I absolutely loved going to the World Cup in Qatar and, with Argentina and Lionel Messi winning it, I think it had a fitting end.

He’s the greatest player I’ve ever played against and the best I’ve ever seen in my generation. For someone who has done so much for the game, I think everyone was secretly hoping he’d do it.

To be able to bring my two boys and wife to the World Cup final, for a game that exciting, was so special. They will probably never get to see anything like that again.

But, with the Premier League back under way, I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens in January.

World Cup players moving

The World Cup acts as a shop window for some players and that was the case this time as well.

While a January move might be to soon for some big-name players, they have done their transfer prospects no harm.

Jude Bellingham is one I’m really excited about. He was incredible at the tournament and was up there as one of the best young players.

He’s proven that he’s so talented and will be able to move anywhere and perform at any level, but I’d love to see him in the Premier League.

There’s also been a lot of talk about Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez, who plays for Benfica. He’ll cost a lot of money, but he was one of the bright sparks of the tournament.

It’s not just the marquee players who got their name out there. Everyone loved watching Morocco, and Saudi Arabia shocked us all, so the World Cup was a great platform for them as well.

Arsenal’s title challenge

Talking more generally about January, I think it’s unlikely that we will see too many big-name players moving, with the possible exception being Arsenal.

If you look at them, they don’t have an out-and-out striker who they can rely on. Eddie Nketiah is doing really well for them at the moment, but he’s young.

Missing Gabriel Jesus is massive for them in trying to maintain their title challenge. To have a chance of getting over the line ahead of Manchester City, I think they’re going to need to go and get someone who could get you 20 a season.

Resurgent Spurs

I think with Tottenham, they still have a really good chance of getting into the top four. They don’t need to go big this month, the players that they have are good enough.

Certainly after beating Crystal Palace 4-0 recently, they showed how good a side they are when things go to plan.

Son Heung-min got back in the goals at Selhurst Park, so he should gain more confidence from that, and Harry Kane is on fire as well.

I think if those two lads are flying, they are going to do well. They need to get their injured players fit again too, and that will help the squad.

Richarlison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Moura and Dejan Kulusevski are all massive players, and are big misses when they’re out.

But I do believe Tottenham will finish in the top four.

Clubs in trouble need firepower

Leeds and Wolves are two of my former teams and I’ve got a lot of respect for them, so hope they both manage to stay up.

But I think with any team when they’re down near the bottom, they all want a goalscorer.

If I’m looking at Leeds, they don’t really have a proven centre forward they can rely on, with Patrick Bamford having struggled so much with injury this season.

The same goes for Wolves. Unfortunately, Raul Jimenez hasn’t been the same since the bad injury he had. If I was his club, I’d be doing everything I could to get a goalscorer in, but that is difficult to do in January.

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