New arrivals could change EPL relegation battle

Croatian international striker Andrej Kramaric looks set to join struggling Premier League Leicester, subject to a work permit being approved

According to reports, Sunderland are on the verge of signing former-England striker Jermain Defoe.

Leicester are also closing in on a new striking addition in Croatian hot shot Andrej Kramaric. Hull are now also being linked with a move for Blackburn striker Rudy Gestede.

It seems that teams at the bottom of the Premier League table are now looking to spend money in order to survive the drop this season.

Battle

This season’s battle at the bottom of the Premier League seems to involve eight or nine teams at the moment.

However, towards the end of the season those teams are likely to be narrowed down and the quality of the respective team’s strikeforce’s could just make the difference.

Goals

Some of the teams at the bottom already have players capable of finding the net on a regular basis. QPR have England hopeful Charlie Austin, who has scored 13 goals in the top-flight this season.

Only Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero and Chelsea’s Diego Costa have scored more goals in the Premier League. His goals inspired the Hoops to promotion to the Premier League and could just save Harry Redknapp’s team from the drop.

Burnley ‘s Danny Ings has also hit form, having now scored in consecutive games for the Clarets. The England under-21 was also a hit in the Championship, alongside Wales striker Sam Vokes who has recently returned from an injury lay-off.

Aston Villa are the lowest scorers in the top-flight with just 11 goals. However, at some point Belgium international striker Christian Benteke should start scoring goals as well. Once he does the Villans should be fine.

Everton may just be three points off the relegation zone, but they are just starting to hit form and in Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku they have a striker capable of finding the net on a regular basis. In international teammate Kevin Mirallas they have another player who will score goals.

West Brom have youngster Saido Berahino, who has found the net nine times this season in the league. The England under-21 international has been linked with a move in January, with the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool mooted as potential destinations.

Missing

A number of clubs do not seem to have a prolific striker in their squad and it seems those clubs are attempting to put that right in the transfer window, with some of the current strugglers looking at signing strikers who have a history of being prolific.

Leicester

Leicester’s David Nugent was prolific in the Championship, but has struggled to recreate the same scoring form in the top-flight. With the Foxes bottom of the table boss Nigel Pearson has attempted to put that right by bringing in Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric from Rijeka, in a deal worth around £7million.

The side from the Midlands are believed to have agreed a three and a half contract with the striker, but the player does not qualify for an automatic work permit. The FA has backed the move and that could be a deciding factor in the striker completing the move.

The 23-year-old has been prolific for Rijeka, scoring 28 goals in his last 31 appearances in all competitions for the Croatian team. If he adapts quickly to the English game then he could make the difference between the Foxes staying up and being relegated to the Championship.

Signing Kramaric will be a gamble because he is untried in the Premier League and the fee is a big one for a club like Leicester that is not accustomed to spending so much money on players. It will be worth it if he scores the goals to keep the Foxes in the top-flight.

Sunderland

Sunderland are expected to complete the signing of former-Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe from Toronto FC. The 32-year-old is more of a proven quantity in the Premier League than Kramaric and is 14^th on the Premier League top scorers list.

The striker will score goals in the top-flight and should prove to be a good signing for the team from the north east.

Hull

Hull could be without first choice strike-partnership Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez for the next six weeks and are being linked with a move for Rudy Gestede. However, it seems that the Tigers may dip into the loan market instead.

Relegation

The fight for survival is a tough one. Burnley and QPR are odds of 4/5 to be relegated, while Leicester are odds of 10/11. Hull are odds of 13/8, Crystal Palace are odds of 2/ 1 and Aston Villa are odds of 11/4 for the drop.

The new additions in the January transfer window could have a major say in which team survives the drop and which team is playing in the second tier next season.

Who will be the best January signing?