PREMIER LEAGUE 2021 JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW REVIEW
Traditionally, due to the risk of bringing players in midway through the season, the January window is always a less active then the summer window, but no less chaotic. However, with the current world’s climate, it was always going to be a very low key affair.
This was very evident in this window, where the Premier League spending was just below £85m, compared to a whopping £230m last year. This time around, as expected, there were a lot more loan deals as teams seem to be deploying a try before your buy tactic.
Below is the team by team run down…..
ARSENAL
Omar Rekik – Hertha Berlin (£540k)
Mat Ryan – Brighton (loan)
Martin Odegaard – Real Madrid (loan)
Arsenal’s January window was more about the players who left, with no less then 9 players going out, including Maitland-Niles, Willock, Kalasinac & Saliba going out on loan. Not to mention, of course the departure of Mezut Ozil, who dominated Arsenal’s topic of conversation since football returned in March. But now he has gone, they can move on and will hope Real Madrid midfielder Odegaard can provide a little guile from midfield.
The former wonderkid is good on the ball and is very much the type of player Arsenal are missing. But lets be honest, he’s only made 8 appearances for Madrid since 2015 and 7 of them were this season, so there is an element of not being good enough, but on the plus side, he has something to prove.
Matt Ryan has been brought in to support or put pressure on Leno and Runarsson and his experience with over 100 appearances in the Premier League will help. Omar Rekik is young Tunisian defender whose been with Feyonoord, Man City, PSV & Marseille youth.
ASTON VILLA
Morgan Sanson – Marseille (£16m)
You really cannot blame Villa for not doing too much business, given their superb season so far. However, they did spend by bringing in Sanson, who is an accomplished French midfielder that can get up and down he pitch, put his foot in and pick a pass.
He is also a former French under 17 & 19’s international and played in the 2018 Europa League final with Marseille. Villa also used the window as a clearing out mission with 11 players going out, mostly all on loan.
BRIGHTON
Evan Ferguson – Bohemians (undisclosed fee)
Moises Caicedo – Independiente del Valle, (£4.5m)
Brighton have brought in two players who are very much for the future, and I will be surprised if you see much of them this season as they attempt to further their gap away from the relegation zone. Caicedo is a young, exciting Ecuadorian midfielder, who has already been capped for his country and scored one goal. The teenager is certainly a flair player but will probably need time to adjust to the demands of English football. Ferguson is an even younger attacking midfielder at 16, who can play on both wings. In terms of outgoings, the likes of Matt Ryan and Bernardo have gone out on loan with Glenn Murray being released.
BURNLEY
Benn Ward – Hastings – (undisclosed)
Anthony Gomez Mancini – Angers (undisclosed)
Dara Costelloe – Galway United (undisclosed)
As expected, Burnley have been rather low key with their singings this January, bringing in players they will hope to be unknown gems.
Mancini is a young French midfielder who has already been capped at French under 19’s level. Ward is an even younger midfielder at 16 who is known as bit of a special prospect in a short space of time in non league football before the lockdown. Costelloe is a young, Irish, teenage left winger, but there is not much more I can say about him.
CHELSEA
None
Surprise, surprise there were no incomings at Chelsea this January. This might have something to do with the sacking of Frank Lampard just a few short weeks ago, after he spend over £2oom in the summer and failed miserably.
With no signings, it will be interesting to see what Thomas Tuchel does with the same squad for the rest of the season. In regard to outgoings, Danny Drinkwater’s been sent out of loan to Turkish side Kasimpasa and surprisingly, Fikayo Tomori has gone out on loan to Serie A topping AC Milan.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Jean-Philippe Mateta – Mainz, (18-month loan)
It was just the one signing this January for Palace, in their quest to push up the table. Mateta is a rough and tough French striker, who has been capped for France u19’s & 21’s. He has a decent scoring record in the Bundeslisga and it seems his style of play is well suited to the Premier League and I fully understand Hodgson’s reasoning for bringing him in when you consider the other type of players Palace already have. However, he will need time to adjust. Going the other way, Max Mayer who arrived in 2018 with a decent reputation was released and has found himself back in German football.
EVERTON
Josh King – Bournemouth (end of season loan)
Not that I am surprised, but I am very impressed with this shrewd signing by Ancelotti. It was painfully obvious Everton needed a bit more cutting edge up top and bringing King in, who will not exactly demand a start, but is capable of pushing the forwards for a start now and and again, will definitely freshen things up.
His experience, playing over a 100 games in the Premier League will be valuable, not to mention he certainly knows where the goal is and will add an extra dimension to Everton for the rest of the season. Everton also had 10 players going out, including Bolasie to Middlesbrough, Braithwaite to Blackburn, Tosun to Besiktas and Kenny to Celtic all on loan.
FULHAM
Josh Maja – Bordeaux (loan)
I am sure Scott Parker wanted to do a little bit more business this January, in what promises to be a real dog fight to stay in the league, but they have to make do with what they got. Which is Maja, a former Sunderland striker who rose to prominence as part of Sunderland’s highly entertaining documentary a few seasons ago.
Maja was a revelation in league one but Sunderland failed to secure his contract and he signed for Bordeaux, where it never quite worked, but I am sure he is better for the experience. Maja is still young, still an exciting prospect and has a great opportunity to play in the Premier League. Going the other way Fulham have sent Seri to Bordeaux, Maxime Le Marchand to Royal Antwerp and Aboubakar Kamara to Dijon all on loan.
LEEDS UNITED
None
I am quite surprised Leeds did not do any business this January. However, they did spend almost £100m in the summer and are doing relatively well this season for a newly promoted team, so why rock the boat. Leeds have quite a settled squad and are sitting in mid table, so I am sure the idea for Marcelo Bielsa was to not do anything to disrupt the momentum, and that probably goes either way, as they did not really have any significant outgoings.
LEICESTER CITY
None
It was very similar for Brendan Rodgers as Leicester are doing reasonably well this season and are in amongst it fighting for a Champions League place, so I suppose the idea was not to do anything to disrupt things. That definitely goes for the incomings. However, going the other way, I am sure many raised their eyebrows at Demarai Gray being sold to Bayer Leverkusen. To add to that, Islam Slimani has gone to Lyon on a free transfer.
LIVERPOOL
Ben Davies – Preston (£500k),
Ozan Kabak – from Schalke (loan)
It was very much a case of needs must for Liverpool as their wretched and growing injury list forced them into the transfer market for two defenders. Davies is a left sided centre half, who comes with a lot of positive reviews. However, with Liverpool not exactly firing on all cylinders, its not the ideal time to come into the team and I would say, the Premier League is a huge step up.
That also goes for Kabak who came highly recommended. He is a young, 20 year old centre back, but with bags of experience already for his age, playing in the Bundesliga. However, Schalke have had a torrid season and although he will be happy to leave a relegation battle for a top four or title fight, the step up will be massive and only time will tell how good he really is.
In terms of outgoings, many faces were pulled when they heard Minamino was going to Southampton on loan. Klopp himself admitted the player really didn’t get a chance, but the idea is he will get some games, get some confidence and come back a better player.
MANCHESTER CITY
Filip Stevanovic – Partizan Belgrade (£7m)
You really know times are hard when Man City are cutting back and being cautious in the transfer market. However, they did spend in the region of £140m this summer. Anyway, just the one signing in January, Stevanovic is a young, teenage left winger, who has been capped for Serbia under 17’s and 19’s, but sent back on loan to his former club FK Partizan. Going the other way, Man City saw 12 players go out but none were any significant names.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Amad Diallo – Atalanta (£19m)
I am not sure whether Man Utd are surprised or were fully expecting to be in the title race, but either way, they are chuffed to bits and enjoying every bit of it.
Again, it is certainly the sign of the times when Man Utd have a low key transfer window, but saying that, they did spend the most on only single player by bringing in Diallo from Atalanta.
He is a very exciting teenage winger/forward, whose had rave reviews about his pace and ability and big things are expect of him for the future. In terms of outgoings, Fosu-Mensah has been sold to Bayer Leverkusen, Lingard went to West Ham on loan and already made an impact and Rojo is back in Argentina with Boco Juniors on a free.
NEWCASTLE
Joe Willock – from Arsenal (loan)
With Newcastle’s record in front of goal I am not surprised they went for an attacking player but I am surprised at who they have chosen. All things considered, it could pan to be a good move for both, Newcastle need attacking options and Willock needs games and a fresh start, but for some reason, I am not too excited about this move.
However, they can both prove me wrong, especially if Willock forms a relationship with Wilson, Saint-Maximim and Shelvey. Newcastle also parted ways with Rolando Aarons who went to Huddersfield for a undisclosed fee and DeAndre Yedlin whose gone to Galatasaray on a free.
SHEFFIELD UNITED
None
It was a very quiet January in and out for Sheff Utd. Although Chris Wilder’s men have picked up a few points lately, they are still bottom of the table and I am surprised, even in this current climate that they have not done any business. However, the lack of business may have something to do with their summer spending of over £50m, bringing in players like Brewster, Ramsdale, Burke and Bogle and still being bottom.
SOUTHAMPTON
Takumi Minamino – Liverpool (loan)
It’s possible Southampton fans may have mixed feelings about this window. I was quite surprised Liverpool allowed Minamino to go out on loan, considering their growing injury list and struggles in front of goal at times this season. I really feel Minamino has not had a fair chance at Liverpool, he certainly has some quality, will benefit from playing more football and his style of play can compliment the free flowing, attacking play and running off the ball of Ings, Adams, Redmond and Walcott. In regard to outgoings, Valery went to Birmingham on loan and Shane Long departed to Bournemouth also on loan.
TOTTENHAM
None
Not sure to be surprise or not at Spurs’ none activity in January. But they did spend almost £60m in the summer, along with bringing Bale back from Madrid, but things have not exactly gone to plan. Although Hojberg & Reguilon seem to be successes thus far. Spurs allowed no less than 13 players go out this January, all but one on loan, including the former managers son Maurizio Pochettino to Watford and Troy Parrott to Ipswich. They also cancelled the loan singing of Gedson Fernandes.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Andy Lonergan – unattached (free transfer)
Robert Snodgrass – West Ham, (undisclosed fee)
Mbaye Diagne – Galatasaray (loan),
Okay Yokuslu – Celta Vigo (loan),
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – Arsenal (loan)
Sam Allardyce was one of, if not the busiest manager in the Premier League, bringing in five players. Diagne is a big, imposing striker, with bags of experience, playing for over 10 clubs. He already made an impact assisting a goal after being at the club only 24 hours. Maitland-Niles raised eyebrows leaving Arsenal, but it was said he wanted games and was happy for the move, his versatility will be valuable to WBA in what will be a tense run in.
Snodgrass makes the move up north from London, at 33 he is hitting the twilight of his career, but his experience will be vital for WBA and Allardyce will hope he still has some magic in him to hopefully help pick up some vital points. Yokuslu is an experienced defensive midfielder who has been capped by Turkey at every level from u15’s up.
Lonergan is a very experience goalkeeper who has been at clubs such as Liverpool, Leeds and Wolves. Going the other way, both Charlie Austin and Sam Field have gone to QPR on loan,
WEST HAM UNITED
Frederik Alves – Silkeborg (undisclosed fee)
Said Benrahma – Brentford (£20m)
Jesse Lingard – Man Utd (loan)
I’m sure David Moyes is happy with his January business. West Ham are looking good at the moment, rubbing shoulders with the Champions League places. After a short loan spell, West Ham made Benrahma’s move a permanent one, although he has not exactly set the place on fire, he has contributed and is steadily improving and becoming more influential with every game.
If we talking making an impact, well, few January signings in history could have made a better one than Lingard’s. Away at Villa, he bagged two on his debut for a highly inspirational win. There is no doubt he has talent and at one time, was the toast of Man Utd, all he needs to do now is get his head down, put in the work and West Ham will have a gem. Alves is a young centre back who has been capped for Denmark u20’s and u21’s.
West Ham were busy with outgoings too with Haller going to Ajax and doing well already, Snodgrass going to WBA, Reid going to Brentford on loan and sadly parting ways with Jack Wilshere to Bournemouth on a free.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Willian Jose – Real Sociedad (loan)
Although I am not sure whether it’s a surprise or not to see Wolves do minimal business in January, it’s of no surprise the type of player they have brought in. Jose is a Brazilian striker with a lot of experience having played almost 150 games for Sociedad. He is a neat and tidy, nimble player, much is the style of Wolves players, but the one significant is he’s decent in the air, straight out of the Jimenez mould. He has also been capped for Brazil u2o’s. This January Wolves also recalled Morgan Gibbs-White from his loan spell at Swansea and striker Cutrone from Fiorentina, but then subsequently loaned him out to Valencia.
