Summary
That’s just about it for today. Here are the key bits of news from a quiet day in the window. Things will surely heat up as Thursday approaches.
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Alvaro Morata has joined Atlético Madrid on an 18-month loan from Chelsea …
- … but Callum Hudson-Odoi seems set to stay at Chelsea until the end of the season.
- Unai Emery says Arsenal want to sign two players before Thursday’s transfer deadline.
- Southampton are keen on Birmingham’s Che Adams, while Charlie Austin could be leaving the club.
- Claude Puel says reports linking Leicester with Monaco’s Youri Tielemans are “for the moment, just speculation”.
Updated
Not transfer-related but Neil Warnock has been speaking publicly today for the first time since it emerged that Emiliano Sala, Cardiff City’s club-record signing, was on board a plane that disappeared near the Channel Islands last Monday:
A bit of detail on Schalke’s deal for Manchester City’s Rabbi Matondo: the fee will be around £12m, says our man in Manchester:
Price for Rabbi Matondo - if he does go to Schalke - to be around £12m - nice price for a player who's never featured for Man City 1st team...
— jamie jackson (@JamieJackson___) January 28, 2019
There are a few whispers in France that Napoli full-back Kévin Malcuit is one of the two players Arsenal are looking to bring in before Thursday. Inter’s Ivan Perisic has been widely flagged as the other player Emery is interested in.
The Fiver is here! The Fiver is here! The Fiver is here! The Fiver is here! The Fiver is here! The Fiver is here!
A bit of movement on the Callum Hudson-Odoi saga:
Bild say Chelsea have ruled out a January transfer for Callum Hudson-Odoi https://t.co/aK0JNgB75k
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) January 28, 2019
More from Get French Football News – this time looking at Thierry Henry’s miserable Monaco reign:
Missed anything today? Here’s a handy guide to the notable news:
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has confirmed that Charlie Austin could be heading out of St Mary’s this week. “I think we have a lot of options for two positions, so it can be a possibility that he’s leaving,” he said. “But if not then I’m happy that he’s here and helps us to chase our targets that we have.
“I think it’s sometimes the point that you as a club can’t give any player what he expects us to give him. So, in this situation we are trying to find a win-win situation for both sides. He’s a fantastic striker, a striker who can score for every team I think.”
The good folk at Get French Football News have sent us this update:
“Adrien Rabiot has turned Tottenham Hotspur down, despite conversations with manager Mauricio Pochettino at the beginning of last week, per L’Équipe reporting. Spurs wanted to sign the player this month & were willing to offer him €7.5m a year.
“PSG will come back with another bid for Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye before Thursday’s deadline, according to RMC. Les Parisiens are looking for ways to structure a deal financially that works in relation to FFP and is worth more to Everton.
“Sources confirm to Get French Football News that AS Monaco are open to the loan departure of Youri Tielemans this month. The Belgian international, who was exceptionally close to departed manager Thierry Henry, appears to be the first temporary casualty of Leonardo Jardim’s return.
“Watford are expected to return with a formal proposal for Bordeaux attacker François Kamano before the month is up.”
Another done deal: Cardiff’s Omar Bogle has joined League One promotion chasers Portsmouth on loan:
✍️ #Pompey are delighted to have signed Omar Bogle on loan from Cardiff pic.twitter.com/ppb8enB9N0
— Portsmouth FC (@officialpompey) January 28, 2019
Chelsea will be picking up a sizeable loan fee, of course, in an attempt to offset that £60m outlay, but given the size of the fee (his move to Stamford Bridge remains one of the top 25 most expensive transfers of all time) and the lack of impact, is Morata in the conversation when it comes to history’s biggest transfer flops?
Here’s Atleti’s view: “With Morata’s arrival, we add a very talented striker to our club, who has the ability to score with his feet and his head thanks to his height (189 cm) and to combine with his teammates.”
A few Chelsea fans might question that claim – 24 goals in 72 appearances isn’t much of a return for a striker who cost around £60m when he joined in the summer of 2017.
Morata joins Atlético Madrid
Atlético Madrid have confirmed that Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata is joining them on an 18-month loan:
🔴⚪🔴 #WelcomeMorata!
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) January 28, 2019
Agreement with @ChelseaFC over the loan of @AlvaroMorata for the remainder of the current season and the next one.
