The international break is a good time to reflect on the season so far and also to look ahead to the future.
Whilst many of his players are scattered all over the world, Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew should, in theory, have more time to look at the needs of his squad and the players he’d like to bring in to solve any issues.
As Liverpool have shown with defender Joel Matip, a man who unfortunately scored against Palace recently, a wise January strategy can be to look at the players whose contracts are about to expire in the summer and look to tie them down with an early agreement.
Liverpool did that with Matip and got themselves a high-quality player for free and he’s immediately made an impact.
The Eagles are allowed to speak to any player who is playing abroad if their contract expires in the summer and there are plenty of good ones who could be available.
Here are some of the players we think they should be trying to tie down in January:
