That’s it from me then. Nothing has happened, again, but I’ve quite enjoyed it. Have a good weekend everyone and I’ll see you on Monday.
Patrick van Aanholt is expected to complete his move from Sunderland to Crystal Palace over the weekend after starting a rigorous medical at the south London club on Friday. The Holland international will cost an initial £10m, potentially rising as high as £14m, and will be reunited with his former manager on Wearside, Sam Allardyce, at Selhurst Park.
Palace still hope to make further additions to their squad ahead of Tuesday’s transfer deadline, with interest retained in Carl Jenkinson at Arsenal. Reports in Greece have suggested the Serbia international, Luka Milivojevic, may also join for around £10m.
Ben Blatch-Hanion gets in touch after the earlier Bayern youth system post
Further to Markus Babbel’s comments about Bayern, I thought I’d chip in with an anecdote. I played school-level football with a guy who, a few years on from our time playing together, was picked up by Bayern from an Austrian top-division team. He was there for a few years during which time he was called up by Austria for whom he played at various age levels (he also appeared on a couple of editions of Football Manager!). There was also a bit of a tug of war between Austria and New Zealand over trying to get him to play for them, as he was eligible for both. However a few years later and he’d been released to a lower division German side, and as far as I’m aware now he just plays for a local team and has a ‘normal’ full time job.
Nice analogy here from Jürgen Klopp...
Here is an interesting one. Lucas Scholl, the son of the simply wonderful former Bayern player Mehmet, has been sold by Bayern Munich to Wacker Nordhausen. The 20-year-old was recently at FC Luzern in Switzerland trying to get a deal there but did not impress sufficiently to get one.
Now the former Bayern (and Liverpool) defender Markus Babbel, who is manager at FC Luzern, has hit out at Bayern’s youth system. “He is a huge talent and technically superbly educated but he also has weak points. I don’t think that the youngsters at Bayern are prepared for the future. That is not only if it is going to work at Bayern or not.
“I can’t think of any Bundesliga player that has had his football education at Bayern. Not even in the second Bundesliga. Then you have to ask critical questions of Bayern too.”
Strong words. He may have a point though.
OK, so let’s recap. What has happened today?
- Patrick van Aanholt is having his medical at Crystal Palace
- Roma have made a €30m bid for Chelsea target Franck Kessié
- Liverpool are offering Joe Gomez a new five-year deal
- Rafa Benítez has said that none of his goalkeepers are for sale
- Young Clément Grenier has joined Roma on loan from Lyon
- The Hull target Leon Bailey is set to join Bayer Leverkusen
Hmm, that’s about it. I’ll keep it going for a bit more because normally when I finish this live blog at least two signings are immediately announced.
Updated
Another Chelsea signing goes out on loan…
Good luck at Swindon Dion! 👍https://t.co/RJw6PNBaUD
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 27, 2017
Quiz time!
Ed Aarons has made it quite clear by now that he is not taking a day off. I like it.
Rotherham have made a bid worth up to £800,000 for Grimsby striker Omar Bogle, with Leeds and Norwich expected to match the offer for the 23-year-old. The League Two side had previously rejected two approaches from Rotherham for the player they signed from non-league side Solihull Moors in 2015 but are now likely to allow him to leave Blundell Park. Bogle has scored 19 goals this season and has been interesting several other sides in the second tier, including Reading and Derby. Now that struggling Rotherham have made the breakthrough, however, the time has come to firm up that interest.
Meanwhile, Grimsby goalkeeper James McKeown has submitted a transfer request after losing his place to Manchester United loanee Dean Henderson.
Another done deal. Liverpool midfielder Cameron Brannagan has joined Fleetwood Town on loan until the end of the season.
Ed Aarons should be on a day off but, as we all know, there are no days off during the transfer window…
The signing of South Africa international Keagan Dolly from Mamelodi Sundowns to be announced by Montpellier later this afternoon
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) January 27, 2017
Newcastle news!
