Just two weeks remain before the transfer window is opened again

January 1 is looming large on the horizon and after the return of the Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid saga yesterday, the Roque Santa Cruz to Manchester City rumour got jealous and has now made a comeback in an attempt to steal back the spotlight. Here all The Spoiler’s favourite pieces of transfer guesswork from today’s papers:

Roque Santa Cruz to Manchester City
While some newspapers are reporting that Sam Allardyce only agreed to take the Blackburn job if he could keep the Paraguay striker, The Times go against the grain and say Big Sam wants to sell him for £20 million to raise transfer funds. They also claim that Manchester City’s highest bid in the summer was £14 million so why the logic in them offering an extra £6 million for someone who has scored less than Roman Bednar this season is flawed.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: If they sell, they probably won’t make as much money they could have in the summer

Gary O’Neil to Portsmouth

It’s better in the Czech Republic, claims Roman Bednar

The FA and Premier League’s Respect campaign took another blow today when Czech forward Roman Bednar admitted that the standard of officiating in the top-flight was poorer than in his homeland.

The Baggies striker voiced his concerns after being left disappointed by referee Mike Dean’s performance in Sunday’s Midlands derby defeat to Aston Villa at The Hawthorns. He said:

Appearing in the Premier League for one season only…

Only once in Premier League history have all three promoted sides gone straight back down (Barnsley, Bolton and Palace in 1997/98) and for that reason it’s unlikely that West Brom, Stoke and Hull will all make a swift return to the Championship. Then again, looking at our team comprising the three newcomers’ best players, they’ll have their work cut out. Even Bolton wouldn’t touch most of these guys…

[Now including eleventh man George Boateng, a player who always slips under the radar, which might explain how we managed to leave him out of our initial list! - Ed.]

Scott Carson (West Brom)
A season away from the spotlight will benefit the 22-year-old whose form last season was clearly affected by the scrutiny that followed his England error. Carson’s last relegation battle was with Charlton two years ago and their fans voted him Player of the Year.

Marek Cech (West Brom)
The Slovakian left-back scored the equaliser that killed off Ireland’s slim Euro 2008 qualification hopes once and for all. He ended three seasons at Porto with three league titles and arrives with Champions League experience - not that the Baggies will be needing that!

Leon Cort (Stoke)
Neil Warnock’s decision to offload Carl Cort’s younger bro couldn’t have worked out better for the centre-back, with Stoke coming to his rescue and then taking him to the Premier League. Cort has