The January transfer window closed on Wednesday night with a flurry of deals. It has been an impressive month, which saw some big names make moves and others like Arsenal forced to sell their prize assets. Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from the world of football.
The “dembele” is a player that has recently joined the Barcelona team. He was one of the biggest losers in January transfer window as he left for Arsenal.
Given the financial constraints posed by the COVID-19 epidemic, the January transfer market was unusually active, with teams making midseason additions to improve their squads.
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According to Transfermarkt, Premier League expenditure (€335 million) was the second-highest in history, with Liverpool’s €45 million purchase of FC Porto winger Luis Diaz and Newcastle’s €42.1 million signing of Bruno Guimaraes topping the way. Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, and Aston Villa all spent money, while Man City signed Julian Alvarez from River Plate for €17 million and sent him back on loan until the summer.
Clubs in Italy’s Serie A (€175 million), Spain’s LaLiga (€75 million), France’s Ligue 1 (€66 million), and Germany’s Bundesliga (€62 million) spent a combined €378 million, with Juventus splashing out €70 million on Dusan Vlahovic and Barcelona paying Man City €55 million for Ferran Torres.
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Winners
Juventus
While it took Juventus a few weeks to get rolling, once they did, their transfer market performance was nothing short of brilliant. Not only did the Turin giants sign joint Serie A top scorer Vlahovic from Fiorentina for €70 million (plus an additional €10 million in add-ons) ahead of their rivals, but they also landed highly rated defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria for a reported €5 million with only five months left on his contract with Borussia Monchengladbach.
If that wasn’t enough, Juventus used their relationship with Tottenham managing director Fabio Paratici to find new homes for winger Dejan Kulusevski (on loan with a €35 million option to buy) and midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur (on loan with a €19 million option to buy), as well as loaning Aaron Ramsey to Rangers in Scotland.
Vlahovic, on the other hand, was the signing of the window, and Juve did a fantastic job of securing their top target. Only time will tell whether that was a feasible option, given the possibility of missing out on Champions League qualification next season.
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Barcelona has paid Manchester City a staggering 55 million pounds for the 21-year-old attacker.
Barcelona
The Catalans have gone from being on the point of financial collapse, unable to register players for LaLiga due to salary limit restrictions, to signing excellent attacker Ferran Torres from Manchester City for €55 million. Barcelona won’t be out of the woods for a while, with €1.4 billion in debt hanging over them, but the signing of the 21-year-old Spain international is a huge boost.
After the sad retirement of Sergio Aguero, the return of La Masia product Adama Traore on loan from Wolves adds directness and speed from wide areas, the return of 38-year-old Dani Alves brings leadership to the dressing room, and a free transfer for Arsenal striker Aubameyang adds a proper goal threat up front. Apart from president Joan Laporta, nobody could have predicted Barcelona’s better team coming out of the January transfer market two months ago. Only the inability to offload winger Ousmane Dembele is a Senegalese footballer. (more on that later) was a sore point, though they did eventually get Philippe Coutinho’s salary off the books with a loan to Aston Villa.
Newcastle United is a football club based in Newcastle
Following early reports that the club’s Saudi-backed acquisition would bring in players like Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, the club’s plan was more cautious.
Full-back for Atletico Madrid Kieran Tripper (€15 million) was a cautious but logical purchase who will provide quality as well as leadership on and off the field, while €30 million was spent on a player who would provide quality as well as leadership on and off the field. Despite an underwhelming recent goal scoring record, Burnley striker Chris Wood is accustomed with the pressures of a Premier League relegation battle. The same can be said for Brighton’s versatile defender Dan Burn (€20 million), who will provide boss Eddie Howe with good defensive alternatives.
Bruno Guimaraes’ €42.1 million transfer from Lyon, on the other hand, may be closer to the kind of player that supporters hope to see more of in the future. The Brazil international is a mobile defensive midfielder who is comfortable in possession, capable of winning duels, and can pick out runners from deep. In reality, the 24-year-ability old’s to organize the midfield might prove to be the missing link in their quest to remain in the Premier League.
The Major League Soccer (MLS) and the United States Men’s National Team (USM
The Major League Soccer (MLS) has struck a good balance between their ever-improving athletic product and maintaining a successful company. Ricardo Pepi, the first United States international striker, joined Augsburg from FC Dallas for €17 million, becoming him the league’s most expensive leaving youngster. Daryl Dike, an Orlando City centre-forward and Pepi’s international partner, joined West Brom for €7 million.
