Opinion: An Underwhelming January Transfer Window
By: Anthony Tazbaz
Image Credit: Ibrahim Boran
On Thursday, at 18:00 EST, the 2024 January transfer window for Europe’s top five leagues came to a close. During the past month, we witnessed several players move from one club to another, some of which embarked on a new stint merely until the end of the season. However, many rightly found the transfer window rather dry and lacking several big transfers. For instance, Premier League spending dropped by 90% compared to the 2023 January transfer window.
Below includes a summary of the deadline day transfers and some major transfers, an analysis of the busiest clubs during the window and three reasons behind the lack of transfer activity and the January window failing to meet many of the supporters’ expectations.
Beating the Deadline
Like the average worker or student, beating the deadline and submitting work at the last minute always constitutes the result of an adrenaline rush. This was the case with Saïd Benrahma, who left on loan — priced with a €6m fee and a €14.4m buy option — from West Ham United to join struggling Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon). While the loan seemingly collapsed due to wrong documentation, West Ham confirmed the Algerian forward’s successful move to France, where he will aim to help Lyon avoid relegation and the promotion playoffs.
As well, Lyon sealed a deadline day loan deal — which included an €11.7m fee and a €17.5m buy option — for Belgian midfielder Orel Mangala from Premier League club Nottingham Forest. Mangala’s arrival will certainly add depth to a midfield in desperate need of a rejuvenation.
Elsewhere, Albanian forward Armando Broja — a highly coveted transfer target, particularly in the Premier League — completed a loan move to fellow London club Fulham FC. In addition, Galatasaray completed a couple of transfers, including that of Ivorian right-back Serge Aurier from Nottingham Forest. In Germany, Eintracht Frankfurt signed out-of-favour PSG forward Hugo Ekitike on loan with a €30m buy option.
One of the major stories, however, was an outbound transfer from Europe where Real Betis sold Luiz Enrique to Brazil’s Série A club Botafogo for a package worth €20m, a record purchase for Botafogo.
Busy Clubs
Overall, from the first week to deadline day, Bayern Munich were one of the busiest clubs. First, they acquired English midfielder Eric Dier from Tottenham Hotspur on loan. Bayern then made a big splash by signing Frenchman Sacha Boey from Galatasaray for a fee worth approximately €30m. Finally, on deadline day, the Bavarian club sealed the transfer of 22-year-old Bryan Zaragoza from Grenada CF for a package deal worth around €13m. Overall, it was a successful transfer window for Bayern, considering that they did not have to give up any player, despite several star players — such as Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich — being courted by other clubs.
Bayern’s Bundesliga rivals also tested the transfer market with success. Borussia Dortmund brought Jadon Sancho back from Manchester United on loan, though with no buy option. Also, Eintracht Frankfurt signed United’s Donny van de Beek on loan for the remainder of the year, a €15m buy option. Mahmoud Dahoud, another former Borussia Dortmund player, returned to the Bundesliga after signing with VfB Stuttgart on loan with a buy option worth €10m. While Dortmund and Frankfurt bolstered their squads for a run to the top four — and a spot in the UEFA Champions League — VfB Stuttgart, in addition to the similar ambitions, also hope to make a run and win the DfB Pokal. Finally, league leaders Bayer Leverkusen signed Borja Iglesias on loan, with an €8 million buy option included in the deal. Hungry for a rare league title and DfB Pokal, Leverkusen will count on this signing to bolster their squad’s depth and sustain a difficult challenge imposed by Bayern Munich until the spring.
As well, Atlético Madrid were a busy club the week preceding the deadline after acquiring 18-year-old sensation Arthur Vermeeren from Royal Antwerp for €25 million. However, a late loan transfer for Juventus forward Moise Kean collapsed due to a failed medical upon arriving in Madrid.
In Italy, Napoli jolted into the January window in ambitious fashion. The club began with signing Hamed Junior Traorè and Cyril Ngonge from AFC Bournemouth and Hellas Verona, respectively, with the latter scoring against his former club on Sunday. Traorè arrived on loan with a €25m buy option, whereas Ngonge was purchased for a permanent fee worth €18m. Finally, Napoli acquired Belgian international Leander Dendoncker on loan from Aston Villa, which includes a buy option of €9m. These signings will come in handy after longtime-Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski announced that he will not return to the club for the following season, which may also be the case for stars Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen.
