The January window has closed and there has been plenty of movement as clubs look to revive or kick on their seasons. Here are the ten most potentially impactful moves of the January transfer window:
10. Danny Rose- Tottenham to Newcastle (Loan)
Newcastle lost left backs Jetro Willems and Paul Drummett to injury and signed a short-term upgrade in Rose. The England international has fallen out of favour with Jose Mourinho, who has an excess of left backs. He offers Steve Bruce a quality option on the left, but Newcastle didn’t get a buyout option on the deal.
9. Krzysztof Piatek- AC Milan to Hertha Berlin (€25million)
Jurgen Klinsmann needed a signature signing and made one with Piatek. The Polish international has suffered a poor season at AC Milan and was shunted down the pecking order for the second coming of Zlatan. Despite his struggles this season, 24-year old Piatek is a fine striker who bagged 30 goals last season in Serie A, as well as scoring five goals in 10 games for Poland. Hertha have struggled for goals all season and Piatek should provide a cutting edge to Klinsmann’s new charges.
8. Jean-Kevin Augustin- RB Leipzig to Leeds United (Loan with buy option)
Leeds have been boosted by a good transfer window just when their promotion bid appeared to be flagging. Having seen Eddie Nketiah return to Arsenal, Leeds replaced him with former PSG prospect Augustin. Apparently it was the chance to work with Marcelo Bielsa that made the striker’s mind up amid plenty of interest from Premier League clubs. Whilst he’s lacked consistency there’s no denying Augustin’s ability and in a side that creates plenty of chances he should rack up the goals.
7. Sander Berge- Genk to Sheffield United (£22million)
This looks coupe for Sheffield United. The 21 year-old midfielder has excelled for Genk in both the Belgian League and Champions League, attracting plenty of admirers across Europe’s top five Leagues. Chris Wilder’s side have settled far better than expected in the Premier League with an attractive brand of football and have broken their transfer record for Berge.
6. Steven Bergwijn- PSV Eindhoven to Tottenham (£27million)
Jose Mourinho is starting to leave his imprint on Spurs’ squad. Mourinho has spent the Christian Eriksen fee on PSV left winger Bergwijn. The fit looks good, Bergwijn offers pace, trickery and end product down the flank. The 22-year-old Dutch international enjoyed an excellent 2018-19 season and comes with almost 150 senior appearances, including Champions League.
5. Dani Olmo- Dinamo Zagreb to RB Leipzig (€30million)
This looks an absolute steal. Olmo was impressive in Dinamo Zagreb’s Champions League campaign after two and a half strong seasons in the Croatian League. The 21-year-old won his first Spain cap in November and will add another attacking midfield option, providing much needed support to Timo Werner and Marcel Sabitzer.
4. Bruno Fernandes- Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United (£68million)
Fernandes was a principle target for Manchester United in the summer and a deal they simply had to get done. United’s season has flatlined through December and January, partly due to their underpowered midfield. Fernandes has provided goals and creativity from the centre of park for Sporting, given time to acclimatise to the Premier League he should be a hit at Old Trafford.
3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic- Unattached to AC Milan
Few clubs needed a January tonic more than the once mighty AC Milan and the return of Zlatan provided just that. The arrival of the veteran striker doesn’t fix all Milan’s problems but they are suddenly scoring goals and European qualification seems possible again. Bringing Zlatan back provides leadership and goal scoring pedigree to a young squad that sorely lacked both through the first half of the season.
2. Christian Eriksen- Tottenham to Inter Milan (€20million)
A transfer from which all the major players seem to have won, despite what Jose Mourinho may claim. Eriksen gets the new challenge he desperately wanted after seven years in North London, Tottenham get a fee for a player who had just six months left on his contract without selling to a rival and Inter get a world class number ten for €20million. Eriksen will add an injection of creativity and craft to Inter’s young midfield of Nicolo Barella and Stefano Sensi.
1. Erling Braut Haaland- RB Salzburg to Borussia Dortmund (€20million)
Dortmund won the race for Europe’s hottest property and he repaid them with an astounding debut. Haaland came off the bench with his team 3-1 down to score a 23 minute hat trick as Dortmund beat Augsburg 5-3, he currently sits on 7 goals from 3 games.
Haaland’s Champions League exploits with RB Salzburg showcased the 19-year-old striker’s talents and he’s landed himself a move to one of football’s great talent factories. Better still he’s playing number nine in a team that has the creative talents of Marco Reus, Thorgen Hazard and Jadon Sancho. Dortmund have the out and out striker they desperately lacked in the first half of the season and look well placed to challenge at home and in the Champions League this season. A perfect match and absolute bargain.
Featured Image: CNN
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