Let's assume that Michael Owen is going nowhere in January. It might be a stretch, but let's begin with that assumption nonetheless.

Firstly, it's highly unlikely that he would play Champions' League football wherever he went, if he chose to make tracks in the winter transfer period. None of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are keen on him, especially when they can get him for nothing in July. And he's obviously not leaving the Premier League again.

Secondly, he clearly feels a certain degree of loyalty to Newcastle. At least he should. Either way, he's scoring goals for the club again. And if he continues in doing so, he'll leave the Magpies in a respectable position at the end of the season. Loyalty repaid.

If Martin O'Neill really wants the 28-year-old (and it says here he does) he can get him then. Get him on a song. But that will be a move for next season, and there's half of this one still to play.

The Aston Villa manager rather stumbled upon his current, successful squadsheet. Steve Sidwell was acquired to replace the departing Gareth Barry in midfield. Barry, as we know, did not depart. Instead, he formed a formidable trio in the centre of the park with both Sidwell and the veteran Stilyan Petrov.

John Carew's ill-advised night on the town forced O'Neill into playing an attacking threesome of Ashley Young, James Milner and Gabriel Agbonlahor. His subsequent injury prolonged the experiment, and it has been extremely effective for over a month.

Still, there are two areas where O'Neill knows he must improve. He cannot get by with his current defensive corps, at least not for long. And he needs another out-and-out striker, preferably the prototypical centre-forward.

In that regard, he'll surely have his eye on four players over the next few weeks. Yes, Emile Heskey is one of them. But the England forward is being overpriced by Wigan and has done absolutely nothing of note since making his most recent international appearance in October. Admittedly, Heskey might be the ideal foil for a speedy secondary striker such as Agbonlahor. But he's not the best on the market at present.

For similar money, O'Neill could bring in a substantially younger player with a better scoring touch. Dean Ashton is set to be sold next month, despite Gianfranco Zola's remarks to the contrary. The only knock against the 25-year-old (aside from his appallingly-colored hair) is a long history of injuries. The latest one has kept him out of the West Ham lineup for most of the current season. And although he made 35 appearances for the club last term, he started only about 10 of them with a clean bill of health. He still scored 11 goals. At 6-foot-1, he fits O'Neill's blueprint for a centre-forward and is two-footed with a good presence in the air to boot. He's a poor man's Alan Shearer.

Jermain Defoe and Vagner Love will also be available for around 10M-pounds. Defoe is likely to exit Fratton Park as part of Portsmouth's sudden fire-sale. He has notched 15 goals in 28 Premier League appearances for Pompey and will be pursued by Harry Redknapp at Tottenham Hotspur as well. If a bidding war ensues, his price could go well up. Redknapp got him from White Hart Lane last January for £7.5 million.

Love, by comparison, has had only one offer come his way. The 24-year-old CSKA Moscow striker has expressed a desire to play for Real Madrid, although Everton are the only club to have made an official bid to date. If Everton remain his best option over the coming weeks, Villa will suddenly become a dream destination. Whether O'Neill would suffer the Brazilian's temperament, however, remains to be seen.

In defense, Villa have largely shored things up with the arrivals of Luke Young and Carlos Cuellar. Young, a natural right-back, has been playing on the left flank in recent matches as Nicky Shorey has so far failed to impress in the role. Cuellar, more inclined to the centre of defense, has been deputizing on the right side.

The acquisition of Glen Johnson could finally restore an element of proper positioning to the backline. The 24-year-old has made a fresh start to his career at Portsmouth. This is no longer the player who forgot his passport ahead of Chelsea's flight to Barcelona for a critical Champions' League tie. Instead, he is one of Tony Adams' first selections to a squad that are current holders of the F.A. Cup. He's also got a bit of a scoring touch. His blinder against Hull on November 22 will probably go down as one of the goals of the season.

Johnson arrived at Fratton Park for £4 million in August, 2007. O'Neill could make a swoop for him with about £6 million.