2. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa
Club: Montpellier Position: Winger Value: £8-10m Linked with a move to Arsenal as well as Newcastle United during the summer, the Montpellier captain is one of the hottest - and most importantly, the most affordable - young talents in France at the minute. The strong centre-half is likely to have admirers again in January,thanks to his athleticism and power at the heart of the defence as well as his versatility across the back-line, and Arsenal are likely to have a lot of competition if they decide to step up reported interest in the French international. One stumbling block may be the players apparent desire to join Milan - a move that almost happened in the summer, before Montpellier's chairman refused the Italian die's 6m Euro offer. That was a paltry offer, considering Yanga-Mbiwa's ability, but it was still enough concrete interest to turn his head away from Arsenal as he told L'Equipe:
"The chairman told me I have an agreement to leave. AC Milan came for me. But the chairman refused the offer. So I understood it would be difficult. Arsenal came to make an attempt. But I was focused on something else. I was disappointed when I understood it could not be sorted out with Milan. The chairman is our boss, our godfather, the one who educated us and gave us an opportunity. We have to show respect."