By . Simon Jones . This is the Transfer Column, where Sportsmail delivers the very latest news, gossip and rumours from around the football world three times a week. In today's column, Jose Mourinho weighs up a selection of strikers, Manchester United look at Stefan Velkov. Jose Mourinho's protestations that Chelsea would not sign a striker in January have been falling on deaf ears around Europe. Mourinho and his scouting team have been busy since October weighing up potential targets and the same names remain at the forefront of his thinking: Wayne Rooney, Radamel Falcao, Edinson Cavani, Hulk, Jackson Martinez and Christian Benteke. Big moves: Mourinho is planning a big move for a striker, with Falcao (left) and Edinson Cavani (right) touted . Goal scorer: Falcao joined Monaco in the summer but could already be on his way out . Tuesday's defeat to Sunderland underlined Mourinho's summer assessment of his squad that they needed more ammunition to dominate at the top level. A deal for England striker Wayne Rooney was his ideal but the state of that deal remains the same - Manchester United won't sell. The others though are all achievable in January, albeit at a premium price. Monaco have insisted Falcao is not for sale but the player, watched personally by Mourinho in November, is keen to move to a more competitive competition. He was bought for £50million and Monaco would want a profit. Cavani is also interested in a move to the Premier League. Life with Paris St Germain is fine, even in the shadow of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but again the Premier League or La Liga is the ideal destination. Manchester United like Cavani too and a deal in January for either them or Chelsea would need to hit the £54.3million mark that PSG paid to Napoli in August. Chelsea discussed and bid for Hulk in the summer, offering around £34m to take him from Zenit and the Brazilian has again asked to leave this week. United watched Hulk, among others, against Austria Vienna on December 11 but Chelsea have a good relationship with Zenit. A similar bid in January could be enough. Funds: Porto need to raise funds again, and Jackson Martinez could be out the door . Incredible: Hulk was a Chelsea target in the summer and the striker asked to leave Zenit this week . Porto's Jackson Martinez came on as a substitute for Colombian teammate Falcao in the game Mourinho attended against Belgium in November. His club Porto need to raise funds again following their exit from the Champions League, they want £35million for a 27-year-old who Liverpool considered three years ago when Martinez was playing for Chiapas in Mexico. The question is whether he is good enough quality. He has scored 13 goals in 19 games for Porto this season but only one came in the Champions League - the 2-1 home defeat to Atletico Madrid. Perhaps, purely coincidentally, Aston Villa striker Benteke also played in the international Mourinho attended in November. The Villa man has struggled this season after exploding on to the Premier League scene and has been criticised by the likes of Dean Saunders for not working hard enough. However, some would argue he hasn't had the service and would profit alongside better players. Villa would be vulnerable to offers around £30million. Chelsea home improvements are not just focused on attack, meanwhile, as they look to add a defender and a midfielder. As reported by MailOnline, Fredy Guarin's agent has confirmed that Chelsea have held talks about signing his client from Inter Milan and explained the two clubs are working on an agreement. However, Marcelo Ferreyra, Guarin's agent, told Tutto Mercato that it wasn't done and dusted just yet. He said: 'I'm currently in Milan and I can confirm that Chelsea want to sign Guarin. Nearly there: Midfielder Guarin could be on his way to Stamford Bridge in January . Flying high: Chelsea are hoping to complete a move for French defender Kurt Zouma . Now the British are talking with Inter to try to find an agreement. Only after that we will speak about Fredy's situation. A few days ago we also went to London with Inter officials to talk to Chelsea. Now we need to know what the sporting project is at Chelsea because we are not rushing into anything, we don't just accept any team that come forward. 