The third week in January is always frantic in the transfer window as clubs try to complete deals before it’s too late. There were some interesting moves made in the last several days, so let’s take a look at some of the biggest ones. A warning: There were a lot of them this week.
Todd Boehly Flexes Financial Muscles
Chelsea’s transfer strategy is becoming a bit of a running joke this January. Any time another big club is interested in a player, it seems like they just throw money at the player and hijack the transfer.
After it was widely reported that his primary wish was to join Arsenal, Mykhailo Mudryk signed for Chelsea after Boehly essentially godfather-offered him and Shakhtar Donetsk.
A massive transfer fee and a substantial salary offer were enough to convince Mudryk to join Chelsea, but time will tell whether they really get their money’s worth. Not due to any fault of his own, the Ukrainian simply hasn’t played a ton of games since the war with Russia broke out. There are also questions about the competition level he has faced in his senior career and how it compares to the Premier League.
There is no doubt that Mudryk is a substantial talent, but I definitely question whether he’ll be worth the money. Time will tell.
This is also one of the coolest transfer-related stories to come about this month:
Chelsea followed the Mudryk deal by adding another winger in Noni Madueke, who joined from PSV Eindhoven for over $38 million. Madueke is an exciting talent to be sure, but where does he fit into this team?
Madueke and Mudryk join an already crowded group of wingers at the London club. Chelsea is dealing with a serious injury crisis, but once everyone comes back healthy, there simply won’t be enough spots in the squad for all these big money additions.
One thing is for sure: There will be a lot of money sitting on Chelsea’s bench this season.
Barcelona Dumps Memphis
In an effort to get salary off the books, Barcelona allowed forward Memphis Depay to move to La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid for a measly $3.25 million – peanuts for a player of his quality.
Memphis proved in the World Cup that he still has the ability to lead the line given the right service, which he shouldn’t have to worry too much about at Atletico.
He can definitely change the dynamic for them, so it is surprising that Barcelona let him go so easily. I know Barca are desperate to unload big-salary players with limited playing time, but this feels a bit harsh. Memphis is still a good player, and $3 million is highway robbery to say the least.
Trossard Gets His Wish
After being one of few bright spots in Belgium’s World Cup, Trossard was always likely to outgrow Brighton. His falling-out with manager Robert De Zerbi was fairly predictable, but I still don’t love when players essentially quit on their clubs to force a transfer through.
Nonetheless, Trossard gives Arsenal much-needed depth at multiple forward positions and has the ability to be an important contributor to the Gunners’ title push. After missing out on Mudryk, getting Trossard for just over $26 million probably feels like a great consolation prize.
It will be interesting to see if the attitude issues from Brighton carry over to Arsenal. They certainly can’t afford any stragglers in the middle of a title run, so it will be key for Mikel Arteta to get Trossard’s head down and focused on the task at hand. He can be a key player for them, but he’ll have to settle quickly and calm down after the Brighton debacle.
Wolves Get Business Done
One of the more active teams this month, Wolves has made several key additions to a Premier League survival bid.
The newest arrival is Pablo Sarabia from PSG, who signed for only $3.25 million. That’s a massive bargain. Sarabia can fit right into midfield and give them a much-needed injection of talent.
In a relegation battle, these kinds of signings can certainly move the needle. Sarabia is good enough to put Wolves above other teams at the bottom of the table, and given the other additions they’ve made, I’d be surprised at this point if they are one of the three to go down.
Wolves also had a notable outgoing deal this week, with forward Gonçalo Guedes returning to Benfica on loan.
Guedes was a big acquisition for Wolves in the summer, but things never really seemed to work out with his move to England. Wolves will probably be hoping that Guedes can go back to Portugal and revamp his career and his form. Time will tell if he still has a part to play for Wolves in the future, given that he was pretty unhappy in the leadup to his move. One to watch regardless.
Bournemouth Makes Key Addition
The Cherries completed a move for Lorient attacker Dango Ouattara in a deal worth around $25 million. It’s an intriguing move for Bournemouth, which probably needs to shore up a defense that is currently the leakiest in the Premier League.
While Ouattara isn’t a defender, he still improves Bournemouth’s goal scoring ability which could prove invaluable in a relegation fight. He is as dynamic and versatile as they come in that position, and he’s already shown it; he was great in his debut and had an assist:
I still think massive investment in the defense is needed for them to survive this season, but Ouattara will be fun to watch in England regardless.
Sommer Completes Bayern Switch
After Manuel Neuer’s bizarre skiing accident that left him out for the season, Bayern was in desperate need of a replacement goalkeeper. They did pretty well to add Sommer from Borussia Monchengladbach.
Sommer was brilliant for Switzerland in the World Cup and stood on his head against his new club earlier this season, racking up 19 saves in a draw.
As far as emergency GK replacements go, Sommer is probably as good as it gets. Credit to Bayern for doing the work to get the deal across the line.
Forest Shores Up Midfield and Attack
After a lot of waiting and speculation, Nottingham Forest finally secured the transfer of Brazilian holding midfielder Danilo, who will likely slot into the team as a key player.
Danilo is naturally a defensive midfielder, a position Forest desperately needed to strengthen. They added a few players in that spot in the summer, but none of them has panned out well. Danilo could change that.
The club also added forward Chris Wood on loan from Newcastle this week, adding additional depth in attack. It is debatable whether he really changes the outlook for them, but he adds valuable Premier League experience and can chip in with some important goals. He needs quality service to be useful, so it will be interesting to see if he gets it from Forest’s supporting players.
Currently in 13th, Forest probably feels okay about its survival prospects. Adding Danilo and Wood to an impressive roster of recent additions certainly helps things.
Other Notable Done Deals
Danny Ings is the king of claret and blue. He’s played for Burnley, Aston Villa, and now joins West Ham in a deal worth $13 million rising to $16.3 million if the Hammers avoid relegation. It’s an interesting move for a club that made Scamacca-sized investment in its attack during the summer, but West Ham needs all the help it can get. Ings is a proven goalscorer who can help them potentially stay up, so we’ll see how this one works out.
Girona completed quite the bargain by signing Viktor Tsygankov from Dynamo Kyiv. The $5.4 million fee is likely so low due to the current situation in Ukraine; Tsygankov and Kyiv were probably both eager to see Tsygankov move on. It is amazing that Girona got a player of Tsygankov’s talent at that price point.
Julian Ryerson, the exciting young right back, joined Borussia Dortmund from Union Berlin this week. Ryerson was an intriguing player for an overachieving Union squad and figures to be a key figure for Dortmund down the stretch. He may not start every game, but Ryerson will bring important depth and competition to the team as it plays the rest of the Bundesliga season.
Leicester took a gamble on Victor Kristiansen, the young left-back from Copenhagen. $15.2 million is a lot to pay for a player with relatively little experience, so it will be interesting to see what kind of role he plays. The Foxes need all the help they can get to aid their survival bid in the league, so time will tell whether the move is worth it.
Jhon Durán departed MLS this week after receiving an offer from Aston Villa. Chicago Fire will receive a record transfer fee for the forward, and it’s a great move for the player. It remains to be seen whether Durán will actually play an important part for the Villains, but I wouldn’t rule it out, especially after Ings’s departure. Overall, MLS signees in the Premier League have a surprisingly good track record, and I like Durán’s chances of continuing that trend.
Josef Martinez, once one of the hottest commodities in MLS, joined Inter Miami from Atlanta as a free agent this past week. Miami struggled for goals at times last season, so Martinez certainly has an important role to fill. We’ll see how the past-prime forward performs.
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