Europe’s biggest sides may enjoy a relative advantage thanks to the strength of the euro, but — with a few notable exceptions — they are still hunkering down in the face of the credit crunch and a weakened economic climate.

The exceptions are Real Madrid, whose poor first half of the season, which has left them fifth in La Liga, 12 points behind Barcelona, prompted them to replace Bernd Schuster with Juande Ramos, the former Tottenham Hotspur head coach. They have spent nearly £40 million to secure the services of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the Ajax forward, and Lassana Diarra, the Portsmouth midfield player, as replacements for the injured Ruud van Nistelrooy and Mahamadou Diarra. They remain in the hunt for a high-profile winger, with the Ángel Di María, the Argentinian who plays for Benfica, Luis Antonio Valencia, the Wigan Athletic and Ecuador winger, and, most notably, Franck Ribéry, the Bayern Munich and France winger, among the candidates.

Ribéry is perhaps the most exciting prospect. The 25-year-old is entering the prime of his career and was voted player of the season in the Bundesliga in 2007-08. Bayern, who bought Ribéry from Marseilles for €25 million two summers ago are reportedly demanding €60 million from Real. While it is unlikely that Real will agree to a world-record fee, sources close to Ribéry’s agent believe that a deal could be struck for about €40 million, particularly since the player “feels ready to move on”.

Ribéry’s case is an interesting one because, until recently, there would have been a host of Premier League clubs joining in the bidding. Indeed, in the summer of 2007, he was close to joining Arsenal. But the weak pound has meant that all but the wealthiest Premier League clubs are being forced to look elsewhere.

AC Milan, who have secured David Beckham on a short-term loan basis, have snapped up Thiago Silva, the gifted Fluminense defender, on a free transfer, but that move will happen only at the end of the season. They continue to look for another central defender and Daniel Agger, of Liverpool, is on their shortlist, although that deal could drag on.

At Inter Milan, José Mourinho has said that he would like to bring in another striker, although reports linking him to Michael Owen do not appear to have any basis. The club, however, seem unwilling to open the coffers after going on a spending spree last summer. Inter already have six strikers at the club — Adriano, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Cruz, Hernán Crespo, Mario Balotelli and Victor Obinna — as well as David Suazo, who is on loan at Benfica. Mourinho has been told that Inter would need to sell two or more of their forwards before they can think of bringing in another. Indeed, Adriano, Obinna and Cruz have all been quietly offered to English clubs.

One striker who could be moving from Serie A to England is Giampaolo Pazzini. The 24-year-old was an impressive fixture at under-21 level, scoring a hat-trick for Italy against England at Wembley, but he has struggled to find playing time at Fiorentina this season after the arrival of Alberto Gilardino, the striker. Fiorentina have offered him on loan, with a buy-back clause, to a number of clubs, including Everton.

In Spain, Marcos Senna, the Villarreal midfield player, continues to be linked with a move to the Premier League. It is understood that the Brazilian-born 32-year-old has been offered to Manchester City and is interested in a move.

Scouts and agents are continuing to monitor the situation at Valencia, a club in serious financial difficulties. The announcement of a rescue package to ward off bankruptcy has not slowed the rumours surrounding the club’s prime assets, David Silva and David Villa, the Spain players. Silva, 22, is one of the best wide midfield players in Europe, while Villa, 27, was an integral part of his country’s European Championship-winning side last summer.

Cashing in on weak pound

Analysis: Gabriele Marcotti

English clubs are up against their toughest European opponent: the single currency. The decline of the pound against the euro has made Premier League talent more affordable for foreign clubs and overseas players more expensive for British sides.

In May 2000, when the pound was at its peak against the euro, paying £19 million for a Premier League player such as Lassana Diarra would have cost a foreign club €33.2 million. At yesterday’s exchange rate, Diarra’s transfer from Portsmouth to Real Madrid has cost the Spanish club only about €20 million.

And a player earning £100,000 a week as recently as the summer of 2007 was on the equivalent of ¤149,400 a week. Now he is collecting about ¤104,000.

Any British club that pays €10 million for an overseas player this month is stumping up £9.6 million. Eighteen months ago that same player would have cost the equivalent of £6.69 million.