CHRISTMAS might as well be celebrated in January if you are a football agent - for the rest of us December 25 will do.

Players' advisors came under the cosh again this week when the Football League revealed that many of its financially crippled clubs spent over £5m on them in a period in the last six months of 2004. And that, remember, was just the Football League.

Now the January window has opened European football has once again hit the transfer merry-go-round, with player after player jumping on board and the men looking after them rubbing their hands with glee.

This week has seen Fernando Morientes join the Spanish armada at Liverpool in a £6.3m deal from Real Madrid, who yesterday splashed £2.5m on Thomas Gravesen of Everton. Everton in turn are now seeking a replacement and have already forked out £6m on striker James Beattie. Get the picture.

The sums being paid out to agents involved in those deals alone doesn't bear thinking about. It would come as no surprise if the figure was approaching somewhere near a fifth of the £5m all the Football League clubs combined have spent in a six month period.

But this isn't supposed to be a rant at agents, it's just worth thinking about when you consider the transfer speculation that has been hitting over-drive ever since the window opened on January 1.

For every Morientes, Gravesen or Beattie there will be many relatively unknown figures like Gabor Vincze and Attila Kriston who signed for Scottish Premier League side Livingstone yesterday.

There is sure to be millions of pounds and Euros exchanged between Europe's elite clubs before the end of the month as they all search for the players who are going to push them to glory or to safety from relegation.

The North-East's two Premiership clubs are certainly not allowing the opportunity to strengthen their squads pass them by, as both try to clinch a place in European competition again next season.

In Newcastle's case they may have already spent over £9m on Jean-Alain Boumsong and Celestine Babayaro, but that appears to be just the start of the spending spree from under-fire boss Graeme Souness.

Souness has enlisted a number of targets for chairman Freddy Shepherd to work on. Fulham's Luis Boa Morte certainly was one before he opted to sign a new deal at the Cottage, while he is still working hard on defenders Sylvain Distin and Samuel Kuffour.

But, quite frankly, there's more chance of seeing Marcelino back at St James' Park than there is of seeing some of the names linked to moves to Tyneside.

Bizarrely, Roma's Egyptian striker Mido has rejected a move to Newcastle even though he has never been approached - and apparently Stephane Guiv'arch and John Dahl Tomasson are being lined up to form Newcastle's new look strikeforce next season!

Middlesbrough may have not been able to persuade Chelsea to part with Geremi or Inter Milan to offload Giorgios Karagounis, but it is unlikely Steve McClaren will be continually rebuffed before the end of the month.

Midfield is currently the priority with Roma's Olivier Dacourt a front-runner to become the first new arrival at the Riverside.

McClaren is on the look out for more than just the one and there is sure to be plenty more haggling in the market over the next fortnight or so. Yet all those looking for the best deals will be hoping that they don't end up with a few bargain bananas.