With Thursday FPL deadline looming, here’s a quick run through of the injury news that’s doing the rounds so far today, plus some confirmed news on Lampard.

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A change in format for the Scout Notes this week. I’ve been looking to streamline these a little and focus on the key points rather than dwell on Derby’s lineup and similar matters that aren’t likely to be of interest, plus take me an inordinate amount of time to put together. Instead, from this week on, I’m going to focus on the teams and players that warrant interest and that are likely to be in your thoughts when it comes to future signings and squad tweaks. Have a gander at this week’s notes then.

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Marlon King is set for a return to the Premiership after Fulham had a £5 million bid accepted by Championship Watford today.

King has appeared 26 times for the Hornets this season, bagging 11 goals and 3 assists. He made just 12 appearances in Watford’s relegation season, after being cursed by injury early on. He still managed to notch 4 goals that year and should some potential as a bargain fantasy purchase.

Fulham are in a desperate need of striker having scored just five goals in the last eight Premiership matches. King is assured of a start then and fantasy managers will be watching closely for the deal to be closed in the next 24-hours and for his arrival in the various fantasy games in time for the weekend.

Those managers with Dempsey in their ranks will also need to monitor Hodgson’s team selection against Arsenal at the weekend. There’s every chance that the bargain midfielder will be moved back to a familiar role wide on the left, having played up front for most of the season thus far. That would certainly affect his fantasy return over the rest of the term.

Matt Taylor has finally sealed a switch to Bolton Wanderers after they agreed an undisclosed fee with Portsmouth.

The move looked on the cards just over a week ago, as reported here, when Megson revealed that the transfer was near to completion. Today the deal went through with Taylor signing a three-and-a-half year deal at the Reebok.

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Birmingham have agreed a undisclosed fee with Everton for James McFadden . The Scot is now discussing personal terms with the club and McCleish looks likely to seal his second signing of the transfer window after grabbing David Murphy from Hibs.

If a deal can be agreed, McFadden would seem set to go straight into the side to face Chelsea at the weekend.

From a fantasy managers point of view, this could be an interesting development. McFadden is classed as a midfielder in certain games and as such would appear to offer good value with McCleish likely to employ him up front or just off a striker.

Even when classified as a forward, a guaranteed run of games until the end of the season could see the him provide some decent short-term points potential, depending on Birmingham’s fixtures. Straight away, they are about to enter a run of four home games from the next six matches with Chelsea, Derby Arsenal and Spurs visiting St Andrews.

It’s a done deal - Chelsea have sealed the signing of Nicolas Anelka for £15 million [source]. No news yet as to whether it’s been agreed in time for him to make a debut against Spurs tomorrow but it looks likely. That would make him a hot property for this weekend and certainly while Drogba is away at the African Cup of Nations.

There’s inevitably lots of transfer speculation flying around right now but this one is sure to give a few thousand fantasy managers the shivers. Villa’s Martin Laursen, one of the surprise success stories of the season so far, is apparently contemplating jeopardising his fantasy output for the rest of it by signing for Spurs or Newcastle [source].

“I don’t know if they have spoken to Aston Villa, I haven’t heard anything, but it’s two big clubs and it’s certainly something that would interest me,” remarked Laursen today.

If such a move did materialise he’d not only be moving from a side with a solid back four to a side with a decidedly shaky one, he’d also be turning his back on the set-piece delivery of Young and Barry that has helped him to five Premiership goals thus far.

Laursen is owned by a third of those currently playing the Fantasy Premier League game. They’ll be hoping that this kind of talk is just a cunning plan on Laursen’s part as he enters into negotiations over a new Villa contract.

Portsmouth’s Matt Taylor appears to be set for a move to the Reebok with Megson claiming that a deal is almost done.

“We’ve spoken to Portsmouth and I think, as far as they are concerned and we are concerned, we’ve got a deal between the two clubs,” remarked Megson. “We said we’d resume talks on Monday.”

As reported earlier, Portsmouth had confirmed last week that two bids from Premiership clubs had been agreed.

Taylor is classed as a midfielder in the majority of fantasy games and does not offer anywhere near the same value as last season when he was generally classified as a defender. Even so, depending on Bolton’s form and fixtures, Taylor could well offer some value as a mid-price midfielder in a side where he is likely to be instrumental in general play and at set-pieces, particularly if Anelka is to depart.

If confirmed, the deal would likely involve a fee of around £3-4 million which might suggest that Bolton have all but accepted the loss of Anelka and an influx of cash.

Chelsea have had their opening bid for Nicolas Anelka rejected by Bolton.

A statement on Chelsea’s official site declared - “We have made an official offer for the transfer of Nicolas Anelka, which is being discussed with Bolton Wanderers.”

The bid, believed to be around £11 million, was rejected by Bolton but Chelsea are likely to go back in with a counter offer. There’s also a possibility that Man City will enter the race now that the bidding has begun. However, the lure of Champions League football is always going to mean Anelka will favour a move to Stamford Bridge.

Indeed there’s already a suggestion on a Bolton fan website that an improved bid from Chelsea has been accepted [source].

Nicolas Anelka’s move to Chelsea appears to be edging ever closer as news leaked that he has been left out of the Bolton side to face Sheffield United in the FA Cup today [source]. That would of course mean that Anelka is not cup-tied in the competition - the first real clue that the striker is on his way.

