Given the current financial circumstances amid the coronavirus pandemic, this has been an incredibly difficult winter transfer window for football clubs across the globe. Spending has taken a massive hit and the big-name signings have been few and far between. Despite the various challenges though, some clubs have found creative ways to successfully manoeuvre through the January window and find was to lift their side with new pieces to their puzzle. Today we take a look at some the biggest winners from the January Transfer window from various leagues around the world.
Arsenal
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Arsenal has not been the savviest operators when it comes to transfers over the years, but they have done incredibly well in the window to reverse some of the mistakes of previous regimes. The three main tasks Edu (Arsenal’s Technical Director) set out to accomplish at the start of the window, were to trim Arsenal’s squad size, find suitable loans for Arsenal’s young stars and also try and plug any holes in the squad. To his credit, Edu has managed to do all three. The contracts of Mustafi, Ozil and Sokratis were terminated, youngsters like Saliba, Willock and Maitland-Niles were sent out on loan to get game time and most importantly Mat Ryan and Martin Ødegaard were signed on loan to strengthen certain areas of the squad.
Mesut Ozil
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The last time Mesut Ozil played a game of football the price of Bitcoin was only $5,000 and Covid-19 was nothing more than a section in the newspaper. Ozil did not feature for Arsenal after the Premier League restarted post the lockdown, and was left out of the squad altogether at the start of the new season. With Arteta insisting Ozil was not in his plans, the German international terminated his contract with Arsenal and took a significant pay cut to sign for Turkish club Fenerbache. It is a crying shame that one of the most gifted players of this generation has not played a professional game for almost a year, but Ozil can now start a new chapter in Turkey and focus on what he loves most, playing football.
AC Milan
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AC Milan is currently 2 points clear of rivals Inter Milan in the Serie A and have strengthened their unit significantly in the January window. They signed the highly-rated Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori on loan from Chelsea and also got in some backup for Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the form of Mario Mandzukic. Milan now has the perfect mix of experienced veterans and talented youngsters which could lead them to their first scudetto in a decade.
Liverpool
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Liverpool left it late in the January window but they once again showed why they are the kings of the transfer market. With no fit centre-halves in the squad due to long term injuries to Van Dijk, Matip and Gomez, Liverpool had to sign a replacement in this window. Nevertheless, the Reds did not panic as most clubs would do in such a situation and managed to secure not one but two promising defenders in deals that are low-risk and high-reward. Ben Davies was signed from Preston North End for a cut-price fee of only £2 million while Ozan Kabak was signed on a loan deal from Schalke with an option to buy in the summer. Davies is an unknown quantity at the highest level and it will be interesting to see how he copes at a big club. Kabak on the other hand is one of Europe’s most promising defenders and represents a massive coup for Liverpool considering what they’d have to give up financially for such a talented player.
Shivaan Shah