Rafa Benítez has used his pre-Oxford United away in the FA Cup press conference to reiterate that he remains “optimistic” about making two signings before the transfer deadline. Newcastle’s manager wants a winger – preferably Andros Townsend – and a midfielder. He made it clear that while there was “no news on Andros at the moment” that the deal is still very much alive and emphasised just how much he “likes Andros”.
Palace don’t want the loan Newcastle’s owner Mike Ashley is inclined towards so much hinges on whether Ashley – who doesn’t want to spend this window – releases the cash.
Benítez, meanwhile, has said that his three goalkeepers, Karl Darlow, Rob Elliot and Matz Sels will not be going anywhere this month and that Tim Krul will remain at Ajax on loan.
Updated
Done deal! Clément Grenier has joined Roma from Lyon on loan with the Serie A club having an option to buy in the summer for €3.5m. Now that is an interesting signing.
Good signing? What do we think?
Jürgen Klopp: Liverpool unlikely to make any signings in January
Klopp was also asked by Sky at his news conference if Liverpool would “spring a late surprise” in the transfer window to which the German answered:
I could say yes so that you could put Liverpool on your screen but it is unlikely
Jefferson Farfán is close to a move to Lokomotiv Moscow from Al-Jazira. The former Schalke player is, according to Kicker, set to have a medical in Munich today and join the Russian club if all goes according to plan. A good excuse to watch some Farfán goals.
Monaco’s Falcao, meanwhile, says he has rejected three offers from China
I have said no three times, and it is difficult to reject these sort of offers. For the club it is not easy either, they offered them a lot of money. But I want to win with Monaco, and show that I have come back to 100%. That is my motivation.
Jürgen Klopp has been talking as well and it does not look as if he is looking for a new goalkeeper.
I think goalkeeper is our smallest issue. I am fine with the goalkeeper issue
The German also talked about Lazar Markovic, who is still under contract at Liverpool but on loan at Hull, who face the Merseysiders in the league soon.
Markovic still has a contract. Why shouldI say he has no chance to play for us again? When he plays very well against us, then I say no future here!
It’s gone very quiet. Almost as if everyone was watching that incredible Nadal v Dimitrov match (Nadal through to final by the way). I’ve got a question then. What is the latest with Anouar El Ghazi’s possible move from Ajax to Lille? Also, is he any good?
Things are moving in Italy. Crotone have announced the signing of Maxwell Acosty from Serie B side Latina Calcio. This, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, could start a series of moves, including Raffaele Palladino from Crotone to Genoa and then Lucas Ocampos from Genoa to Milan. Fingers crossed, it’s been another quiet day...
José Mourinho has spoken about Anthony Martial’s situation at Manchester United and challenged him to be ‘magnificent’ against Wigan on Sunday. And if he is magnificent, he will be part of the team against Hull. Up to you Anthony.
Antonio Conte then impressively vague on new signings …
What improvements could you make to your squad?
In any area? I think we have to improve our squad in the number of players because I think that, in some roles, we only have a few players. If that happens, I’ll be very happy. If it doesn’t, I’ll continue the way we are.
Antonio Conte on the Begovic situation
There is this Begovic situation, that Bournemouth asked for him. But Begovic is Chelsea’s player and I’m very happy to have him to stay in the squad. I’m very happy with his commitment, his behaviour on and off the pitch. He’s also very important in the changing room for me. Only if we have a good replacement can he go. Otherwise he stays here.
Begovic starts [tomorrow against Brentford]. He is a Chelsea player. It’s important to understand this. Begovic, for me, stays. It’s important the players understand me and the club. Not one club is able to sell your good players. We are open to help him if there is the opportunity to replace him in the best way. If it’s not possible, Begovic stays with us until the end of the season. Then we’ll evaluate his situation right away.
Updated
This piece, by Jonathan Wilson on Ghana coach Avram Grant, includes my favourite quote of the day. Actually make that my favourite quote of the week.
I once said to Drogba: ‘In your head there are four monkeys, three chairs. Let’s find a fourth chair.’
