Gomez, Van de Beek and Barkley among 10 Premier League players in desperate need of a January move

Joe Gomez (Liverpool)

Almost since the day he made his England debut aged 20 in 2017, Gomez has been touted as England's defensive rock of the future.

But, four years on, he's still struggling to truly establish himself.

Injuries haven't helped - an ankle problem saw him miss the 2018 Champions League final and the World Cup which followed and he also missed much of last season.

However, he's been fully fit for some time now but simply isn't getting the chance to show what he can do at Liverpool where Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate are now both ahead of him in the race to partner Virgil van Dijk.

Is it time for a move?

There's another World Cup in less than a year and if Gomez wants to go, he'll need to play more often - cast aside the Carabao Cup and Gomez has started just one game this season. Somewhat worryingly, Nat Phillips was preferred at centre-back in Milan recently, a game which looked ideal to give Gomez a run-out.

If Gomez is made available, there looks sure to be a queue for his services as he would arguably improve the majority of Premier League sides.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)

Here's another England international who looks in dire need of a move; a regular position would help too.

Maitland-Niles made Gareth Southgate's squad as a wing-back at the start of last season thanks to his performances out wide for Arsenal. But he was soon struggling to get into the Gunners' starting XI and as a result was loaned out to West Brom a year ago.

But he played as a central-midfielder for the Baggies - a position he was unlikely to be picked for at international level. There was to be no European Championship campaign in the summer, his last cap coming in November 2020.

This season there's a feeling of deja vu with Maitland-Niles having made just two Premier League starts with no game-time at all since mid-November.

Now 24, Maitland-Niles is supposedly approaching the peak years of his career.

There's reported interest from Jose Mourinho's Roma about a loan move but with just 18 months left on his contract, could Arsenal be looking for a fee for their man this January?

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)

At the start of December, Aubameyang had started 12 consecutive Premier League games, all as captain.

But, having returned late from an authorised trip to France to see his ill mother, he has since been frozen out by manager Mikel Arteta and stripped of the captaincy.

Without the Gabon international, Arsenal have won all five games, scoring goals for fun, and there must now be a real chance that the club tries to move on its highest-earner - one who is now 32 - in January.

If he wants the money, Aubameyang could sit tight, although that didn't work out too well for Mesut Ozil. If he wants to play, many big-name clubs in Europe are likely to be interested in a player who has scored 68 goals in 128 Premier League appearances for the Gunners.

Cash-rich Newcastle also seem likely to express an interest too as they seek reinforcements in their survival scrap.

Lucas Digne (Everton)

One suspects there will be plenty of enquiries about the Everton left-back in the coming month.

He's another to have been left to rot on the sidelines having fallen out with his manager, in this case Rafa Benitez.

There have reportedly been tensions for much of the season with Digne having been asked to play a more defensive role than he's been used to in previous campaigns.

The Frenchman contributed 15 assists across the past two seasons but had managed none prior to being axed by Benitez following Everton's horror show in the Merseyside derby on December 1.

Premier League clubs look sure to be interested, none more so than Chelsea, who are in need of a left wing-back following Ben Chilwell's recent knee injury - he's expected to be out for several months.

Digne's attacking qualities make him a natural fit and given Everton look to have already lined up Ukraine international Vitaliy Mykolenko as a replacement, that appears to be a move that could well happen.

Still, selling one of their main squad assets seems unlikely to go down well among the Toffees' fanbase.

Ross Barkley (Chelsea)

When Ross Barkley scored twice in England's 6-0 win in Bulgaria in October 2019, the midfielder's career revival was going swimmingly.

He'd started eight of England's last 11 competitive internationals but two years on and he looks back to square one.

Despite injury and illness ravaging Chelsea in recent weeks, Barkley has largely remained surplus to requirements as far as Thomas Tuchel is concerned and, with 18 months left on his contract, it appears he has little future at Stamford Bridge.

Just one Premier League start this season tells its own story and it's not hard to see Barkley moving in January.

Everton has been loudly mentioned as a possible destination, although Barkley left his boyhood club under a cloud. Perhaps Newcastle will be among the other suitors…

Hamza Choudhury (Leicester)

In Brendan Rodgers' early days at Leicester, Choudhury featured fairly regularly - he played in more than half their Premier League games in 2019/20 when the Foxes really should have finished fourth and returned to the Champions League.

But these days Choudhury barely gets a look-in - despite Leicester struggling for form and bodies this term he's managed just five appearances.

Based on what we've seen before, Choudhury looks more than capable of doing a job in the lower echelons of the Premier League or the top end of the Championship.

Donny van de Beek (Manchester United)

When Ajax came within seconds of reaching the 2019 Champions League final, van de Beek played a huge part in a run which saw the Dutch side topple Real Madrid and Juventus before somehow losing from a seemingly unbeatable position against Spurs.

It was no surprise when Van de Beek left for big money - £35million - a year later but a career that promised so much has well and truly stalled in Manchester.

It has seemed as if United signed the player without having any idea of how to fit him into their XI. This season they basically haven't bothered trying - Van de Beek is yet to start in the Premier League in 2021/22.

Yet surely a player with outstanding technique and passing ability still has a big future in the game in the right environment - after all, he is only 24.

There will doubtless be clubs interested in signing Van de Beek, although United will need to save face in terms of the transfer fee, something which could prove a stumbling block.

Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)

Another player on this list who will still harbours international ambitions.

Lingard still remains highly regarded by Gareth Southgate with the England boss having started him twice this season - that's as many starts as he's had at Manchester United.

Surely the end is nigh for Lingard at Old Trafford - his contract runs out in the summer and he is clearly deemed surplus to requirements.

A regular starter during England's run to the semi-finals of the last World Cup, Lingard has shown what he can do further down the ranks. He was outstanding in the second half of last season when on loan at West Ham so there will be few doubts about his ability to play for a 'smaller' club than United.

Newcastle looks an obvious move which would guarantee game-time, plus plenty of cash, although Lingard should be aiming higher than a relegation scrap given what he achieved at West Ham.

Dwight Gayle (Newcastle)

Newcastle may well be eyeing up players on this list but one who could well leave St James' Park in the forthcoming transfer window is Gayle.

It's fair to say he's a player who has found goalscoring in the Premier League much harder than in the Championship and it may well be that clubs in the second tier will try to sign the 32-year-old in January.

Gayle proved his worth in that division in 2018/19 when scoring 24 Championship goals for West Brom. This season he's managed just four substitute appearances in the Premier League despite Newcastle's struggles which have seen them win just once in the first half of the campaign.

Even the arrival of Eddie Howe has not seen Gayle's fortunes improve. He may be contracted until the summer of 2024 but if Gayle wants to play, he'll need a move sooner rather than later.

Fabio Silva (Wolves)

There was plenty of surprise when Wolves splashed £36million on Fabio Silva in the summer of 2020, a club-record fee which made the player one of the world's most expensive teenagers.

Despite the money involved, it was clearly a signing made with one eye on the future but a long-term injury to Raul Jimenez saw Silva start regularly last season.

Frankly, he struggled and this term under new boss Bruno Lage opportunities have been severely limited with Silva's most minutes in any single Premier League game being just 16.

Still regularly being selected for Portugal under-21s, you wonder if the 19-year-old will see his development better served elsewhere.

It certainly wouldn't be a huge surprise to see the former Porto forward move on in the near future, most likely abroad.

READ MORE: Telles among five under-the-radar Premier League players who stepped up in December