The January transfer window offers clubs the opportunity to sign or offload players going into the business end of the season.
Clubs may feel the need to bring in new players in order to boost their title prospects, escape a relegation battle or solve an injury crisis, while teams may also look to sell players whose contracts are expiring in 2021 in a last-ditch attempt to make some money before a free transfer is possible in the summer.
In recent years Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bruno Fernandes and Virgil van Dijk are among the players to have moved in the mid-season window, although this year’s looks set to be a quiet one.
When does the January transfer window open?
The winter window opens for Premier League and EFL clubs on Saturday 2 January, with the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 windows also opening on the same day.
La Liga and Serie A clubs can start trading two days later on 4 January.
When is deadline day?
With 31 January falling on a Sunday, the transfer window across Europe’s major leagues closes on 1 February. The Premier League and EFL had an extended two-week period for domestic deals in the summer, although no such agreement is in place for the beginning of February.
The transfer window will “slam shut” at 11pm for Premier League and EFL clubs while Scottish clubs will have an extra hour.
It shuts at 5pm in the Bundesliga, 7pm in Serie A and at 11pm for clubs in Ligue 1 and La Liga.
Deadline day transfers to look out for
Liverpool look set to bring in Ben Davies from Preston to boost their centre-back options as a notably quiet transfer window comes to a close.
Ahead of the window shutting at 11pm on Monday, the Reds have been pondering ways to address what has become an increasingly problematic situation at the back.
With Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez already sidelined, fellow central defender Joel Matip and first-choice back-up Fabinho recently joined the injured list.
Liverpool were not commenting on names being linked with late moves on Sunday, but it is understood a £2million fee has been agreed with Preston for defender Davies.
A medical was scheduled for Monday, with 19-year-old Dutchman Sepp Van Den Berg likely to head the other way on loan for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if Dele Alli makes a high-profile departure from the Premier League.
The England midfielder has been out of favour at Tottenham under Jose Mourinho.
Paris Saint-Germain, now managed by Mourinho’s predecessor Mauricio Pochettino, have been pushing to sign Alli on loan for the rest of the season.
Mourinho said a few days ago he was not expecting Alli to depart, but also admitted “sometimes unexpected things can happen”.
It appears that, aside from Liverpool with their potential defensive recruitment, any late squad modification among the top flight’s ‘big six’ is likely to be players leaving.
Amid the battle for survival at the bottom, 19th-placed West Brom made their third signing of the window on Friday with the loan capture of Galatasaray striker Mbaye Diagne.
And Sam Allardyce was quoted after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with fellow strugglers Fulham as expressing his desire to add to that before Monday’s deadline.
While the Baggies have been fairly busy on the recruitment front, it has been a low-key window overall amid the financial climate created by the coronavirus pandemic.
Tim Bridge of Deloitte’s Sports Business Group said: “I think this month more than ever feels as if clubs are taking a bit of a watching brief and are not currently willing to spend in the way they previously have done.
“That’s a reflection of the fact that all clubs have suffered a huge revenue loss, everybody’s aware of that, and I think clubs are slowly trying to understand what that means for their business models.
“So I think naturally there’s probably an element of consideration, of taking the time to understand exactly where the market’s at, and I would imagine people making the decisions at clubs at the minute are probably struggling to understand what represents true value.”
Among the eye-catching deals that have taken place during the past month are Manchester United and England’s Jesse Lingard joining West Ham on loan, Real Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard arriving at Arsenal on loan, and Aston Villa signing Morgan Sanson from Marseille.
Mesut Ozil made a much-talked-about exit from the Gunners as he joined Fenerbahce.
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