Brilliant. Here is the full piece:
Hamburg, in trouble at the bottom of the Bundesliga (as we’ve come to expect in recent years, are looking to sign the Gremio defensive midfielder Walace. There was already interest in the summer but now the sporting director Jens Todt has travelled to Brazil to try to convince the Olympic winner to join the club in January, according to Bild.
Alen Halilovic has been presented as a Las Palmas player. Hope it goes well for him there.
Comienza la presentación de @AlenHalilovic, #UDRadio en directo. ¡Bienvenido! 🐥🐥 pic.twitter.com/b1NBsmdSco
— UD Las Palmas (@UDLP_Oficial) January 27, 2017
Middlesbrough are pondering a part-exchange deal which would see Jordan Rhodes joining Aston Villa – where Steve Bruce is a long term admirer – and Jack Grealish heading to Teesside. The chemistry between Grealish and Aitor Karanka would certainly be intriguing to monitor.
More from France today and Get French Football News:
According to reports, Lille have rejected a €12m offer from Crystal Palace for central midfielder Ibrahim Amadou (although Sam Allardyce denied all knowledge of such a bid this morning). The player confirmed this morning in an interview with L’Équipe that he would remain with Les Dogues until the end of the season and is believed to be in contract extension talks with the club. His current deal expires in 2019.
Lille’s new owner Gérard Lopez, who officially bought the club yesterday, is making an ambitious play for AS Roma’s 19-year-old attacking midfielder Gerson. L’Équipe claim that a loan with option to buy deal is close to completion.
St Étienne have announced the loan signing of French winger Anthony Mounier from Bologna, with an option to buy.
Updated
This is the latest on Dmitri Payet joining Marseille from Get French Football News
Marseille are now confident that they will wrap up a deal for Dimitri Payet before the January window shuts, as negotiating positions between West Ham and the Ligue 1 side are closer together than ever before.
The player’s agent, Jacques-Olivier Auguste, has however denied the existence of a provisional contract agreement with Marseille: “I deny the existence of an agreement between Dimitri and Marseille in the conditions cited, both in terms of the wage and in terms of the length of the deal,” he told L’Équipe. Payet was previously understood to have agreed to a €7m a year wage (gross) on a four-and-a-half year deal with OM.
And Bryan Cristante has joined Atalanta on loan from Benfica having spent the first half of the season at Pescara. Would love to know why he is called Bryan. A tribute to Bryan Adams? Bryan Robson? Does anyone know?
#Calciomercato #Atalanta ecco Bryan #Cristante https://t.co/rTijFsUyGT #AtalantaLife 🖤💙 #GoAtalantaGo ⚫🔵 pic.twitter.com/M35orCAvAK
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) January 27, 2017
Fresh from securing Philippe Coutinho on a five-year contract - no release clause, no release clause! – Liverpool are in discussions over a new deal for Joe Gomez. The England Under-21 international has only recently returned to the first team having recovered from two serious injuries, cruciate and achilles, and his current contract does not expire until 2020. Jürgen Klopp, however, has been hugely impressed with the young defender and has instructed Liverpool to award the 19-year-old a five-year deal with improved terms. Talks are believed to be at an advanced stage.
Updated
Or you can receive browser notifications on a whole league or indeed, for just your favourite team here. I’m subscribing to Genoa by the way. It’s been a busy month …
Did you know that you can sign up for the Guardian’s Facebook/Messenger notifications so that you can an update when your favourite club has made a signing? Well, you can. We’ve got all the clubs in the top five leagues in Europe, from Bordeaux to Juventus and from Watford to Granada?
Hull, as my colleague Ed Aarons points out, are interested in the Anger winger Nicolas Pepe, and could well conclude a £9m deal for him before the end of the transfer window.
Done deal! Everton goalkeeper Russell Griffiths, a member of David Unsworth’s under-23s squad, has joined Motherwell on loan until the end of the season.