FULL STORY ➡ https://t.co/KiMEnruwJk#AúpaAtleti pic.twitter.com/vHYMUSv3Vp
Sky Sports are reporting that West Ham are also in for Sheffield United’s John Fleck.
Claude Puel has said that talk of a Leicester move for Monaco midfielder Youri Tielemans is “just speculation”, with Adrien Silva, the player who has been mooted as heading the other way in a loan-swap, set to play a more important role for the club as the season progresses:
“For the moment it is just speculation. He is a good player. He [Tielemans] has got good attributes but I have Adrien [Silva].
“We have a squad with some players with a desire for more game time. I am happy about Adrien because he can give other possibilities for the team. He offers different qualities to Hamza Choudhary, Nampalys Mendy or Wilfred Ndidi.
“Sometimes we can play with three midfielders and I think there will be an opportunity for Adrien to have game time in the second half of the season.”
Perhaps the key words from Puel there are “for the moment”.
Updated
Huddersfield manager Jan Siewert was coy on his transfer targets earlier but one of those apparently in the Terriers’ sights is Charlton’s Karlan Grant. The Addicks manager Lee Bowyer has told the South London Press that it will be tough to hold on to the striker: “All I can say is he is still our player and we’re fighting hard to keep hold of him. I can’t really say much more, that is how it is. Sometimes it is out of our hands. It’s going to be difficult.”
An email: “With Rabbi Matondo joining Sancho and possibly Hudson-Odoi in securing a move away from the Premier League in search of opportunities, would this not be an ideal time for the Premier League to start discussing an increase in squad quotas for home grown talent?” wonders Sam Jones.
It might well be but the Premier League came out against any increase just two months ago:
Unai Emery says Arsenal are looking to make two signings before Thursday’s deadline. “This transfer window is not easy and the message is the club is working on different players and the possibility if it can be is good for us,” Emery said. “We are looking at two different players and the possibility they can come.”
Just to return to West Ham again, Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla reckons the Hammers are in for Benfica’s Mesaque Dju.
— Alfredo Pedullà (@AlfredoPedulla) January 28, 2019
Updated
West Ham’s Manuel Pellegrini has been speaking about the Marko Arnautovic saga. “Marko has already demonstrated what he can do, he made an important difference, I hope that from now until the end of the season he will do it again,” said the Hammers manager. “His long-term future? We can talk at the end of the season about that, now our mind must be concentrated on Wolverhampton.”
Sounds like Galatasaray are still trying to get some deals over the line …
This is classic:
— Red&Yellow (@Ataqoz) January 28, 2019
Galatasaray chairman Mustafa Cengiz: “My wife refuses to talk to me because we still haven’t made the transfers.” 😂 https://t.co/nnuEs3stmf
Rafael Benitez has given what sounds like a not-particularly-enlightening press conference ahead of Newcastle’s game against Manchester City on Tuesday night. Here’s a chunk from the Press Association:
Asked at his pre-match press conference on Monday if the club was still active in the market, he replied: “Yes.” However, asked if he was hopeful that they will make progress, he replied: “I don’t know.”
Hello all. I’ll kick off with the news that Ezequiel Schelotto is leaving Brighton for Chievo until the end of the season. The full-back previously played for Chievo back in 2014-15 and was a fairly regular presence in the Albion side last season but has slipped down the pecking order in this campaign.
“We have strong competition in the full-back areas and this move gives him the chance to play regularly in Italy’s top division, which is a league he knows well,” said Brighton manager Chris Hughton. “We wish him all the very best for the remainder of this campaign.”
And with that, I’ll hand over to John Ashdown for the afternoon - email him on john.ashdown@theguardian.com or tweet: @John_Ashdown
Manuel Pellegrini has said that players returning from injury for West Ham means he does not need to make signings. “We have injured players coming back and they will help us in some positions. We have Ryan Fredericks back and Manuel Lanzini can be available in three weeks or one month more and he is a very important player. The other players I cannot say exactly when they will be back, but it will not be less than one month.”
Updated
Fulham’s Claudio Ranieri says he would welcome Aboubakar Kamara back to the club but has confirmed the forward is still suspended after being arrested on suspicion of actual bodily harm. ““If he comes back then for me it’s no problem, for the team it’s no problem. Everyone is working well,” Ranieri said. “He is still suspended from the club and we are waiting.”