'Fredy is happy at Inter and he just wants to make the secure choice.' The next target will be for Chelsea to wrap up a deal for French centre-back Kurt Zouma. The young St Etienne defender is serving a ten match ban after being sent off against Sochaux but Chelsea are close to agreeing a deal for around £12million ahead of competition from Arsenal, Manchester City and United. Manchester United are taking a close look at highly-rated Bulgarian defender Stefan Velkov. Velkov, who turned 17 last Thursday on December 12, is at Carrington training with United's U21 squad in the hope of impressing staff and securing a deal. United face competition from Juventus and Inter Milan who are also keen to take a look at the 6ft 3ins teenager. Despite his tender years, Velkov has played 17 first team games this season for his club Slavia Sofia and has already been called up to the Bulgaria national squad. Velkov is a stylish centre-back who is strong in the air, he has represented his country at U16 level up to the U21s where he has been capped five times and scored one goal. Potential: Stefan Velkov (right) is being looked at by Manchester United as a future prospect . United are determined to improve the calibre of youngsters coming through their ranks and want to step up recruitment from abroad. Scouts have also been in Morocco recently to watch some of their young stars from the U17 World Cup. Ironically, Morocco international and Roma centre-back Mehdi Benatia is another player who has been added to David Moyes's lengthy scouting list ahead of January. Born in France, the 26-year-old friend of City's Samir Nasri, joined Roma from Udinese last summer for £12million. Rangers' young goalkeeper Robby McCrorie is drawing in the scouts from south of the border. Manchester United, Manchester City and Sunderland are all chasing the 14-year-old starlet who has already trained with Rangers' first team. McCrorie was outstanding in the Victory Shield for Scotland U16s, and has impressed scouts with a string of top performances. Wigan are considering a move for Sunderland striker Connor Wickham as they face up to the possibility of losing Nick Powell back to Manchester United after Christmas. Wickham is available and has been on loan at Sheffield Wednesday but a few Championship clubs, including Leeds United and Derby, are weighing up offers. Strikeforce: Wigan are considering a move for Sunderland striker Wickham, currently on loan at Sheffield Wednesday . Wigan's budget may help give the advantage to Uwe Rosler who spoke to United last week about trying to keep Powell. Manager David Moyes rates Powell and would prefer to see him step up a level to see how he handles the Premier League. Crystal Palace and Cardiff would certainly be interested in the 19-year-old although the latter may depend on whether Malky Mackay stays. Palace, meanwhile, are maintaining a watching brief on Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi as he returns to fitness. They have also held discussions about a possible deal for Ghana defender Sami Inkoom, as have Norwich. Inkoom, 24, formerly of Dnipro, confirmed: 'There is strong interest and we have begun negotiations with Norwich and Palace.' Arsenal will send scouts to watch Diego Costa this week but face a difficult task to prise the 25-year-old away in January. Liverpool failed with an offer for Costa last summer and will be interested to see how matters unfold this window with Manchester United also among the strikers admirers. Atletico re-negotiated his contract, doubled his wages and have a £32m buy-out clause which could easily be met but the Spanish side will more likely deal in the summer. Catching the eye: Arsenal are scouting Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa, who has a £32million buy-out clause . Newcastle, who are scouting in France at Nice and Rennes today, are very keen on Olympiakos striker Konstantinos Mitrogolou. The Greece international has been linked with Liverpool but they have reservations amid their ongoing negotiations with Mohamed Salah at Basle and new contract talks for Luis Suarez. The 25-year-old has scored 21 goals in all competitions this season and is keen to move to England despite the tantalising prospect of facing Manchester United in the Champions League. Greece's economy means a deal can be struck at a reasonable price. Birmingham have signed Fulham's 16-year-old midfielder Wes McDonald on a two year deal. Liverpool's latest wing prospect Ryan Kent has signed his first professional contract with the club. The Oldham-born teenager is widely tipped to make it at the top. Leeds United are stepping up their bid to bring Max Gradel back to Elland Road but face competition from Germany. Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, who are battling to keep hold of winger Kevin Volland, are among those interested in Gradel, 26, who has battled back to fitness following a cruciate ligament injury last season. Return? Gradel moved to Saint-Etienne in 2011, and has scored 10 goals in 53 games . Watford manager Guiseppe Sannino may look, unsurprisingly to the Italian market next month for some quick recruits. Midfielder Alexander Merkel and forward Mathias Ranegie at Udinese are both runoured to be following Sannino to Vicarage Road. JAPAN international midfielder Hiroki Yamada is training with Celtic this week. The 24-year-old plays with Jubilo Iwata in the J-League. Napoli are preparing for the departure of loanee Pepe Reina by scouring Europe for alternatives. Newcastle's Tim Krul, Stoke's Asmir Begovic and Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois are all possibles on their wishlist should Reina opt to join Barcelona instead once his loan from Anfield has finished. Bolton are looking to agree a £1million deal with Turkish side Bursaspor for David Ngog next month. The 24-year-old was a target for Swansea in the summer but has struggled to hit form at Bolton this season and Dougie Freedman is not averse to raising funds to strengthen his squad elsewhere. One familiar name attracting interest already at Bolton is young 15-year-old goalkeeper Will Jaaskelainen, son of Jussi. Cash in: Bolton are looking to raise funds from the sale of David Ngog (left), who has hit form this month . He starred for Bolton in their penalty shoot-out exit to Sheffield United in the FA Youth Cup and caught the attention of scouts in attendance. Bolton coach David Lee said: 'Will is still 15 years of age. It was an unbelievable experience for him to play at the Reebok for 120 minutes and then face a shootout. He came back in disappointed he hadn’t saved any penalties and that says a lot about his character.'
Chelsea striker hit list includes Rooney, Falcao, Cavani, Hulk and Martinez .
Blues also close to signing Fredy Guarin from Inter Milan .
Man United set to look at Bulgarian 17-year-old defender Stefan Velkov .
Arsenal scouts watch Atletico hitman Diego Costa .
Napoli could chase Tim Krul, Asmir Begovic or Thibaut Courtois to replace Pepe Reina .
By . Simon Jones . This is the Transfer Column, where Sportsmail delivers the very latest news, gossip and rumours from around the football world three times a week. In today's column, Jose Mourinho weighs up a selection of strikers, Manchester United look at Stefan Velkov. Jose Mourinho's protestations that Chelsea would not sign a striker in January have been falling on deaf ears around Europe. Mourinho and his scouting team have been busy since October weighing up potential targets and the same names remain at the forefront of his thinking: Wayne Rooney, Radamel Falcao, Edinson Cavani, Hulk, Jackson Martinez and Christian Benteke. Big moves: Mourinho is planning a big move for a striker, with Falcao (left) and Edinson Cavani (right) touted . Goal scorer: Falcao joined Monaco in the summer but could already be on his way out . Tuesday's defeat to Sunderland underlined Mourinho's summer assessment of his squad that they needed more ammunition to dominate at the top level. A deal for England striker Wayne Rooney was his ideal but the state of that deal remains the same - Manchester United won't sell. The others though are all achievable in January, albeit at a premium price. Monaco have insisted Falcao is not for sale but the player, watched personally by Mourinho in November, is keen to move to a more competitive competition. He was bought for £50million and Monaco would want a profit. Cavani is also interested in a move to the Premier League. Life with Paris St Germain is fine, even in the shadow of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but again the Premier League or La Liga is the ideal destination. Manchester United like Cavani too and a deal in January for either them or Chelsea would need to hit the £54.3million mark that PSG paid to Napoli in August. Chelsea discussed and bid for Hulk in the summer, offering around £34m to take him from Zenit and the Brazilian has again asked to leave this week. United watched Hulk, among others, against Austria Vienna on December 11 but Chelsea have a good relationship with Zenit. A similar bid in January could be enough. Funds: Porto need to raise funds again, and Jackson Martinez could be out the door . Incredible: Hulk was a Chelsea target in the summer and the striker asked to leave Zenit this week . Porto's Jackson Martinez came on as a substitute for Colombian teammate