The January Football Transfer Window. Necessity or distraction ?
Winter transfer window opens midnight today
The January football transfer window opens on the 1st of January 2014, and will remain so until the end of the month, this “window of opportunities” affords managers a chance to “rejig” their teams for the second part of the season. Unlike the “Summer” football transfer window that is open for over 3 months in the off-season, the “winter window” happens during the season and it’s only open for a duration of 1 month. For the Big teams looking to strengthen their teams, the biggest challenge they face is on how to get a good player that is not already cup-tied in Europe. For this singular reason a lot of people have already concluded that the Winter transfer window is not “that important” so we would mention a few transfers that took place in January and leave you to judge how relevant the January transfer can be to a team.
Fernando Torres
Liverpool FC accepted Chelsea FC record £50 million bid for Fernando Torres in the January of 2011
Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez joined Liverpool FC from Ajax Amsterdam in the January of 2011 for a fee believed to be about £23 million
Andrey Arshavin
Andrey Arshavin joined Arsenal FC from Zenit St Petersburg in Russia in the January of 2009 for a fee believed to be about £15 million pounds
Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra
Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra both joined Man Utd in the January of 2006
Vidic’s deal is believed to be about £7 million while Evra’s deal cost Man Utd about £5.5 million
And finally we take a look at Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka moved to Chelsea FC from Bolton Wanderers in the January of 2008 for a fee believed to be around £15million.
So you be the judge of the January transfer window as the discussion continues on the importance of this winter window.
But staying with the transfer deals being already touted in the media might be a tough ask as rumours have already started flying about as to who needs whom and who is staying put where? But a few teams must do something about their personnel if they really want to win laurels.
Arsenal FC
The Arrival of club record signing Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid and the return of Flamini has given the Gunners something they have lacked for quite a while. depth. Now the gunners should at least add another striker to compliment the efforts of Olivier Giroud upfront. Plus the return of Lucas Podolski couldn’t have been at a better time
Chelsea FC
The blues have been linked with several Top strikers as this seems to be the only the department of the game that needs some strengthening. Chelsea’s strikers have been firing blanks lately and the bulk of their goals have come from the midfielder with defenders also getting in on the act
Liverpool FC
The reds have had an interesting season so far and the exploits of players like Luis Suarez and Countinho are worthy of note, not looking to slip up LFC have been strongly linked with a loan deal for FC Barcelona starlet Tello, the Reds have also been linked with German forward Sidney Sam
Manchester City
The Citizens under new manager Manuelle Pellegrini seem to look the real deal, Joe Hart’s recent drop in form as seen Costel Pantilimon replace him from time to time, City have been linked to a couple of high profile Goalkeepers but it remains to be seen if Pellegrini would want to splurge on a goalkeeper at this moment
Manchester United
David Moyes’s foray into the summer transfer market is best left in the past, his biggest battle is keeping his Big star Wayne Rooney from the clutches of other Big teams while trying to shore up his ageing defence line. The whole world seems to agree with the fact that the Red Devils actually need a creative midfielder, United’s pursuit of Leighton Baines has been well documented but it remains to be seen how moyes would handle Evra and Baines (that’s if he gets his man) perhaps he would convert one just like Gareth Bale was converted at Tottenham hotspurs.