In England, Tottenham Hotspur were very active over the past month. In addition to losing Eric Dier, the club allowed Croatian winger Ivan Perišić to go to his hometown club Hajduk Split on loan for the remainder of the season, with hopes that the Croatian international can bring a league title to his hometown. To offset these losses, however, Tottenham sealed the transfers of Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner, who arrived for €25 million and on loan with an €18 million buy option, respectively. These major changes in their squad may well be one of several actions needed for the club to re-enter the contest for a UCL berth next season.
In addition, as predicted in our top-five transfer predictions (see feature article above), West Ham acquired Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City. This move may be what Phillips needs to rejuvenate his promising career that started to materialize at Leeds United only a couple of years ago.
However, Lyon took the grand prize for most Euros spent among all European clubs in the transfer window, amounting to over €50m. The total fee was spent on seven players, including the loan fees for Benrahma and Mangala. Two among the five other signed players included forwards Gift Orban and midfielder Malick Fofana from KAA Gent for a combined fee of €29m. Lyon also gauged the Brazilian market and signed two players — defender Adryelson and goalkeeper Lucas Perri — for €3.58 and €3.25m, respectively. Lastly, Lyon reinforced their squad with elite experience after signing Nemanja Matić from rivals Stade Rennais for €2.6m. So far, Lyon’s newcomers have had a positive impact, with Les Gones defeating arch rivals Marseille 1-0 on Sunday.
Why So Few Moves?
There are three plausible reasons as to why this transfer window has fallen below expectations, particularly in comparison to previous years and transfer windows. First, many supporters developed high standards following last year’s massive January transfer window. The uptick in transfers occurred due to the extensive winter break and the 2022 World Cup, where several players stood out in moments of glory. Such players included Enzo Fernández, who left Benfica to Chelsea for €121m, a record in January; and Cody Gakpo, who joined Liverpool from PSV Eindhoven for €42m. Considering that January windows before the World Cup in Qatar often failed to come close to the degree of activity seen in 2023, it is unlikely we will see another mid-season window with the same or higher level of activity.
Second, recent financial crackdowns by various bodies are forcing several clubs to invoke austerity measures. Such crackdowns recently gained prevalence due to increasing malpractice by a handful of clubs and due to large deficits incurred by clubs (and leagues) following the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures are most practiced among clubs that would normally use a mid-season window to bolster their squad and save their season, whether to avoid relegation or achieve a high position in the league table. For example, Everton, who were docked points recently for breaching profit and sustainability rules (PSR), cannot spend money lavishly despite fighting desperately to avoid relegation. The same can be said for Nottingham Forest, who may face PSR-related penalties in the near future and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who have been carefully managing their finances as of late to remain in compliance with the PSR rules.
The last reason as to why there was little activity and underwhelming results during the transfer window can be attributed to Saudi Arabia’s cooled-down stance on bringing players into the Saudi Pro League. While the Saudis hogged the majority of headlines in the summer transfer window, only two players made the move from Europe in January. First, Brazilian defender Renan Lodi left Marseille to sign with Al-Hilal for a fee worth €23m. Then, Ivan Rakitić jumped from a sinking ship at Sevilla FC and moved to the desert. The Croatian joined Al-Shabab on a free transfer and replaced Ever Banega — another big-name player who received the league’s highest salary before Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival last year — who departed for Primera División club Newell’s Old Boys. Ultimately, the Saudi Pro League as a collective paid less than half of what Lyon paid to acquire merely a couple of mid-level talented players from Europe.
On a side note, Saudi Arabia lost Jordan Henderson, who mutually agreed with former club Al-Ettifaq to terminate the contract. A few days later, Henderson joined Ajax and Ivorian international Seko Fofana took his place after arriving on loan from Al-Nassr.
It remains to be seen whether Saudi Arabia will repeat the shockwaves it sent across the European continent in the summer. However, recent reports suggest that it is on track to become the next China, who cashed in big on players, but went nearly bust only a couple of years later.
