11 EFL players who could be on the move in January

For all the best-laid plans a club may have in approaching a transfer window, such is the natural food chain, you are always at the whim of those above you.

The English Football League has long been a hunting ground for Premier League outfits searching for value in an inflated market and while the financial gap between clubs is huge, the gulf in talent is often not as wide.

There will undoubtedly be interest in the 72's leading talent and that can have a knock-on effect whereby Championship teams look to strengthen by glancing down to League One or League Two.

BBC Sport takes a look at 11 talents through the divisions who could be on the move this month.

• 'Absolutely pivotal' - Championship transfer window preview

Anis Mehmeti and Zak Vyner (Bristol City)

It is a situation that head coach Gerhard Struber has been sporadically addressing as best he can - Mehmeti and Vyner are out of contract in the summer and while discussions have taken place, there has been little sign of progress on either front.

City must toy with the idea of selling one (or potentially both) or accept they will lose them for nothing at the end of the season. There is also the consideration that a reasonable fee may help fund needs elsewhere in the squad.

Only Southampton's Adam Armstrong (11 goals and four assists) has more goal involvements than Mehmeti's 14 (eight goals and six assists), and while the 24-year-old Albanian's decision-making still can frustrate, his overall development since signing from Wycombe in 2023 is impossible to ignore.

Outside of loan stints, Bristol City is all Vyner has known as a professional, making 232 league appearances – a Championship record for the club – and, as he turns 29 in May, this next contract could represent the centre-back's last truly lucrative deal.

Does that mean staying at Ashton Gate or trying something new and somewhere different? Derby and Wrexham tried and failed in the summer and given his pedigree, others will surely be tempted.

Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough)

Having successfully kept Hackney over the summer after he turned down a £20m move to Ipswich, the noise around his future is only going to intensify again.

He has firmly established himself as one of the best central midfielders in the Championship and someone who continues to grow and enhance his game.

Hackney does a bit of everything - although the defensive side of his game does need work - and is the all-action hometown midfield hero who Boro would dearly love to build their promotion drive around.

But money talks and there is an element of a countdown to this given Hackney has 18 months left on his contract.

Can Boro present a solid enough case to the 23-year-old to stick around and earn promotion (and a healthy extension) or is the promise of a Premier League move now too hard to resist?

West Ham, Crystal Palace and Everton have been mentioned as potential destinations, while there is the obvious Wolves link, although you would imagine Steve Gibson would do everything and anything in his power not to let that happen.

Josh Sargent (Norwich)

Sargent has a home World Cup on the horizon and desperately wants to be part of the USA squad, as his less-than-stellar record for the national team does not make him a lock for selection.

However, unlike the summer where he could be advertised as a 15-goals-in-33-games striker for an average Championship club, the last three months may have slightly altered that pitch.

After six goals in his first five games, Sargent has found the target twice in his following 18 appearances and it begs the question whether his value has been damaged to the point that Norwich may not think it feasible to sell.

The Canaries are in a relegation battle and need all the help they can get.

Then again, a healthy-enough fee for the 25-year-old could aid reinforcements elsewhere, plus Jovon Makama's development has indicated Sargent is not as indispensable as previous considered.

As professional an attitude he may display, all signs point towards a player needing a move, which may prove to be the best conclusion for all.

Charlie Hughes (Hull)

Given his performances and the way he plays the game, it is hard, at this stage at least, not to see Hughes playing in the Premier League one day.

That could be for the Tigers who really need to be taken seriously as a promotion contender given they lie only three points below second-placed Ipswich.

At 22, he has exceeded 110 appearances across League One and the Championship and operates very much as a defender with far more years on the clock.

Physically powerful and with real presence, there is a touch of the old-school intimidation factor mixed with some very modern traits rooted in his time in Manchester City and Liverpool's academies.

Comfortable in possession and controlling out of it, there is a good reason Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic has quoted figures of £20m for his central defender.

While not in the strongest of financial positions, what perhaps stands Hull in good stead is spending so much on a Championship defender does not tend to be on the list of too many Premier League club's priorities at this time of year.

Imran Louza (Watford)

There is a school of thought that says Louza is the best player in the Championship.

An elegant and classy controller at the heart of midfield, his passing range can be simply exquisite when he is on song and, with respect to Watford's forwards, putting better strikers in front of him should only draw even more out of the Moroccan.

At 26, the window to realise any Premier League ambitions is narrowing and there is a nagging concern that as talented as he is, the additional pace and power may neuter his top-end attributes.

