Part I of our Premier League Transfer Guide, as we present a club-by-club guide to the players everybody will need to sign, and who they're likely to end up with. Here, we look at the relegation battlers: Wigan, Q.P.R, Reading, Southampton, and West Ham.





Wigan

Last season, Wigan did what they always do, dawdling around for three-quarters of the season with naive defending, shoddy finishing, and careless passing leading to a seemingly impossible situation which they then rescued themselves from with a remarkable late-season run of form. Indeed, Wigan's continued little-Everton-like approach to Premier League form saw ‘Wigan' enter the public lexicon as a verb, meaning to pontificate on a task before relying on luck and intuition at the last minute, as in "I completely Wiganed my exams this year."

If they're to repeat the trick, however, they'll need to add to their squad. The albatross hanging over their season is the potential departure of Roberto Martinez, with Steve Bruce a potential candidate for his replacement, likely depending on how keen the two-time former Wigan boss is to get back into management, or whether he'd prefer to wait for a bigger club. Also rumoured to be leaving is Mohamed Diame, allegedly heading to Newcastle or Real Betis.

After both of those problems have been addressed, Wigan still have others. In midfield, with the likes of Diame and Watson providing solidity, and Moses, Maloney, and McCarthy providing creativity, they were fine. The problem lay at the sharp ends of the pitch, with Franco Di Santo continuing to be goal-shy, Hugo Rodallega having a forgettable season, and the continued struggles in defence of Caldwell & Co. But to tempt Martinez or his replacement, Dave Whelan will probably have to loosen the purse-strings.

What they need:

A goalscorer. Desperately. With recent years seeing a number of Championship players having come up and done the business in the Premier League (Holt, Graham, Walters, to name a few) then it might not be a bad place to look, but many of the top scorers were either promoted or snapped up, leaving the likes of Matty Fryatt (a highly-reliable goalscorer in the Football League, but entirely unproven at Premier League level) and Ross McCormack (ditto) to choose from. Either is probably worth a punt, but only at the right price. At the higher end of the market, there may be pickings among the relegated clubs - Steven Fletcher is too good to be playing in the Championship, but Wigan would almost certainly have competition for his signature. Step forward the (free) compromise - Yakubu.

A replacement for Mohamed Diame. If he goes, of course. Again, relegated clubs are likely to be the best option here. The emergence of James McArthur will alleviate midfield problems, but a proper holding midfielder will be required. Wigan have experimented with youth and foreign shots-in-the-dark before, but they're not short on creativity - they need proven players. If he can be tempted, Karl Henry would be ideal.

A centre-back. Much as Wigan lacked a reliable goalscorer, they also lacked a commanding presence in defence, despite Mr Caldwell's best efforts. This will be the hardest to find, though once again, the relegated clubs could be a potential target, particularly if Scott Dann or Roger Johnson - neither of which can surely be as bad as they were last season - decide to try and force a move.

What they'll get:

Impossible to say until Martinez's future is ascertained, but either way, Dave Whelan is likely to have to promise a reasonable budget to his next or current manager, so likely two of the above and a cheaper solution for the remaining spot.

Q.P.R.

Last season, Q.P.R stayed up by a hair, despite suffering a late defeat to Manchester City which will go down in history for, obviously, other reasons. The simple truth is that they underperformed for much of last season, and with the teams around them likely to be stronger this year, they'll have to step up their game in order to compete.

What they need:

To strengthen their midfield. Above all things. Joey Barton was a huge disappointment for a number of reasons, both on and off the field, Adel Taarabt was ineffective, and Clint Hill and Shaun Derry are not going to provide the requisite level of control at this level. Nigel de Jong is one ambitious suggestion, which seems to be surprisingly likely and would be a huge upgrade to the present squad.

The player they hoped Adel Tarrabt would be. In short, a source of creativity. The Moroccan was one of the biggest disappointments of last season after his breathtaking Championship form, and Mark Hughes will look to find a player that can perform in the Premier League. The rumours here range from the fanciful (Alessandro Del Piero) to the more credible (Victor Moses), but there's no doubt that finding a player with a creative spark will be high on their list of priorities.

What they'll get:

De Jong seems an unlikely possibility, but they appear to have made little progress with other targets. Bids to tempt Shay Given and Robert Green have also been suggested, with Paddy Kenny having a poor season last year, but neither seems to be hugely likely. The money does appear to be there for QPR, but they need to be careful they don't aim too high and miss out on the more likely targets as they're snapped up by the teams around them.

Reading

Reading weren't one of the hot favourites for promotion last year, but they have been a dark horse for a long time. Ever since being relegated from the Premier League, they've possessed a solid squad that's been capable of going on lengthy runs of good form, and last year it was lengthy enough to win them the league. However, they're probably the team that needs the most strengthening, possessing as they do a large number of players who are known to be effective in the Championship but unlikely to uproot any flora in the big leagues.

