January is typically a difficult market to buy and sell players, but in these crazy times, the challenges have compounded due to the major financial losses all European clubs have faced. The big-name transfers have been few and far between and clubs have struggled to afford to sign any players to improve their squad before the end of the season. With very little transfer activity happening, teams have struggled to offload players and are stuck with bloated squads and in many cases, unhappy superstars. Today, we take a look at some of biggest losers from the January transfer market.
Dele Alli
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Dele Alli has only played 77 minutes of Premier League football this season and has been out of favour with Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho. Alli was hoping to gain a move away from Tottenham in this window in the hopes of playing some more games and possibly making it to the England squad for the European Championships in the summer. PSG was very keen to sign the Englishman on loan where Alli would reunite with his former boss Mauricio Pochettino. Unfortunately, Tottenham wasn’t willing to let Alli go without an adequate replacement and the move broke down, which means that the 24-year-old is set for another extended period without much first-team action.
Squad Players
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It has been a bad window for squad players stuck in big clubs who aren’t receiving a lot of game time. In such a congested season there is an increased threat of injuries and managers are unwilling to let squad players move out on loan. Squad depth is more important than ever. Brandon Williams attracted interest from Southampton and Newcastle for a loan deal till the end of the season, but with so many games coming up, Manchester United chose against sending Williams out on loan and kept him as cover for both full-back positions. Similarly, players like Reiss Nelson and Billy Gilmour failed to secure loan deals on deadline day, despite very little game time this season. In other seasons and under more “normal” circumstances, perhaps clubs would have been far more willing to loan these young players out, which is crucial for their own development.
FC Barcelona
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While Barcelona may have turned a corner on the pitch under Ronald Koeman, their off-field affairs remain catastrophic. Their presidential elections scheduled for January have been postponed due to the virus, leaving a power vacuum at the top. Additionally, the club’s financial state is in major turmoil with a massive cloud of debt worth over €1 billion still hanging over their heads. Due to the financial challenges, the club couldn’t afford to bring in any reinforcements in the summer, despite facing major injury issues at centre-back. They were in talks with Manchester City’s Eric Garcia who only has six months left on his contract, but a move failed to materialise. On top of that, there is the situation with Lionel Messi, who is potentially set to leave this summer when his contract expires.
Sheffield United
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Sheffield United are currently reeling at the bottom of the Premier League table with only 8 points from 21 games. The Blades did invest heavily in the summer but none of their signings has been able to make an impact so far with young striker Rhian Brewster still without a goal in the Premier League. Sheffield United was desperate for some signings in January to give the club some momentum going into the second half of the season as they fight for survival in the Premier League. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to secure any additions to the squad. To make matters worse, one of the mainstays of the team John Lundstram is yet to sign a contract extension and is set to leave on a free transfer in the summer. With the same set of players and limited attacking firepower in the team, Sheffield United’s stay in the Premier League is set to be cut short in just their second season.
Shivaan Shah