Updated
Ed Aarons has an update on the Hudson-Odoi situation at Chelsea:
Understand that Chelsea have yet to respond to Callum Hudson-Odoi's transfer request and the £35m bid from Bayern remains on the table. Clock is ticking...
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) January 28, 2019
Updated
Meanwhile, here’s the latest from Sid Lowe: Montilivi, not Miami, hosts Girona v Barcelona as Tebas loses his bet
Updated
Antonio Rüdiger has told Chelsea to make sure Callum Hudson-Odoi does not leave. The winger refused to discuss a potential move to Bayern Munich after scoring his side’s second goal against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup on Tuesday night but Chelsea fans sang that they wanted him to stay,
“What I can say is clear, Chelsea have to make him stay. It will be a pity if this young talent leaves us. Chelsea need to give him a new contract. He’s a quality player. You can see how he dribbles, how he goes one against one, he can be good for us.”
Hudson-Odoi’s six starts for Chelsea have come in cup competitions and the Europa League. He has a total of five substitute appearances for the club this season and two goals and is yet to start in the Premier League. Chelsea play at Bournemouth in the Premier League on Wednesday, with the transfer window closing a day later.
Updated
Done deal! Blackpool’s Mark Cullen has joined Carlisle United on loan!
✍️ United have today signed striker @Markcullen21 on loan from @BlackpoolFC until the end of the season 👇 https://t.co/GAALiSNr9v
— Carlisle United FC (@officialcufc) January 28, 2019
The Telegraph are reporting that Manchester City have agreed to sell the 18-year-old Welsh international Rabbi Matondo to Schalke for €13m. Borussia Monchengladbach, RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim and Milan were also interested in the player, who appears set to become the latest young British starlet to relocate to Germany.
Meanwhile the Huddersfield manager, Jan Siewert, has given a non-committal answer to questions about his chances of adding to the squad:
I’m in constant communication with the recruitment team. We will see what happens over the next three days.
One player who Chelsea might allow to leave this month:
Reims are confident of landing Chelsea left-back Baba Rahman on loan until the end of the season (no option to buy) - full story https://t.co/o8cYhI5ls6
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) January 28, 2019
Here’s Marco Silva on Paris Saint-Germain’s offer for Idrissa Gueye, rumoured at around £21m:
My reaction is the same of the reaction of the club. We reject the offer. He’s a really important player for us. For me, in my opinion, since the first day we started speaking about this possible interest in him, from a technical point of view he’s a very important player for us and he’s not a player we want to lose in this market. After [this season] it’s a matter of money.
Marco Silva has given a press conference at Everton, as he prepares to visit Huddersfield tomorrow with his side having lost six of their last nine games in all competitions. It’s not strictly speaking transfer-related, though perhaps panicking would involve throwing some money about:
In October, November, when we were playing well and doing what is our obligation as club, I told you many, many things we had to improve. I am not happy with the last month and a half, but I am not panicking. We as a club cannot panic. Even if we are not happy, even if the fans are disappointed. I am also, but I am not panicking because we as a club cannot panic if we want to do the right things in the future.
Paolo Bandini’s Serie A round-up has landed:
Done deal: Roy Keane’s return to Nottingham Forest has been confirmed!
🙌 Keane is back!#NFFC are delighted to confirm that former Red Roy Keane has returned to the club as assistant manager.https://t.co/hPlwR6FOdf
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) January 28, 2019
And here’s something from Tom Dart in Glendale about a new chapter for the USA national team:
Here’s an update on Fifa’s investigation into Chelsea’s transfer dealings from David Hytner, with the governing body “now considering its final decision” on the long-running affair:
The Mail is reporting that Everton have made Cenk Tosun available for transfer, and will “listen to offers of £20m” for the Turkish striker. He arrived from Besiktas a year ago for £25m. They will not, however, be accepting any similar-sized offers for Idrissa Gueye, for whom Paris Saint-Germain are said to have bid £21.5m.
This just in from Jacob Steinberg:
It’s been a strange few days at West Ham. Moments after being dumped out of the FA Cup by AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, there was surprise when they announced Marko Arnautovic had signed a contract extension after weeks of speculation over the forward leaving for China. There remains a chance Arnautovic will be allowed to leave in the summer for £45m, but who can say with any certainty? His new contract has been extended for another year, which takes it until 2023, and I understand it’s got some nice incentives. Arnautovic should return against Wolves tomorrow. Manuel Pellegrini, however, refused to take questions on him after the Wimbledon defeat.