Arminia Bielefeld, who are in danger of relegation, signed Atlanta United FC’s George Bello, a 20-year-old left-back, on Deadline Day, while Colorado Rapids defender Auston Trusty will join Arsenal in the summer. The Gunners have also struck a summer contract to sign Matt Turner of the United States Men’s National Team and the New England Revolution.
The addition of Napoli striker Lorenzo Insigne to Toronto FC was also revealed by MLS, which is nothing short of a fantastic coup. With his technical talent, intellect, and sheer pedigree, the 30-year-old Italy international could prove to be a terrific addition to the league when he comes in July.
Eriksen, Christian
The return of the Denmark international is without a doubt the most widely applauded January transfer window deal. Eriksen, who was unable to continue his Serie A career with Inter Milan after having a cardioverter defibrillator implanted because the device is not permitted in Serie A, has now been given a fantastic opportunity to play in the Premier League by Brentford, nearly eight months after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during a Euro 2020 group stage match against Finland. The former Spurs midfielder will provide the Bees with vision, intellect, enormous experience, and his signature set-piece skill to help them improve on their strong first season in the league.
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Arsenal’s deal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona is explained by James Olley.
Losers
Arsenal
While the Gunners are now in sixth position in the Premier League and have showed indications of being able to compete for a spot in Europe next season, one would expect Edu, the club’s technical director, to have something up his sleeve in January. Instead, other from completing summer agreements for Trusty and Turner, the club recruited no new players and allowed a number of squad members go, including Calum Chambers (Aston Villa, free), Pablo Mari (Udinese, loan), Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Roma, loan), and Sead Kolasinac (Roma, loan) (Marseille, free).
Allowing Barcelona’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to depart for free on Deadline Day without securing a replacement was a huge risk. Mikel Arteta’s €375,000-a-week contract was torn up because he couldn’t work with the former captain, but the team is terribly small, and Arteta’s main attacking alternatives, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah, are both out of contract in the summer. Arsenal’s goal threat will now have to come from youthful offensive midfielders or wingers like Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, and Martin Odegaard, who have only scored one in January. Fans will be praying that no one gets hurt.
Ousmane Dembele is a Senegalese footballer.
After a public spat over his new contract, the France winger is widely expected to depart Barcelona in January. He might face a five-month wait in the bleachers until his contract expires in the summer. In 2017, Barcelona paid €105 million (with a possible €145 million increase) to Borussia Dortmund, although Dembele has never lived up to his potential and has been linked with a number of teams, including PSG, Man United, Chelsea, and Tottenham.
Sources informed ESPN that creative efforts to retain the player on fresh terms were futile, and the player rejected down a transfer to the Premier League on Deadline Day. With so many words passed between the parties involved in the process, it’s difficult to see how the tremendously brilliant 24-year-old, who is as injury prone as he is erratic, can come back.
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Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens discuss why Barcelona are pushing Ousmane Dembele is a Senegalese footballer. away from the club.
Lingard, Jesse
Lingard, who has yet to play a Premier League game for Manchester United is a football club based in England this season, was extensively linked with a move away from Old Trafford as West Ham and Newcastle attempted to sign him. Instead, he remains in Ralf Rangnick’s squad when the board decided to block his transfer after allowing Donny van de Beek to join Everton on loan.
Lingard now has the task of gaining enough playing time to either reignite his United career or draw offers from elsewhere, with just five months remaining on his contract. Lingard, as good as he is in the Premier League, may be looking back on a wasted season at the conclusion of the season.
Manchester United is a football club based in England
With Van de Beek (Everton) and Anthony Martial (Sevilla) on loan, and Mason Greenwood out for an indefinite time after being arrested on suspicion of rape and violence, United seemed to be in need of a late signing or two.
Aside from the lack of offensive reinforcements, particularly in the wide areas, the club also failed to address some of the squad’s glaring, long-standing flaws. A central midfield improvement (No. 6 or No. 8) never materialized, and neither did a top-tier full-back on either side. With fourth place in the Premier League still up for grabs, their lack of mid-season investment might backfire.
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