KEY POINTS:
The Premiership's bumper television deal and the influx of billionaire owners point to a record-smashing £400 million (NZ$1.1 billion) spending spree for next season.
The top-flight clubs spent almost £300 million in the corresponding window a year ago, led by Chelsea, who splashed £63 million on players including
Andriy Shevchenko and John Obi Mikel - not to mention wages for the likes of Michael Ballack, who arrived under the Bosman ruling.
But with the majority of clubs seeking that most valuable of assets - a proven striker and one of genuine world-class in the case of the "big four" - an unprecedented whirl of transfer activity lies ahead. Some of the world's best forwards have been linked with moves to England, from Samuel Eto'o and Javier Saviola of Barcelona, to Valencia's David Villa, Atletico Madrid's Fernando Torres, Fiorentina's Luca Toni, Werder Bremen's Miroslav Klose, Ajax's Klass Jan Huntelaar and Heerenveen's Brazilian goal machine Afonso Alves, who looks almost certain to win the Golden Boot for being the leading scorer in Europe's top divisions.
Alves, 26, scored five hat-tricks and 34 goals in 31 league matches in the Netherlands' top division this season. With a price tag of £8 million-£10 million, he could be a wild-card bargain capture for up to a dozen Premiership sides.
The fate of a handful of a top-class strikers already in England will be intriguing, with Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen, Benni McCarthy and perhaps even Shevchenko or Didier Drogba up for grabs.
Ironically, given that Roman Abramovich's money has fuelled three inflationary summers of Premiership spending since he bought Chelsea in 2003, Chelsea may not be the top spenders. If Jose Mourinho stays at Stamford Bridge, insiders suggest he will have to economise. Steve Sidwell will probably arrive on a Bosman from Reading. Brazilian defender Alex, already effectively a Chelsea player, could arrive from PSV Eindhoven, and Mourinho is also interested in Deportivo La Coruna centre half Jorge Andrade, who would be available for about £2 million.
Blackburn's McCarthy is also on Mourinho's radar and it has been suggested that should Shevchenko depart, Chelsea could pursue Villa. But if Mourinho goes - and his fate will become clearer this week - all bets are off. Abramovich would hire a top-rank European coach and back him heavily in the market.
Budgets elsewhere will be at record levels, in part because of the new £2.7 billion three-year television deal and in part because the "big four" will face competition from six or more clubs hoping to catch them.
Manchester United
Manchester United have between £25 million and £50 million to spend. Owen Hargreaves should arrive from Bayern Munich for £18 million (NZ$48 million) and possibly Southampton's Gareth Bale too - also of interest to Tottenham - for up to £10 million. Huntelaar, 23, is coveted by many and would cost around £18 million, while Sir Alex Ferguson has also been linked with Australian Mark Viduka. Eto'o would be a dream signing but expensive at Barca's £40 million-plus (NZ$108 million-plus) valuation. Ferguson would jump at the chance to sign Berbatov, although sources say the Bulgarian has privately pledged to stay at Tottenham for at least one more season.
Arsenal
The club will find money for Arsene Wenger, maybe £20 million, although the Frenchman has said his buying will be limited to "maybe one or two maximum and then only super, super class". If it is two, Marseilles' Franck Ribery and Ajax's Ryan Babel fit the bill but that would still leave many Arsenal fans calling for a clinical finisher. The ongoing clear-out may yet free funds for a bid for Villa, Torres, or, less likely, Eto'o.
Liverpool
Rafa Benitez will have substantial funds and has already been busy, signing three players. He is arguably in a better position than most to play the trump card of the close season and land a striker to stun the opposition and truly take Liverpool to a title-challenging level.
Tevez to Anfield? It seems more far-fetched with every passing day that the player's ultimate owner, Kia Joorabchian, is privately suggesting a price tag of £40 million (NZ$108 million) but Benitez already has Tevez's friend - and fellow Joorabchian player - Javier Mascherano on board.
Benitez's South American contingent is also growing. Two of his done deals are Lucas Leiva, a Brazil under-20 midfielder who cost up to £7 million from Gremio and Sebastian Leto, a 20-year-old Argentine winger, signed from Club Atletico Lanus for £1.8 million. The third is for Ukrainian striker Andrei Voronin on a Bosman from Bayer Leverkusen.
If Benitez does not land Tevez - or Villa, Torres or Eto'o, all targets if willing and available - then Darren Bent could become a more realistic capture from Charlton. Tottenham also want him and a price of £15 million is being mooted.
Manchester City
If Thaksin Shinawatra buys City, a budget of £50 million will be available to the new manager. Joey Barton will leave - to Everton or Newcastle, perhaps, if not abroad - and strikers will be a priority. Depending on the new manager, the whole gamut could enter the reckoning, from Saviola (available on a Bosman but reportedly on his way to Real Madrid), Toni (said to be eyeing a move to Bayern Munich), Alves, or Klose, who has a year left on his contract and could tempt a variety of Premiership sides at £10 million.
West Ham
West Ham's situation will become clearer when the interminable row about Tevez is concluded but Alan Curbishley could have as much as £40 million to spend for a top-flight campaign. Newcastle's Scott Parker is one target, Bent another.
Aston Villa
Randy Lerner has promised substantial funds for Martin O'Neill. Craig Bellamy will leave Liverpool and Aston Villa are favourites to sign him, with Blackburn also interested. Charlton's Luke Young looks another possible Villa capture but West Brom's Jason Koumas and Curtis Davies are less likely if the Baggies win the playoffs.
David Nugent will definitely leave Preston, probably for Everton, but Villa are another option for the England forward. Sheffield Wednesday's Phil Jagielka will escape Championship football by departing, possibly to the Midlands. O'Neill's tendency towards the familiar could take him to Scotland for a goalkeeper, with Celtic's Artur Boruc and Heart of Midlothian's Craig Gordon, both custodians who will move south at some point.
Sunderland
Under Roy Keane, Sunderland will be one of the most gripping stories of next season. Chairman Niall Quinn will make £35 million available. Nugent and Barton are possibilities, as are Keane's former team-mates Thomas Gravesen and Boruc (from Celtic), Wes Brown, Nicky Butt and Diego Forlan (from his Old Trafford days) and Newcastle's Irish international Damien Duff.
Newcastle
As Sam Allardyce restructures at Newcastle, Viduka is a target, as is El-Hadji Diouf and fellow Bolton players Kevin Nolan and Tal Ben Haim.
With even the Premiership's lesser lights having up to £10 million to spend, a merry-go-round is guaranteed, although Wigan and Bolton - under rookie, low-profile managers - and Fulham, where Lawrie Sanchez will work on a shoestring, will struggle for big names and probably survival.
- THE INDEPENDENT