West Ham had lined up Celta Vigo’s Maxi Gomez as a replacement for Arnautovic and had signalled a willingness to pay the striker’s €50m release clause. They were even prepared to loan Gomez back to Spain until the rest of the season to let him help Celta battle against relegation from La Liga. Sounds like that’s not happening this month, though. Perhaps one to revisit in the summer, but there might be a lot of competition for a highly-rated young forward then.
As for other outgoings, West Ham are yet to receive a suitable bid for Javier Hernandez from Valencia. They want £12m. The same applies to Reece Oxford, who’s been linked with £8m moves to Eintracht Frankfurt and Nottingham Forest. The messaging is there have been no bids for the young defender.
On the subject of Tielemans to Leicester, we published this yesterday on the future of Leicester’s Adrien Silva, who could end up in Monaco as half of a loan-swap deal:
Here’s Andy Brassell’s Bundesliga update:
Olivier Giroud has given an interview to Canal, recorded before the signing of Gonzalo Higuain was confirmed, in which he said that the Argentinian’s arrival might push him out of Chelsea:
If the club decides to get another striker, like Higuain, it will certainly darken my future at Chelsea. I have never said no to a return to France. Lyon and Marseille are two great clubs. My priority is to stay in the Premier League though.
Here’s the interview (in French):
Talking of Birmingham strikers, as we were a while ago, Southampton have apparently opened talks over a deal for Che Adams, who has scored 14 goals in 28 league games this season. The Saints are prepared to sell Charlie Austin, with Stoke interested.
And some more talking points from yesterday’s WSL games:
While we wait for transfers, here are some talking points from the weekend’s FA Cup fixtures:
Full details of that and every other transfer worth knowing about can be found here:
One deal has been done today: Wu Lei has joined Espanyol, owned by the Chinese Rastar Group, from Shanghai SIPG. His goalscoring record in China is excellent, but he’s currently injured and is unlikely to play for a couple of months at least.
#WuLeiPerico ⚪️🔵
— RCD Espanyol (@RCDEspanyol) January 28, 2019
Benvingut!
¡Bienvenido!
Welcome!
欢迎!
👉 https://t.co/qQXoNWPpVf#RCDE | #Volem | #EspanyoldeBarcelona pic.twitter.com/y5GSKl49sK
The Mirror are reporting this morning (as the Sun and the Mail did over the weekend) that both Liverpool and Manchester United are interested in the 16-year-Birmingham City striker Romello Mitchell. He’s been linked with a move before, with these new stories apparently prompted by the fact he has just turned 16.
While the Telegraph’s John Percy is suggesting that Leicester and Monaco will swap midfielders, both on loan:
Re: #lcfc and Monaco midfielder Youri Tielemans. Understand the prospect of signing him permanently is remote at this stage - a possible deal is a "loan swap" with Adrien Silva going to Monaco
— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) January 28, 2019
According to the Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur, Monaco are open to loaning Tielemans for the remainder of the season.
Monaco are willing to loan out Youri Tielemans until the end of the season. #lcfc pic.twitter.com/rrAlgSlLcl
— Kristof Terreur 📰🎥 (@HLNinEngeland) January 28, 2019
The big news this morning is that Leicester have, according to multiple reports, decided they need to strengthen in central midfield and have thus tabled a £20m bid for Monaco’s Youri Tielemans, the 21-year-old Belgian. He is apparently keen on a move to England, and his signing would be a real coup for the Foxes.
Here’s an update from Sky’s Adam Leventhal, who has impeccable Vicarage Road-based sources. The prospect of a Hornet called Cornet looks unlikely to become reality, sadly.
#WatfordFC transfer update
— Adam Leventhal (@AdamLeventhal) January 28, 2019
Cornet deal looking distant with sources suggesting he has decided to stay at Lyon. I understand club open to sale for fee in region of £25m but down to player to chose & may lead to Summer reappraisal
Re Deulofeu to AC Milan for £25m - not happening
Morning world!
Tick, tock says the big transfer clock. Time is running out, with the Premier League’s transfer guillotine set to fall at 11pm GMT on Thursday. The way the month has gone so far, either most of the significant action is going to be compressed into the final few hours and days, or there isn’t going to be any significant action at all. For now we watch, we wait, and we hope for imminent excitement. Here are today’s key rumours:
Updated