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Matt Taylor is seemingly set to depart Portsmouth after Harry announced that two bids from Premiership clubs have been accepted [source]. Taylor is apparently yet to discuss terms but with a fee agreed, it seems inevitable that he will be heading for the Fratton Park exit.

Taylor was a superb signing last season cracking eight goals from a midfield role but classed as a defender in most fantasy games. This season his value has been reduced enormously by his classification as a midfielder and the fact that he can’t get a sniff in Portsmouth’s first eleven. A move would put fantasy managers on alert if he seemed likely to adopt a midfield role at his new club. The question is, where will he go?

Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Fulham, Reading and Sunderland are all being linked with Taylor. Of those, Everton would be the top choice for fantasy managers and would even seem to make sense given the absence of Pienaar over the next four to five games.

Taylor is currently valued at 6.1 million in the Fantasy Premier League game, that’s a drop of 0.9 from his initial 7.0 million valuation. In the Fantasy League games meanwhile, he’s valued at 4.0 million along with the likes of Barry and Jenas. Whether those values prove tempting will depend greatly on his eventual destination. We wait for news.

The transfer merry-go-round is gaining momentum but outside of the Berbatov and Anelka speculation there’s little so far to interest fantasy managers - until now that is. A report in today’s Times states that Chelsea are about to seal a £10 million deal for Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic, of Lokomotiv Moscow. The Under-21 international is a versatile player who can fit in across the back four but is said to be most comfortable on the left. The interesting twist to this speculation however is that the Times are reporting that Avram Grant is willing to let Wayne Bridge go to Liverpool once the deal for Ivanovic is done.

Bridge has apparently been targeted by Rafa to offer improved cover at left-back. We know that Benitez pursued United’s Gabriel Heinze to fill that spot, so that much would seem to add up. Whether Chelsea would be willing to let Bridge go for the suggested fee of £6 million is a different matter.

The possible signing of Ivanovic would appear to make sense given the recent loss of Terry to a metatarsal injury that looks like keeping him out until mid to late February. Ivanovic’s wikipedia entry actually suggests that the player attended a medical in London on Wednesday so the rumour is fairly strong it seems. Indeed the Daily Mail have also covered the exact same story, although they suggest that Chelsea are paying just £4 million for the Serb but also make the link to the Bridge to Liverpool move.

It’s an interesting one in fantasy terms. As reported earlier in the week, the arrival of further cover in defence would put added pressure on Alex - a fairly popular recent signing for many fantasy managers. As for Bridge, a move to Liverpool wouldn’t necessarily increase his first team chances and therefore his value to fantasy managers. He’d certainly be competing against Riise and Aurellio for a starting spot. However, if, as the Times indicates, Bridge could be on the move, whether it be to Liverpool or otherwise, then the situation would certainly be worth monitoring. There’s no doubting his talent or his fairly reasonable price value in the majority of fantasy games.

It’s becoming increasingly likely that Nicolas Anelka will seal a move away from Bolton in the January transfer window with Anelka himself revealing that Chelsea are already in negotiations for his signature [source].

Talking to L’Equipe Magazine, Anelka revealed that discussions were already underway whilst also expressing a desire to join Chelsea.

“The chairmen discuss, I hope that it will be carried out,” remarked Anelka.

“I especially hope that I qualify for the Champions League,” he added.

Man City are also reportedly interested in the Frenchman but Chelsea are clearly the hot favourites to close a deal. The only uncertainty appears to be the likely fee involved with Chelsea reportedly offering something in the region of £10 million. Bolton meanwhile are apparently looking for something closer to £19 for the striker who has already reached double figures for the season. That’s £11 million more than they paid Fenerbahce back in 2006.

A move for Anelka would undoubtedly boost the appeal of the striker for fantasy managers, particularly if that move was to Chelsea. With Kalou and Drogba likely to be absent until the middle of February at the African Cup of Nations, Anelka would be assured of a clear run of starts in a side that would undoubtedly create chances for him. The only possible drawback for Anelka’s output would be the possible competition within the Chelsea lineup for bonus points in the Fantasy Premier League game.

Anelka is currently valued at 9.2 million in that game, having steadily increased in value from his base value of 8.5 million. Fantasy managers will be monitoring interest in the player closely. Should tonight’s game against Derby be his last in a Bolton shirt, it is likely that increased interest in the player will drive his price higher before the next round of Premiership fixtures on January 12.

In the Fantasy League games meanwhile he is priced at 6.5 million - a bargain whilst at Bolton - a steal should a move to Chelsea materialise.

The January transfer window always brings a few interesting new possibilities for Fantasy Managers - a move for Nicky Shorey to United would certainly fit into that category.

An article in the Times today jumps to that conclusion following a remark from Ferguson that the left-back position could be a source of weakness in his squad following the departure of Heinze and injury to Silvestre. The article features a few quotes from the United boss, none of which confirm the interest in Shorey, and yet the report seems very definite in linking the Reading defender as a January target for United.

If it materialises, the transfer would be of interest for two reasons, depending on your appraisal of Shorey’s first team chances. Up against Evra, it would appear that the England man would struggle to get games. That could convince those who have the defender as a Reading player, to get rid. Then again, if by some chance he does get a dozen or so appearances under his belt, he could well be a decent player to have on your Fantasy bench given his attacking prowess and United’s clean sheet record thus far.