanding" with Fergie.
 
Sky Sports have been given to understand that Birmingham have made a move to sign Ryan Babel from Liverpool. Apparently Blues' boss Alex McLeish has been granted the go-ahead from club owner Carson Yeung to make an £8million bid for the Dutch forward and Birmingham are "waiting to see" if Liverpool will accept their offer.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is keen to offload the 23-year-old Babel – who has failed to settle at Anfield since his arrival in the summer of 2007 – and wants the money made on the Dutchman to invest in new players.

Still with Liverpool, the Daily Mail reports that Greek outfit Olympiakos' £5 million offer for the Reds' Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun has been rejected by the club. Benitez "will not sell" but might be open to offers should Olympiakos express an interest in Albert Riera, the unsettled Spanish winger. ·