Fansided

The winners and losers of the January transfer window

By Graham Ruthven

30th January 2019, Wembley Stadium, London England; EPL Premier League football, Tottenham Hotspur versus Watford; Tottenham Hotspur Manager Mauricio Pochettino looking out from the dugout before kick off (photo by John Patrick Fletcher/Action Plus via Getty Images)
30th January 2019, Wembley Stadium, London England; EPL Premier League football, Tottenham Hotspur versus Watford; Tottenham Hotspur Manager Mauricio Pochettino looking out from the dugout before kick off (photo by John Patrick Fletcher/Action Plus via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

With the January transfer window now behind us, it’s time to reflect on who had the best (and worst) month.

And so the January transfer window has metaphorically slammed shut. The rumor mill will start up again within weeks in preparation for the summer, but for now the chuntering and conjecture has stopped as clubs around Europe knuckle down for the final stretch of the season.

Deals are notoriously difficult to strike at this time of year, but nonetheless, transfers made midway through the season can have a big impact. Here are some winners and losers of the January window in Europe.

Winners

Newcastle

There were protests, there were barbed comments from Rafa Benitez … Newcastle owner Mike Ashley was left in no doubt over the demand for investment in the squad at the club. For a long time, it seemed Ashley would ignore those calls, but on deadline day the checkbook was finally opened.

Newcastle’s long-standing transfer record, dating back to the signing of Michael Owen 14 years ago, was smashed with the addition of Miguel Almiron from Atlanta United. The Paraguayan is the number 10 Benitez has long desired. Antonio Barreca also arrived on loan from Monaco. It might not be much, but for the Magpies it is at least some progress.

Kevin-Prince Boateng

Barcelona had themselves quite the transfer window. On one hand, the Catalans secured a deal for Frenkie de Jong, the highly-rated Dutch midfielder. On the other hand, they completed a shock move for Kevin-Prince Boateng. Yes, that Kevin-Prince Boateng. The former Portsmouth, Schalke and Las Palmas midfielder-turned-forward who had washed up at Sassuolo.

One wonders how Boateng reacted when he found out about Barca’s interest. It may have been similar to that of the wider soccer world. Barcelona want to use Boateng as a deputy for Luis Suarez, allowing Ernesto Valverde to rotate his squad, but there’s still something jarring about seeing the Ghanaian in the Catalan club’s famous shirt.

AC Milan

The Rossoneri have endured mixed fortunes so far this season. Gennaro Gattuso’s side sit in fourth place in the Serie A table, which isn’t too far away from where they would hope to be, but AC Milan have still had their struggles. The January window was a good one for the San Siro outfit, though.

Lucas Paqueta was signed from Flamengo, with many billing the youngster as the next great Brazilian talent. Then there was the row of dominos that saw Gonzalo Higuain head to Chelsea and Krzysztof Piatek added for €35 million from Genoa, with the Pole bagging a brace on his full debut. AC Milan’s frontline has been revived.

Losers

Luciano Acosta

Late on Wednesday night, Luciano Acosta made the trans-Atlantic journey to Paris. Out of nowhere, DC United had received an offer from Paris Saint-Germain for the Argentine, with the French giants viewing the 24 year-old as a stand-in for Neymar, who will miss the next 10 weeks of action through injury.

In a watershed window for MLS, this looked to be the most unexpected transfer. But at the 11th hour, it broke down. Acosta was left waiting in a Parisian hotel to sign a contract that was never placed in front of him. The opportunity of a lifetime passed Acosta by and there was nothing he could do about it.

MLS

This could be spun either way. Some will argue this was a landmark transfer window for MLS, with a number of high-profile transfers involving North American clubs. Indeed, there was Almiron’s move to Newcastle, Tyler Adams’ switch to RB Leipzig and then Acosta’s collapsed move to PSG.

All this helps to legitimize MLS as a stepping stone for young players, but it also leaves the division a little short of star quality ahead of the 2019 season. Money will be spent over the coming weeks, but the likes of Almiron, Adams and Sebastian Giovinco, who left Toronto FC to sign for Al-Hilal, will be difficult to replace.

Mauricio Pochettino

With one week of the window remaining, Mauricio Pochettino was hopeful of making one addition to his Spurs squad. When it became clear that he wouldn’t get that addition, the Argentine’s tune changed. “At the moment, Tottenham haven’t reached that level so when we can’t buy a washing machine, we get a dryer that can do the same job,” he said in an interview. “Instead of a sofa, we get a chair where you can also sit.”

With injuries to Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Lucas Moura and Moussa Sissoko, and Heung-min Son at the Asian Cup, Spurs’ depth has been tested of late. Pochettino has made thinly veiled remarks about the lack of squad investment at a club straightjacketed by the contradiction of their £1 billion stadium. Another window has now passed without any incomings at Spurs.

Home/Soccer