Right, doesn’t look as if Leon Bailey is going to Hull then. He is having a medical at Bayer Leverkusen. Nice quote from Roger Schmidt: “He is currently having a medical so the chances aren’t that small that he will play for us.”
"Leon Bailey ist gerade im Medizincheck. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass er für uns spielen wird, ist also nicht gering." #Schmidt #B04BMG pic.twitter.com/qJBLN17IVq
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04fussball) January 27, 2017
This is lovely from Andy Hunter by the way, on Lincoln. It is exactly what the FA Cup is about and I do think it is a wonderful competition.
This is from the excellent Simon Peach at PA
Manchester United midfielder Sean Goss is set to join QPR. The 21-year-old left Exeter for United in 2012 and has impressed for the reserves this season. Goss has attracted admiring glances despite being unable to make a first-team impact and is now set to join QPR for an initial £500,000.
The deal could rise with add-ons depending on the midfielder’s success at the side currently 17th in the Championship. Goss will become QPR’s second January arrival after Kazenga LuaLua joined from Brighton on loan for the rest of the season. Sebastian Polter and Sandro have this month made permanent exits to Union Berlin and Antalyaspor respectively, while Tjaronn Chery has joined Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng in a 4million deal.
Niall Boyle gets in touch on Twitter to ask:
Hi Marcus, enjoying the transfer window blog. Who do you think Hull might pick up for their 4-5 players?
Tricky question Naill and the only link I am aware of at the moment is the one with Leon Bailey at Genk. A tremendous player but the man to keep Hull up? Not so sure. Apart from that I haven’t seen anything. Anyone else?
Jose Baxter is back at Everton
Jose Baxter is back at Everton
Not sure if it qualifies as a transfer, and it is not with a view to playing for Everton’s first team, but one of the more surprising moves of the window is Bill Kenwright’s offer of a one-year contract for Jose Baxter, who is currently serving a 12-month ban after testing positive for cocaine. Baxter remains the youngest player to have appeared for Everton, making his debut in August 2008 aged 16 years and 191 days, but almost nine years on he has squandered a once promising career and been working with his boyhood club’s community department while serving his ban.
Out of the blue, fittingly, the 24-year-old was told on Thursday he has a 12-month deal with Everton’s Under-23 squad when his ban expires in June. The idea, which came from the Everton chairman, is that Baxter gets his life and career back on course and hopefully lands a deal back in professional football. David Unsworth, the Under-23s coach, explained: “Jose will start with me and the Under-23s. We can play three older players so that is not an issue. Then it is up to him. It is important to say it will not be a first-team contract. He will be given the same opportunities as everyone else. If that means he moves on to a Championship club or a League One club later on, that will be down to Jose. We want to help because that is the sort of club we are. He is one of our own, but I have said to Jose, in no uncertain terms, that this is your last chance.”
Baxter rejected a contract at Everton in 2012 to seek regular first team football elsewhere, playing for Oldham Athletic and Sheffield United, and was given a five-month ban in 2015, suspended for three months, after testing positive for ecstasy.
Updated
This is pretty impressive numbers …
Only 2 clubs out of 18 in Bundesliga made a loss in the 2015-16 season. Combined revenues exceed €3bln and post-tax profits €200m...
— Andrea Sartori (@andreasartori94) January 27, 2017
Just a bit more detail on the M’Baye Niang deal. The 22-year-old signed for Watford on an initial six-month loan contract with an option for the Premier League club to make the deal permanent in the summer for £13.5m.
However, there is also a performance-related clause that says if Niang achieves certain performance-related targets then Watford HAVE to sign him in the summer. The Guardian understands that Niang scoring 10 goals for the remainder of the season would trigger that clause.
Mind you, I thought Hull were great against Manchester United last night and also thought they played well against Chelsea on Sunday so I wonder if Marco Silva can, despite everything, do the impossible and keep them up. He said last night after the United game that he was hoping to sign another three or four – hopefully four – players before the transfer window closes. He’ll need every reinforcement he can get as he admitted that he currently only has 15-16 players training.