The good news, however, is that they should have a reasonable transfer budget of about £15m since being taken over by wealthy Russian Anton Zingarevich, and have kicked off their summer with a promising signing already, completing a deal for Nottingham Forest player of the season and out-of-contract winger Gareth McCleary.

What they need:

To strengthen their defence. Of paramount importance will be to bring in players that can provide solidity - Alex Pearce and Kaspars Gorkss are unlikely to do so at this level. A bid for Nottingham Forest's full-back Chris Gunter has been suggested - a sensible buy, but they will probably require two more. Watford's talented centreback Adrian Marippa has also been suggested, which would represent something of a coup for the Berkshire club, since Newcastle tried and failed to land his signature in January. As mentioned elsewhere, Curtis Davies is probably available, as are Bolton's centrebacks that aren't Zat Knight. Carlos Sanchez, an out-of-contract Colombian international from Valenciennes, should also help the situation by providing cover from midfield.

Goals, goals, goals. Much like their defence, a strikeforce of Jason Roberts, Simon Church, Adam le Fondre, and Noel Hunt was perfect for the Championship, but may struggle in the Premier League. The foursome provide a nice range of options, but Reading will surely attempt to bolster them with at least one player likely to score the goals. The likelihood is that to do that, they'll have to compete with the other clubs mentioned here for the same targets - Yakubu being the most likely.

What they'll get:

Chris Gunter looks highly likely, and Carlos Sanchez looks like a done deal, but other bids have been hinted at. Blackpool's highly-talented young winger Matt Phillips has been one suggestion, which would represent an excellent investment. But with the deals already suggested at the cheaper end of the market, it seems that Reading will look for opportunistic buys to strengthen wherever they can at the maximum value.

Southampton

Southampton's position financially has been a matter of some speculation - when they were first taken over, the stories were of a mini-Man City of riches to be spent in order to propel Southampton through the divisions. Investment last year was respectable, if not extensive, but it was enough to allow them to gain promotion and find themselves in the Premier League ahead of schedule, thanks in part to the continued effectiveness at a higher level of players like Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana. With a bid for £7m having been made for Burnley's Jay Rodriguez (no relation to former Queer Eye cast member Jai Rodriguez), it seems that Southampton have the money to spend, and won't be afraid to do so.

What they need:

A partner for Rickie Lambert. Which, fittingly, appears to be the area Southampton have tried to strengthen first. As well as the aforementioned bid for Jay Rodriguez, bids for the more prolific Gary Hooper have been suggested, as has a bid for Real Madrid's youngster Joselu.

Experience, wherever they can get it. The core of the team that Southampton have presently is the same one that they were using in League One. Norwich had success with keeping the faith in players like Grant Holt and Wes Hoolahan, but that's no guarantee that the same will happen with Lambert and Lallana. A defensive boost would be useful, and Curtis Davies is among the available players that have been linked. If the money is right, a cheeky move for Karl Henry could be a sensible investment too.

What they'll get:

Likely one, possibly two strikers, of whom Jay Rodriguez will be one. A few experienced heads will be brought in, a la QPR's transfer activity last season, but also expect a few moves for younger players - as well as Joselu, a bid for Blackpool's Tom Ince has been suggested, with Jason Puncheon being offered as a makeweight, a deal that would seem to suit all parties.

West Ham

After managing to scrape past Blackpool in the playoff final, West Ham managed to avoid utter embarrassment and make their expensive return to the Premier League. Their situation is an odd one - they appear to have a deep squad led by an experienced manager, but there are very few positions they couldn't do without strengthening. Fortunately for Allardyce, it appears the money will be there to make a considerable investment.

What they need:

To sort out their strikeforce. At the moment, West Ham's main two strikers are Carlton Cole and Ricardo Vaz Te - highly important in their promotion bid, but neither really guaranteed to have a significant impact in the Premier League. Nicky Maynard, their main backup, disappointed after signing last season, though will surely at least be given a chance this year. The likelihood is that West Ham will sign one striker of high quality here - a £7m move for SC Heerenveen's Bas Dost has been mooted, although signing the Eredivisie's top scorer is, for Premier League clubs, a historically risky gamble which has produced a variety of results, from Ruud Van Nistelrooy to Afonso Alves, via Luis Suarez. Louis Saha has also been rumoured, and would be more reliable in the Premier League, but less reliable to actually stay fit. A move for out-of-contract Yakubu has also been suggested.

To add creativity. Creative, free-flowing football is not the hallmark of Sam Allardyce, but whether it comes from the wings or the centre, West Ham need to add a spark. Bolton's high levels of debt mean that they would probably sell Stuart Holden or Lee Chung-Yong for the right price, either of whom would be ideal.

What they'll get:

Almost certainly one of the above-mentioned striking targets, possibly two if Allardyce feels he can't trust his present forwards. A move for the out-of-contract Jussi Jaaskelainen has also been suggested, and elsewhere Allardyce is likely to be opportunistic, strengthening where he can.