News Thread

The January transfer window has been open for almost two weeks but English Premier League clubs have been relatively quiet. It was a crazy winter window in 2023 with clubs splurging a record €842.5 million on new players, which was considerably more than the previous record of €568.4m, set in January 2018. FFP restrictions are limiting the spending power of some of England’s biggest clubs with Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool look unlikely to make big signings this month unless they offload players. Manchester City and Arsenal could strengthen their squads while Tottenham Hotspur have already signed Radu Dragusin. Timo Werner on loan.There’s still plenty of time until the window shuts and rumours will intensify as the month progresses and we’ve compiled a list of the biggest potential transfers. 

Owen Beck has been one of the signings of the season in the Scottish Premiership with his form at Dundee attracting interest from Celtic and Rangers. The 21-year-old’s loan move from Liverpool to Dens Park flew under the radar but he quickly gained attention with some standout performances. Beck was a revelation as Dundee enjoyed a successful first half of the season on their return to the Scottish Premiership and the Liverpool loanee was undoubtedly their star player.

Erik ten Hag has faced intense scrutiny over his future this season with Manchester United enduring a dismal campaign. The Dutch boss arguably overachieved during his first season in England when he led United to their first trophy in six years by winning the League Cup and the FA Cup final, losing to rivals Manchester City at Wembley. Ten Hag also secured United’s return to the Champions League with a third place finish but they're languishing in ninth - ten points off the top four - ahead of welcoming Tottenham to on Sunday.

It was a terrible end to 2023 for Arsenal, as their seemingly smooth title challenge took a huge blow in back-to-back defeats to West Ham and Fulham. The Gunners have scored just twice in their last four games, and have scored just 37 across the Premier League season so far - the lowest of the top four and less than tenth placed Newcastle. Those numbers become even more alarming when looking at the goalscoring stats of their preferred front three. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli have just 11 league goals between them, with Saka contributing over half of those. 

You can add Bologna forward Joshua Zirkzee to the long list of strikers linked with a January move to the Premier League. A glimpse at the Transfermarkt rumor mill reveals that Zirkzee has been linked with a potential transfer to Manchester United and Arsenal. According to a report by The Telegraph, Arsenal have eyed up the 22-year-old striker. Sport1 and ESPN, in the meantime, have linked Zirkzee with a move to Man Utd, where Danish striker Rasmus Højlund has failed to live up to expectations. According to a report by Sky Germany, Man United appreciate the player Zirkzee has an exit clause in his Bologna contract that will become active in the summer. 

When it comes to transfers, Manchester United are linked to players more than any other club as agents aim to generate interest and journalists aim to drive traffic. Despite underperforming massively since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, United remain one of the biggest clubs in the world and they’ve spent inordinate amounts across the last decade. Since the start of the 2013/14 campaign - the season after Ferguson retired after winning the club’s last Premier League title - United have spent €1.8b on new players. Only Chelsea (€2.49b) and Manchester City (€1.92b) have a higher expenditure over that period with United’s net spend of -€1,320b is worse than both rivals due to their terrible record of selling players.

The African Cup of Nations is currently showcasing the best talent on the continent and Ousmane Diomande arguably has the biggest potential of them all. The 20-year-old will be integral to Ivory Coast’s prospects and scouts from Premier League giants will have a vested interest. Diomande enjoyed a sensational 2023 after moving to Sporting Lisbon from FC Midtjylland last January to catch the attention of top clubs. Diomande possesses all the characteristics desired in a modern centre-back - pace, power and comfortable in possession. Portuguese clubs are synonymous with developing prodigiously talented youngsters before selling them for massive profits and Diomande is one of the next starlets on the conveyor belt. 

It’s been an incredibly slow January transfer window so far with clubs across Europe unable or unwilling to fork out big transfer fees. The winter window is notoriously quieter than the summer with clubs holding off until the end of the season to complete major moves when they can budget accordingly based on league position and revenue. Vitor Roque’s €40m move from Atletico Paranaense to Barcelona remains the highest transfer fee paid this month with loan moves proving popular like Jadon Sancho’s return to Borussia Dortmund from Manchester United. 

Ivan Toney is back! The Brentford striker will make his return from an eight-month betting suspension against Nottingham Forest. Toney has been the most talked about player in England in recent weeks and all eyes will be on the 27-year-old for the televised fixture tonight. It’s been 259 days since Toney last featured competitively against Liverpool last season and the striker was absolutely flying before his ban. Toney scored 20 goals in 33 league games last season to earn his international debut for England before he was charged by the FA but Thomas Frank has confirmed that he will captain Brenford on his return.

The Belgian Jupiler Pro League has earned a reputation for developing youngsters in recent years and Arthur Vermeeren is the most prodigious talent of them all. Victor Boniface and Loïs Openda are just two players to shine in one of European football’s top five leagues and Vermeeren is destined to join one of the biggest clubs on the continent. The central midfielder’s development has been monitored by clubs in Spain, England, Germany and Italy since he made his professional debut for Royal Antwerp in the UEFA Conference League in August 2022.