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“In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.”

Albert Einstein was most likely not thinking about a football club’s ability to strike a bargain deal in the transfer market when he made this prophetic statement.

But it is a maxim which applies perfectly to the Premier League – where fire sales unfold at teams staring down the barrel of relegation to the Championship at the end of the season, with surviving members of England’s top division able to raid their fallen competitors.

It is almost certain that three of the following teams – Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United – will be relegated come May. Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur are just a few points clear of this battle, but the respective quality of their squads means the London duo will not be dragged into it.

Separate to this tale of woe at the bottom, Manchester United are on the hunt for a top four finish at the opposite end of the table – with a return to Champions League football next season representing the holy grail for ‘Caretaker Carrick’ and his band of merry men.

However, a return to Europe’s...