Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and more all remain active in the market with just a week remaining, so welcome to our live coverage of today’s latest transfer news, gossip and done deals as we bring you the very latest rumours from around the continent.
It still remains uncertain whether Manchester United will sign up Sporting Lisbon skipper Bruno Fernandes as both clubs haggle over a fee, with Sporting holding out for as much as £68m in total, while United appear reluctant to go north of £50m. Real Madrid star Gareth Bale was linked with a loan back to Tottenham, but that has been dismissed by the Welsh forward’s agent. Spurs still look keen to buy though, with Willian Jose the next man in after Gedson Fernandes. Chelsea, too, are active and seemingly keeping Frank Lampard on edge despite their transfer ban being lifted since before the window open. No additions to the first team have been made, with Wolves, at least, and feasibly many other sides closing in on the Blues in fourth in what promises to be a frantic race to qualify for the Champions League.
At the other end of tha table you will have Newcastle, Brighton, Burnley, Aston Villa and West Ham all trying to remain out of the relegation zone and Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich City all looking for that one move to put them over the top and escape the fall to the Championship. Undoubtedly now, a week out, momentum will start to pick up, so stick with us and follow all of the latest transfer news, gossip and done deals live below.
With the scrap over European places and relegation escapes causing panic for a number of Premier League clubs, the urgency to bring in reinforcements before 11pm on 31 January has dawned.
Arsenal are desperately pursuing a centre-back, Manchester United are still haggling over Bruno Fernandes, Chelsea face a stalemate with their preferred targets staying put until the summer, while for the likes of Southampton it’s more a case of holding on to their best players.
Our writers take a look at what each team needs and who they’re hoping to bring in before the window slams shut:
Arsenal
New boss Mikel Arteta is looking to freshen up his squad this month but in truth doesn’t really have the funds to do it. The Gunners are firmly in the short-term deal and loan market before next week’s deadline with PSG left-back Layvin Kurzawa the likeliest arrival. Keep an eye on departures too with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a loan target for Barcelona, one of a few first-team players who are wanted elsewhere.
What every Premier League club should do before the transfer window shuts
Aston Villa
Dean Smith finally has the striker he craves, Tanzania international Mbwana Samatta arriving from Genk for £10m earlier this week. Smith could also look for more help in the final third with AC Milan’s Krzysztof Piatek, Leicester’s Islam Slimani and Rio Ave’s Mehdi Taremi have also been linked. The long-awaited move for Louie Barry from Barcelona finally went through on Thursday, a deal which could well prove the shrewdest of all this window.
Brighton
A new right-back is top of Graham Potter’s wishlist with Martin Montoya’s form patchy at best of late. Tottenham’s Kyle Walker-Peters, available for around £12m, is a target as is Nottingham Forest starlet Matty Cash. On-loan midfielder Aaron Mooy will make his loan move from Huddersfield Town a permanent one with a fee of around £5m set to get it done. Ex-France under-19 Billel Omrani, rated at around £3m by his club CFR Cluj, is another possible arrival before the window shuts.
Bournemouth
Eddie Howe wants goals as he plots the Cherries way out of trouble. To get them it appears he has money to spend with a forward and/or a winger a priority. Lyon’s Bertrand Traore looks to be his top target with the French club looking for around £35m to do a deal for the former Chelsea man. Out wide Borussia Dortmund’s Jacob Bruun Larsen has been mentioned with a loan move the likeliest outcome for the Danish youngster. Nathan Ake looked a near-certainty to be departing this month but former club Chelsea appear to have cooled their interest. For now at least.
Burnley
Sean Dyche is keeping his cards close to his chest as the deadline nears with perhaps a central midfielder the likeliest late addition after Danny Drinkwater left for Aston Villa earlier in the window. That said, his priority may well be keeping hold of his stars with the likes of Dwight McNeil and James Tarkowski wanted men. Ben Gibson could be allowed to leave though with former club Middlesbrough one of a number of Championship clubs interested in a loan move.
United still want Maddison despite Fernandes chase
Man United are still pursuing Bruno Fernandes but do want to take a long-term view there, and not make the kind of expensive signing that is only for the short-term.
They still want James Maddison, The Independent understands, and they have investigated the possibility of Edinson Cavani this window, among a few striking options.
Chelsea
Chelsea are of course available to sign new players this month after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced their Fifa transfer ban after an appeal. Top of their wish list is a new striker, potentially to replace Olivier Giroud, who has been linked with a move to Italy. Edinson Cavani on loan is one option, while the club have long held an interest in Moussa Dembélé, only for the 23-year-old to very publicly commit himself to Lyon for the rest of the season. There have been repeated whisperings that the club intend to sign a new goalkeeper given Kepa’s poor form, although such a move this month is highly unlikely given the amount of disruption shelving the £71.6m record-signing would cause.
Everton
Everton had a very busy summer window – splashing the cash on the likes of André Gomes, Moise Kean and Alex Iwobi, among others – and with an already large squad, they were always unlikely to make too many signings this window. They have been rumoured to be interested in signing a new centre midfielder, although reports from Italy that they could move for Napoli’s Allan seem fanciful, and the poor form of Jordan Pickford has resulted in speculation they could sign a new goalkeeper. But Everton signed Jonas Lössl from Huddersfield in the summer and also have Holland international Maarten Stekelenburg warming the bench.
"He is on the transfer market in January, just like Lucas Paqueta, Suso and Hakan Calhanoglu.
“Many clubs are asking to take him on loan, but Milan want to sell straight away to recover the money they paid Genoa a year ago and reinvest immediately in new players.
“It’ll all go down to the final week of the transfer window, when his future will be decided.”
Please allow a moment for the live blog to load.
United and Chelsea have both been linked with Dinamo and Spain star Dani Olmo. There could also be some big moves across Europe. Real Madrid have been linked with a £68m move for Timo Werner, as well as Flamengo wonder kid Reinier, while Arsenal have turned their eyes to RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano as a long-term target.
