Hull City player emerges as target for League One rivals, Barnsley set to battle Sunderland for defender

From done deals to potential managerial replacements to the usual transfer speculation, there’s a whole host of gossip doing the rounds, and it promises to be a busy few weeks.

Hull City will be in the minority this weekend when they line up for league action against Sunderland on Saturday.

The majority of their third tier rivals will be competing in the FA Cup third round in the coming days, but after being knocked out by Stevenage in the last round, the Tigers will instead be taking the opportunity to catch up on their recently postponed fixture against the Black Cats, with match broadcast live on Sky Sports.

Elsewhere in the division, the big question is still, ‘who will replace Joey Barton as Fleetwood Town boss?’.

The usual merry-go-round of names have been linked with the post, but there has been an interesting development recently, with a Premier League legend who has yet to hold a senior managerial post emerging as a surprise frontrunner.

We’ve gathered all of the latest rumours from the third tier below:

Sunderland are preparing a bid for St. Johnstone left-back Scott Tanser this month. The 26-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, and is understood to have turned down the offer of a new deal. Barnsley are also said to be keen. (Football Insider)

The Black Cats have also agreed a deal to sign Forest Green Rovers midfielder Carl Winchester. The 27-year-old’s arrival is expected to be announced soon. (Football Insider)

Premier League outfit Southampton and Belgian side Club Brugge are keeping tabs on highly-rated Northampton Town forward Caleb Chukwuemeka. The 18-year-old has broken into the Cobblers’ first team. (Daily Mail)

Rochdale have set their sights on signing Hull City defender Festus Arthur. The League One strugglers have identified the 20-year-old has a potential loan target. (Football Insider)

Preston North End are still in the race to sign Doncaster Rovers midfielder Ben Whiteman. The Sun journalist Alan Nixon was asked whether a potential deal for the 24-year-old had hit a snag on Twitter, to which he responded: “These things take time”. (Alan Nixon – Personal Twitter account)

Cardiff City are lining up a move for Crewe Alexandra full-back Perry Ng. The 24-year-old will become a free agent at the end of the campaign. (Football Insider)

Former Everton talisman Tim Cahill is currently joint favourite to replace Joey Barton as Fleetwood Town manager. The Australian is currently priced at 5/2 by bookies, alongside interim boss Simon Wiles. (SkyBet)

League Two club Forest Green Rovers have signed centre-back Baily Cargill from MK Dons on an 18-month contract for an undisclosed fee. (Various)

Former Scotland international Alan Hutton has argued that “all hell could break loose” if Peterborough United don’t allow Siriki Dembele to leave the club this month. The striker has handed in a transfer request and both Rangers and Celtic are said to be keen on securing his services. (Football Insider)

Portsmouth are looking to make two signings in the January transfer window. Pompey chief Mark Catlin insists that the club are striving to strengthen Kenny Jackett’s squad following the recent departures of Cam Pring and Reeco Hackett-Fairchild. (The News)