Falcao in the game Mourinho attended against Belgium in November. His club Porto need to raise funds again following their exit from the Champions League, they want £35million for a 27-year-old who Liverpool considered three years ago when Martinez was playing for Chiapas in Mexico. The question is whether he is good enough quality. He has scored 13 goals in 19 games for Porto this season but only one came in the Champions League - the 2-1 home defeat to Atletico Madrid. Perhaps, purely coincidentally, Aston Villa striker Benteke also played in the international Mourinho attended in November. The Villa man has struggled this season after exploding on to the Premier League scene and has been criticised by the likes of Dean Saunders for not working hard enough. However, some would argue he hasn't had the service and would profit alongside better players. Villa would be vulnerable to offers around £30million. Chelsea home improvements are not just focused on attack, meanwhile, as they look to add a defender and a midfielder. As reported by MailOnline, Fredy Guarin's agent has confirmed that Chelsea have held talks about signing his client from Inter Milan and explained the two clubs are working on an agreement. However, Marcelo Ferreyra, Guarin's agent, told Tutto Mercato that it wasn't done and dusted just yet. He said: 'I'm currently in Milan and I can confirm that Chelsea want to sign Guarin. Nearly there: Midfielder Guarin could be on his way to Stamford Bridge in January . Flying high: Chelsea are hoping to complete a move for French defender Kurt Zouma . Now the British are talking with Inter to try to find an agreement. Only after that we will speak about Fredy's situation. A few days ago we also went to London with Inter officials to talk to Chelsea. Now we need to know what the sporting project is at Chelsea because we are not rushing into anything, we don't just accept any team that come forward. 'Fredy is happy at Inter and he just wants to make the secure choice.' The next target will be for Chelsea to wrap up a deal for French centre-back Kurt Zouma. The young St Etienne defender is serving a ten match ban after being sent off against Sochaux but Chelsea are close to agreeing a deal for around £12million ahead of competition from Arsenal, Manchester City and United. Manchester United are taking a close look at highly-rated Bulgarian defender Stefan Velkov. Velkov, who turned 17 last Thursday on December 12, is at Carrington training with United's U21 squad in the hope of impressing staff and securing a deal. United face competition from Juventus and Inter Milan who are also keen to take a look at the 6ft 3ins teenager. Despite his tender years, Velkov has played 17 first team games this season for his club Slavia Sofia and has already been called up to the Bulgaria national squad. Velkov is a stylish centre-back who is strong in the air, he has represented his country at U16 level up to the U21s where he has been capped five times and scored one goal. Potential: Stefan Velkov (right) is being looked at by Manchester United as a future prospect . United are determined to improve the calibre of youngsters coming through their ranks and want to step up recruitment from abroad. Scouts have also been in Morocco recently to watch some of their young stars from the U17 World Cup. Ironically, Morocco international and Roma centre-back Mehdi Benatia is another player who has been added to David Moyes's lengthy scouting list ahead of January. Born in France, the 26-year-old friend of City's Samir Nasri, joined Roma from Udinese last summer for £12million. Rangers' young goalkeeper Robby McCrorie is drawing in the scouts from south of the border. Manchester United, Manchester City and Sunderland are all chasing the 14-year-old starlet who has already trained with Rangers' first team. McCrorie was outstanding in the Victory Shield for Scotland U16s, and has impressed scouts with a string of top performances. Wigan are considering a move for Sunderland striker Connor Wickham as they face up to the possibility of losing Nick Powell back to Manchester United after Christmas. Wickham is available and has been on loan at Sheffield Wednesday but a few Championship clubs, including Leeds United and Derby, are weighing up offers. Strikeforce: Wigan are considering a move for Sunderland striker Wickham, currently on loan at Sheffield Wednesday . Wigan's budget may help give the advantage to Uwe Rosler who spoke to United last week about trying to keep Powell. Manager David Moyes rates Powell and would