There is still plenty of time for the January transfer window to heat up. 

Ashley Young is the latest high-profile player to leave the Premier League as he departs Manchester United for Inter Milan. 

That's unlikely to get Sky Sports News' yellow ticker tape rolling for long, but the former England international could be the first of many big names heading to Serie A, and vice versa, in the next few weeks. 

Unfortunately, the mid-season window isn't renowned for the kind of exciting transfers we're more likely to see in the summer.

However, this time around there are a number of contract situations and other extenuating circumstances which mean Europe's top clubs could be swapping details. 

In fact, The Independent have compiled a list of 40 players who could move on between now and the end of the month. 

We've taken the liberty of removing three - Gedson Fernandes (Benfica to Tottenham - loan), Rhian Brewster (Liverpool to Swansea - loan) and Patrick Cutrone (Wolves to Fiorentina - loan) - who have already completed their respective switches. 

Wilfried Zaha

Crystal Palace want £80 million, which makes a deal seem a little way off, but Chelsea are reportedly the most likely destination. 

Jadon Sancho

Dortmund would ideally like to keep him until the summer but his off-field and disciplinary issues with the club could see him move to a top European club earlier. 

Leroy Sane

Bayern Munich still want to act on their long-standing interest though the Manchester City winger is currently injured. 

Dayot Upamecano 

The RB Leipzig centre-back is rated at £60m, hence why Arsenal seem to be stalling. 

Timo Werner

Chelsea are the favourites to sign the Bundesliga goal machine. 

Ben Chilwell

Chelsea and Manchester City are likely to fight it out over the Leicester left-back, though that's expected to be in the summer. 

Paul Pogba

Mino Raiola has done his best to engineer a move and with Pogba out injured, it's possible that he's played his last game for Manchester United. 

Gareth Bale

Every Real Madrid fan's favourite scapegoat. Los Blancos are still struggling to find a club who will pay his £300,000+ a week wages. 

Christian Eriksen

The playmaker looked to be on the verge of joining Inter Milan as he nears the end of his current deal at Spurs. His performances in recent weeks as he nears the exit door have seen him booed by his own fans. 

Samuel Umtiti

The reported Arsenal target was seen at the Emirates watching his suitors beat Manchester United on New Year's Day.

Olivier Giroud

There seems to be no room for the Frenchman in Frank Lampard's plans, but there is interest from abroad. 

Nathan Ake

Chelsea have a buy-back clause for £40m on their former defender. 

Edinson Cavani

Mauro Icardi's arrival at PSG was always going to spell the end for Cavani. 

Thomas Lemar

Lyon want to take the former Monaco midfielder back to Ligue 1 after his disappointing spell with Atletico Madrid. 

Jarron Bowen

Hull's young prodigy has already scored 16 goals this season, which has alerted Aston Villa. 

Emerson

Inter Milan and Juventus are looking at the Italy international as Chelsea search for a replacement. 

Curtis Jones

The teenager was Liverpool's man-of-the-moment against Everton but he could be loaned out to help him secure more first-team minutes. 

Marcos Alonso

Serie A is the most likely next stop for the Spaniard, who has failed to impress Lampard. 

Nemanja Matic

Matic is out of contract this summer but his move could depend on United signing a replacement considering their dearth of midfield options. 

Moussa Dembele

Chelsea see the former Celtic striker as a possible replacement for Giroud.

Alfredo Morelos

Rangers' controversial striker has been linked with Newcastle the more Joelinton underperforms. 

Dries Mertens

Napoli have allowed the Belgian to enter the last six months of his contract with Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Arsenal and Everton all ready to exploit the situation. 

Federico Bernadeschi

Juventus' attack is full to the brim now with the addition of Dejan Kulusevski, so Bernardeschi could be on his way out. 

Emre Can

Things haven't worked out for Can since leaving Liverpool and he was left out of Juventus' Champions League squad altogether. 

Andrés Iniesta

It looked like Vissel Kobe would be his last club but he is now being linked with the MLS and with Estudiantes in Argentina. 

James Rodriguez

The Colombian was remarkably linked with Everton as he continues his struggles back at Real Madrid. 

Arturo Vidal

Vidal's dispute with Barcelona could soon come to an end with Inter Milan - yes, them again - considering a move for the Chilean. That would be quite the coup. 

Lautaro Martinez

With Romelu Lukaku banging in the goals at Inter, the Nerazzurri are tempted to cash in on another of their attacking talents. Real Madrid and Barcelona are both reported destinations, though that would be a huge step up. 

Danny Loader

Perhaps not quite in the same league as many of the aforementioned targets, but several English clubs have been watching the Reading youngster since he won the U17 World Cup with the Three Lions. Wolves tried to sign him in the summer before it fell through. 

Adrien Rabiot

The never-ending merry-go-round that is Rabiot's career could take another spin as it's not really clear why Juventus signed him in the first place. 

Che Adams

Adams has failed to do the business at Southampton, with the Saints now contemplating loaning him back to the Championship. 

Dani Olmo

Dinamo Zagreb's 21-year-old winger is being scouted in both La Liga and the Premier League. 

Nathan Ferguson

We could well see the West Brom defender in the top flight next season regardless but several of its current incumbents are looking at the teenager. 

Eberechi Eze 

The respective ears of Tottenham and Sheffield United have pricked up thanks to his 10 goals in the Championship for QPR this term.

Isco

While he's often been linked with Tottenham, it's now Chelsea who are in the driving suit if Real Madrid do decide to let the playmaker go. 

Marcos Rojo

Everton tried to sign the Argentine defender in the summer and United are finally willing to sanction his sale now that he is below Axel Tuanzebe in the pecking order. 

James Maddison 

Another target of United, Maddison has had a fantastic campaign with Leicester so far. 

ANALYSIS

GIVEMESPORT'S Kat Lucas:

Perhaps January will throw in an unexpected curveball that nobody saw coming, but all of the above are possibilities. 

It's easy to laugh at Palace's valuation of £80m for Zaha, but transfer values are relative and without him, the Eagles have always felt their top-flight status would be at risk. That price tag is going to put off a lot of suitors nonetheless. 

Eriksen should, in theory, be a dead cert but Inter appear to have gone a little cold in recent days. 

As much as headline-writers across the land would dearly love a Bale or Pogba-shaped bombshell, there is no real need for most of Europe's top clubs to deplete their squads going into the business end of the season. 

The most realistic transfers here are fringe players such as Rojo, or those who would not prompt many farewell tears like Lemar.