Transfer Market

While the players head off for some more or less deserved rest and relaxation next week, the Bundesliga's managers will start trying to acquire the final piece (or pieces) needed to put together a dream season.

This year, business in the winter transfer window could be brisk. Not only are there at least eight teams with reason to believe they might have a shot at claiming the league crown, but the rapidly approaching World Cup also gives players who haven't been getting minutes on the pitch a big motivation to engineer a move elsewhere.

But what holes need filling in the Bundesliga's elite squads? Here's an overview of the current top-five teams.

Leverkusen and Schalke

League leaders Leverkusen have yet to lose a match and are strong from front to back. But they've slipped a bit in the past two weeks, dropping points against a mediocre Hanover and cellar-dwellers Hertha Berlin.

Jupp Heynckes - rightly - has put that down to lack of experience.

“It's great what these young players have accomplished, but they've got a lot to learn,” Heynckes told reporters after Leverkusen's 2-all draw in Berlin. “A cleverer team wouldn't have conceded the [last-second] equalizer.”

The average age of Leverkusen's starting eleven in the German capital was 23.4 years - and that's including 36-year-old defender Sami Hyypia. In particular, the side has looked vulnerable when the Finnish veteran or his defensive partner Manuel Friedrich haven't been on the pitch.

So Leverkusen will likely try to add a veteran central defender. German international Christoph Metzelder, who's looking to leave Real Madrid, would fit the bill. Another option might be Arne Friedrich, if Hertha, facing the prospect of relegation, want to cut salary costs.

Schalke are an equally young side, but coach Felix Magath doesn't see that as a problem. And why should he, after the Royal Blues out-hustled and out-muscled lead pack rivals Werder on their way to a win in Bremen this past weekend?

Magath insists that he's not after the Bundesliga crown this season.

“We and our fans are only allowed to dream of the title,” Magath told reporters after the Bremen match. “Bayern and Leverkusen are allowed to talk about it.”

Don't believe a word of that. Schalke's slightly soft spot is attack - they've scored the fewest goals of the top five. They could make a move for Freiburg's Mohamadou Idrissou.

The Cameroon striker has refused to extend his contract with the Southwest club, who'll be tempted to get what they can for him now instead of seeing him walk for free in the summer. Schalke expressed interest in Idrissou earlier in the season, and Magath seems to feel that Kevin Kuranyi, despite his current form, is too expensive.

A deal with Freiburg would give the Royal Blues some extra firepower for a title run while allowing the debt-ridden club to shed Kuranyi's expensive contract in the future.

Bayern Munich

The Bavarian giants have finally begun living up to expectations in recent weeks, so some say they don't need to make any winter moves. Don't bet on it.

Slowly but surely, Bayern have undergone a transition from their traditional 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3, which better utilizes the talents of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben. The problem is that the “Robbery” duo is so injury-prone that they've only played together four times this season.

It would be logical, then, for Munich to pursue a winger of comparable caliber to serve as a complement and understudy for their two speed demons. Liverpool's Ryan Babel would fit the bill perfectly. The Dutch international has been struggling to get a game for the Reds and is surely eager to log some minutes to stay in form for the Oranje before the World Cup.

Bayern's change in approach under coach Louis van Gaal and the emergence of Mario Gomez as their number-one striker also mean Munich need to unload center forwards. Luca Toni has fallen out with van Gaal and is surely gone as soon as Bayern find a club that is willing to pay a good chunk of his huge salary.

But Bayern will also be under pressure to move Miroslav Klose - who has yet to score in the Bundesliga, but who is still likely to figure in the German national side's summer plans.

Since Klose has never shown any desire to ply his trade abroad, that could mean Bayern are forced to pass him on to one of their Northern German rivals.

Werder Bremen and Hamburg

Bremen could have taken an early lead against Schalke, were it not for a pair of blown chances by striker Hugo Almeida. It's hard to imagine that fact went lost on Werder coach Thomas Schaaf.

Bremen have had success in bringing back prodigal sons in the past, most recently with Claudio Pizarro. Why shouldn't Miro, who wore the green and white from 2004 to 2007 and became the league's leading scorer, have the same success as Pizza?

On the other hand, Werder Bremen might be content with beefing up their midfield - Hertha's Patrick Ebert is one name often mention - and holding out hope that Pizarro doesn't suffer a repeat of the injury that sidelined him this fall.

In that case, Klose could be heading to Hamburg. Rumors to that effect are currently the most hotly debated topic in on-line transfer chat forums, and Klose's former teammate Ze Roberto has said that he'd like to see him on the River Elbe.

Hamburg, whose hot start stalled because of injuries up front, could use a relatively robust center forward. And in Paolo Guerrero, they also have a former Bayern striker whom they could offer, plus some cash, in exchange.

Whether a Klose transfer within the Bundesliga comes to pass could well depend on how confident Bayern feel about their recent renaissance and, conversely, how willing they are to strengthen potential competitors for the title.

Whatever the decision, football fans are going to have a lot of news to follow in late December and January.

Author: Jefferson Chase
Editor: Matt Hermann