Maybe Martin Bain is reading this blog because he has just explained Sunderland’s thinking when it comes to the Van Aanholt transfer.
According to the Sunderland chief executive the left-back “openly stated” he “did not want to play for Sunderland again” and he is being sold with “the best interests of the club” in mind.
I have to say, Sunderland selling Van Aanholt and Hull selling Robert Snodgrass simply does not make sense.
PVA going, Anichebe injured, Sunderland's remaining squad have scored 13 PL goals - 12 have come from Jermain Defoe. ⚽😳
— DAVID JONES (@DavidJonesSky) January 27, 2017
Here is more from Big Sam on Patrick van Aanholt, who is having a medical at Crystal Palace today with Palace and Sunderland having agreed an initial fee of £10m.
He was a major saviour in our run last season. He was a major part of that success story. His contribution, in terms of assists and goals, was massive. When it came to defending he got better with me and listened to what we told him about, where the weaker side of his game was and he made it stronger. Great energy, a very good player. He and Schluppy will increase the speed and energy levels of the squad. If everything goes well, I look forward to him joining me again here. I have to get the maximum out of his talent, because he is a great talent.
Back at Sunderland, David Moyes’s attempts to replace Patrick van Aanholt have been frustrated by rejections from Swansea over Neil Taylor and Everton over Bryan Oviedo. He is now exploring a loan move for Bordeaux’s Diego Contento.
Hulls’s Robert Snodgrass is also undergoing a medical at West Ham today - and, given the seriousness of the knee injury which necessitated two operations and sidelined him for 16 months before the winger’s return to action last spring - it is likely to be thorough.
Patrick van Aanholt has medical at Crystal Palace
Updates from Crystal Palace
Sam Allardyce on Patrick van Aanholt
Patrick van Aanholt is having a medical today. It won’t go through until every aspect of negotiation, and what the medical might say (has been done). It’s in the process at the moment. I wouldn’t imagine (the heart issue) will be a problem. I’m sure the medical will be okay and he will be looking forward to joining us.
Sam Allardyce on Carl Jenkinson
Maybe. There are several we’re hopeful for between now and Tuesday, but there are many deals we haven’t got that we’ve tried to do, and I think this one – Carl – there has been a stumbling block. Whether that gets sort out, we’ll see. That has been the biggest blocker of transfers in this window, it’s become very expensive to do business in this window.
Sam Allardyce on Andros Townsend
A few clubs have asked for loans but, as we can’t get a loan in, I don’t see why we should loan anyone out. We’ve said ‘no’ for now. My focus is on people coming in, not going out. There’s nothing happening with Andros.
Updated
One player who looks to be moving on is Leicester City’s Leonardo Ulloa, who has not seen much first-team action this season. The reliable Turkish Football is reporting that Besiktas are considering a move for him. Other clubs are interested too.
Latest on Franck Kessié. Chelsea and Everton are still keen on Atalanta’s midfielder, but it looks like Roma have moved ahead of the queue with a potential €30m offer to bring him to the club for next season. Atalanta has made it clear that they are not selling in January but if Roma can get an agreement for the summer then that is a great coup. There will be a lot of disappointed clubs around Europe if they manage to snap him up, even at €30m.
Karl Darlow is being considered by Chelsea as a replacement for Asmir Begovic, who is expected to join Bournemouth for £10m. The 26-year-old has become Newcastle’s first choice goalkeeper this season and was tracked by Chelsea while he was at Nottingham Forest before moving to the north-east in 2014. Antonio Conte is keen to find a quality replacement to act as understudy for No 1 Thibaut Courtois having permitted Begovic to leave Stamford Bridge and is expected to offer around £8m for Darlow. An approach for Celtic’s Craig Gordon was given short shrift by the Scottish champions on Thursday. Gordon is out of contract in the summer, although Celtic have an option to extend his stay.
Marcus will be here soon enough. Until then, recap all of the latest movers and shakers in our transfer interactive:
Updated
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