Thursday Morning deal, Player’s medicals already booked and shirt number has been confirmed- Chelsea have reached agreement in principle to sign £40M rated player who is technically better than Trent Alexander Arnold next week
The transfer window opens on Jan. 1 in the Premier League, German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1 (with Spain’s LaLiga and Italy’s Serie A opening a day later) and clubs have been busy planning their business after a long season. January is usually a month when teams look for short-term solutions to paper over the cracks in midseason, but don’t rule out some big spending in the current climate either.
ESPN reporters have everything you need to know about the top teams’ hopes and delve into deals that might be in the cards. Who will come in? Who will depart?
Budget: Not as much as they had in the summer, but there is room for action, especially with any player exits.
What does the team need? Arsenal’s hopes of a first Premier League title since 2004 would be boosted by a clinical goal scorer for the days when Gabriel Jesus is misfiring. Another option in central midfield wouldn’t go amiss and they may need further cover at full-back depending on outgoings.
Who are the major targets? Arsenal have scouted a number of strikers with Brentford’s Ivan Toney prominent in their thinking. A deal in January may be difficult to pull off, however, given Toney’s transfer fee is likely to be in the region of £80 million. Napoli’s Victor Osimhen is of interest but would cost around £112m as he has just signed a new contract with a release clause. Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz is manager Mikel Arteta’s preferred option to strengthen Arsenal’s midfield but he will also be difficult and expensive to sign in mid-season, while Fulham’s João Palhinha has also been considered. The Gunners remain admirers of Wolves winger Pedro Neto but there appear to be more immediate priorities.
Who could be leaving? There will be plenty of speculation around Aaron Ramsdale’s future since he has lost the role of No. 1 goalkeeper following David Raya’s arrival, but Arteta has publicly played down the prospect of the England international joining another club. Newcastle, Chelsea and Wolves are among several clubs monitoring the situation. ESPN reported last week that Villarreal and clubs in Turkey are interested in defender Cédric Soares, who is in the final year of his contract. Speculation persists that Thomas Partey could be allowed to depart if a suitable offer arises, given his injury history and forthcoming absence from Jan. 13 for potentially a month at the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana.
Any new contracts? Ben White is in advanced talks over a new deal, with Arsenal confident an agreement will soon be reached with the defender. Youngster Reuell Walters is also in negotiations over an extension
What does the team need? Joël Matip is out for the rest of the season after a suffering an ACL injury in early December, so a reinforcement at centre-back is the obvious priority although manager Jurgen Klopp has played down the prospect of signing a new defender after saying that rival clubs are unlikely to want to allow their players to move to Liverpool. Injuries have hit the club elsewhere, with left-back Andy Robertson also sidelined since undergoing shoulder surgery in October. Despite signing four new midfielders during the summer window, Liverpool still lack creativity in the central area of the pitch. But with money tight due to a failure to qualify for this season’s Champions League, Klopp may have to look at the loan market if he wants another midfielder.
Who are the major targets? Liverpool have been repeatedly linked with PSV Eindhoven forward Johan Bakayoko, but the 20-year-old is more likely a summer target due to priorities lying elsewhere in January. However, Salah’s absence for up to six weeks on Africa Cup of Nations duty could prompt Liverpool to move early, as they have done in the last two winter windows for Luis Díaz and Cody Gakpo, respectively. Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is another player on Liverpool’s radar. The England player has been told he can leave the Etihad, 18 months after a £42m transfer from Leeds, but whether City would be prepared to offload to a title rival such as Liverpool is the big question.
Who could be leaving? Liverpool could seal a permanent deal with RB Leipzig for Fabio Carvalho, who has been on loan at the Bundesliga club this season, but it should be an otherwise quiet window for exits from Anfield. The big unknown is whether Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad will return with another huge offer for Salah after having a £150m bid rejected in August. With Liverpool firmly in the title race, don’t expect any change in the club’s stance of refusing to consider parting with their talisman.
Any new contracts? Thiago Alcantara, Matip and goalkeeper Adrián are all out of contract at the end of the season, but none are likely to be retained by the club. In 2025, Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all out of contract, so the focus will be on negotiating with those three key players
What does the team need? The team look nicely set, but a right-back would definitely help tackle what promises to be a busy second half of the season. Matty Cash and Ezri Konsa are sharing the duties, but only the former is a natural in that position. From a domestic point of view this has been fine, but when you add in European midweeks, it’s felt a bit stretched.
Who are the major targets? So far, Villa have been linked with no concrete targets, while the names that have popped up don’t correlate with their biggest positional need. Some Spanish media outlets have linked them with Álex Baena — a player Unai Emery worked with at Villarreal — while there’s been the odd mention of Oscar Gloukh from RB Leipzig too. They both play in an area (attacking midfield) Villa feel relatively strong in and would both cost £30m to £40m or more, so the links haven’t been taken too seriously by the fanbase.
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