More names

Today`s crop of transfer rumours feature (mostly) a bunch of Premiership players who are looking to move on from their current clubs.

Top of the list is Kevin Nolan, a long term wearer of a Bolton shirt, having been there since 1999. He is said to be unhappy at the departure of Sam Allardyce, but the denials of wanting to leave have already been issued in the press, making this rumour tenuous at the moment. He has been a good servant to Bolton, netting 35 goals in his time and providing a good spine to their midfield in over 200 appearances.

If Nolan did decide on a move there would be a number of clubs vying for his services and Birmingham would need to offer a very good personal deal. The immediate issue would be whether he would be willing to leave a club that is fighting for a European place to go to a newly promoted one.

Rumour machine rating: low-medium without more decent evidence.

Richard Dunne is another name in the melting pot, although on the face of things it seems more likely that Sylvain Distin will be leaving Eastlands, being a free agent at the end of the season.

Dunne would be a good acquisition if he could be persuaded to St Andrew`s. Compared to the current central defence he has more speed and would be excellent captain material for the current campaign.

The wage demands of both Dunne and Distin would be high, but it`s a possibility that either of these could be under the scrutiny of the Blues scouting system.

Rumour machine rating: medium.

Another defender who may be leaving his current club is Phillipe Senderos. The Swiss defender has struggled to make a major breakthrough into the Arsenal squad, managing only 39 appearances since 2003.

Although a member of the Swiss World Cup squad that exited the tournament without conceding a goal in open play, many people need to be convinced of his abilities at the moment.

Rumour machine rating: low.

Another midfielder whose name has been mentioned in passing is Michael Brown, but this name has been met with some dismay. Brown`s disciplinary record is poor, but unlike some of the bad boys with ability, such as Joey Barton, he does not make up for it with skill on the pitch.

Rumour machine rating: low (please)

J Lloyd Samuel is set to leave Aston Villa and Blues are said to be interested, along with West Ham, Bolton and Middlesbrough. He is a former England U21, but has made only two starts this season and will be departing under the Bosman ruling.

Never a huge favourite with the Villa faithful, it would be interesting to see whether JLS would be accepted at St Andrew`s and indeed whether he is significantly better than current left back Mat Sadler.

Rumour machine rating: medium.

Finally, Scunthorpe`s Billy Sharp has also been mentioned. Although the Iron are going to be looking to stay in the Championship next season they would probably accept what they deemed to be a "decent offer" for their very successful striker.

Sharp has scored 53 goals in 80 appearances for Scunthorpe, giving him a very good goals per game ratio. Described by many as a "tap-in merchant" he may be a little too similar to DJ Campbell and is completely unproven at this level, but he certainly fulfils the criteria of young and hungry.

There are likely to be a long queue of clubs wanting to add Sharp to their squad but Birmingham could probably come up with the right offer if they decided they really wanted him.

Rumour machine rating: low-medium.

This is only the start, but Birmingham may want to be quick off the mark in the transfer market to steal a march on whichever team comes up via the playoff route.

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