prefer to see him step up a level to see how he handles the Premier League. Crystal Palace and Cardiff would certainly be interested in the 19-year-old although the latter may depend on whether Malky Mackay stays. Palace, meanwhile, are maintaining a watching brief on Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi as he returns to fitness. They have also held discussions about a possible deal for Ghana defender Sami Inkoom, as have Norwich. Inkoom, 24, formerly of Dnipro, confirmed: 'There is strong interest and we have begun negotiations with Norwich and Palace.' Arsenal will send scouts to watch Diego Costa this week but face a difficult task to prise the 25-year-old away in January. Liverpool failed with an offer for Costa last summer and will be interested to see how matters unfold this window with Manchester United also among the strikers admirers. Atletico re-negotiated his contract, doubled his wages and have a £32m buy-out clause which could easily be met but the Spanish side will more likely deal in the summer. Catching the eye: Arsenal are scouting Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa, who has a £32million buy-out clause . Newcastle, who are scouting in France at Nice and Rennes today, are very keen on Olympiakos striker Konstantinos Mitrogolou. The Greece international has been linked with Liverpool but they have reservations amid their ongoing negotiations with Mohamed Salah at Basle and new contract talks for Luis Suarez. The 25-year-old has scored 21 goals in all competitions this season and is keen to move to England despite the tantalising prospect of facing Manchester United in the Champions League. Greece's economy means a deal can be struck at a reasonable price. Birmingham have signed Fulham's 16-year-old midfielder Wes McDonald on a two year deal. Liverpool's latest wing prospect Ryan Kent has signed his first professional contract with the club. The Oldham-born teenager is widely tipped to make it at the top. Leeds United are stepping up their bid to bring Max Gradel back to Elland Road but face competition from Germany. Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, who are battling to keep hold of winger Kevin Volland, are among those interested in Gradel, 26, who has battled back to fitness following a cruciate ligament injury last season. Return? Gradel moved to Saint-Etienne in 2011, and has scored 10 goals in 53 games . Watford manager Guiseppe Sannino may look, unsurprisingly to the Italian market next month for some quick recruits. Midfielder Alexander Merkel and forward Mathias Ranegie at Udinese are both runoured to be following Sannino to Vicarage Road. JAPAN international midfielder Hiroki Yamada is training with Celtic this week. The 24-year-old plays with Jubilo Iwata in the J-League. Napoli are preparing for the departure of loanee Pepe Reina by scouring Europe for alternatives. Newcastle's Tim Krul, Stoke's Asmir Begovic and Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois are all possibles on their wishlist should Reina opt to join Barcelona instead once his loan from Anfield has finished. Bolton are looking to agree a £1million deal with Turkish side Bursaspor for David Ngog next month. The 24-year-old was a target for Swansea in the summer but has struggled to hit form at Bolton this season and Dougie Freedman is not averse to raising funds to strengthen his squad elsewhere. One familiar name attracting interest already at Bolton is young 15-year-old goalkeeper Will Jaaskelainen, son of Jussi. Cash in: Bolton are looking to raise funds from the sale of David Ngog (left), who has hit form this month . He starred for Bolton in their penalty shoot-out exit to Sheffield United in the FA Youth Cup and caught the attention of scouts in attendance. Bolton coach David Lee said: 'Will is still 15 years of age. It was an unbelievable experience for him to play at the Reebok for 120 minutes and then face a shootout. He came back in disappointed he hadn’t saved any penalties and that says a lot about his character.'
Manchester United look at Stefan Velkov. Jose Rooney, Radamel Falcao, Edinson Cavani, Hulk, sent off against Sochaux but Chelsea are close to competition from Arsenal, Manchester City and at highly-rated Bulgarian defender Stefan Velkov. Juventus and Inter Milan who are also keen to scouting Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa, who of loanee Pepe Reina by scouring Europe for alternatives. Newcastle's Tim Krul, Stoke's Asmir Begovic and Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois are all