But Lokomotiv Moscow were mentioned as a potential destination in the summer, amid reports of Louza handing in a transfer request, and he would surely excel in most top-flight leagues.

Watford's charge up the table may have calmed any immediate restless feet on the player's part, but there are few genuine match-winners of his capability lurking in the Championship.

Gus Hamer (Sheffield United)

There are parallels to be drawn with Louza as there was significant speculation over Hamer in the summer – Leeds United and PSV Eindhoven were touted – but he remained in Sheffield and after a dodgy start, the Blades are increasingly looking a credible play-off challenger.

Hamer has been unable to match his performance levels of 2023-24 and 2024-25, but Sheffield United appear determined to keep hold of the midfielder with Chris Wilder wanting to extend the 18 months remaining on his deal.

With a contract on countdown, his value starts to rapidly decrease after this window and it is hard to see him signing anything unless they become a Premier League club once again – something that clearly will not be apparent until May.

That creates circumstances beneficial for an opportunistic club, with money to spend, looking to add an established creator who can bring a certain x-factor.

It is hard not to think Sheffield United's resolve, and Wilder's powers of persuasion, will be tested over the month ahead.

Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff)

Even the most creative of agents could not fabricate interest from Bayern Munich without it being laughed out of town, unless there was significant truth to it, which alone speaks volumes for Lawlor's progress.

Given the Wales international's rise, you would simply not be doing your job as a scout if you did not take an extensive look at the 20-year-old.

League One has proved a necessary introduction to help develop the physical side of his game, as ability-wise, particularly in terms of his passing from deep, Lawlor's talents have been long forecast.

Cardiff head coach Brian Barry-Murphy and Wales boss Craig Bellamy have highlighted the defender's attitude, composure and how quickly he adapts to any given situation.

Minutes are crucial for the teenager and Lawlor would surely not want to lose the momentum he now has behind him by making a move that could impact his game time.

Likewise, Cardiff would be reluctant to lose an integral piece of a squad gunning for promotion, but a step further up the pyramid seems inevitable.

Lorent Tolaj (Plymouth)

It has not been a pleasant return to League One for Argyle who not so long ago had realistic ambitions to establish themselves in the Championship only for the bottom to fall out of their previously sound recruitment model.

Amid overspending on various imports who simply have not justified the expenditure, let alone come close to replicating those they were signed to replace, Tolaj has been one of the few beacons of hope.

The Swiss was released by Brighton in 2023 and has rebuilt his career at Aldershot, Port Vale and now at Home Park where he has scored 13 times for a team struggling at the wrong end of the table.

Still only 24, there is plenty of room for further development and with the sheer volume of Championship clubs in need of a striker, Tolaj seems a common-sense consideration.

An instinctive finisher with unique penalty box nous, the only real sticking point would be his price given he only signed in the summer on a four-year contract.

Leo Castledine (Huddersfield)

In an inconsistent season for the Terriers, Castledine's class has been a constant and while there is no indication parent club Chelsea want to sell the 20-year-old, they may look to reassign him in the Championship to increase his challenge.

Castledine has 10 league goals from midfield and it is the manner of how he has tended to score them that catches the eye - free-kicks, volleys, bursts from deep or wide areas, accompanied by a flurry of stepovers.

He is, as a number of Huddersfield fans have remarked, effectively holding his own goal of the season contest.

Having appeared in 26 of a possible 30 games since arriving, Chelsea will surely be pleased with how he has been used in West Yorkshire.

But for teams seeking something extra in the final third and not willing to spend too much, a loan approach for Castledine - who, unlike many youngsters from top-flight academies, provides proof of concept - makes a lot of sense.

Matthew Dennis (Notts County)

The Magpies currently have two strikers inside League Two's top 10 goalscorers in Dennis (10) and Alassana Jatta (8).

Director of football Richard Montague, who has been here before with Macaulay Langstaff, has cannily got ahead of the story by laying the situation out plain and clear: "In an ideal world we keep them, but it's also a reality for every club that if you receive a bid that far exceeds your valuation of a player then fair enough.

"If we thought that there was an opportunity to increase our promotion chance, we wouldn't rule anything out."

It is smart messaging in preparing fans for a disappointing reality which could turn into a positive, while for potential suitors, to paraphrase: "You want them, then you will have to pay for them".

Dennis only signed from Carlisle in June, but his impact has been instant and impressive, scoring goals with right and left foot and operating both in wide areas and through the middle.

He appeals ever so slightly more than Jatta simply in age – 23 versus 26 – and because his all-round game seems a little more varied.