UK Edition
Why is this the slowest January transfer window ever?
As of midday on Friday, when new players had to be registered for this weekend’s round of matches, 13 Premier League clubs had not made a signing during the transfer window. To put that in perspective, in the entire window 12 months ago, every club made at least one.
Several deals are being held up because clubs, agents and players are asking for too much. It means that, with a week and a half to go, the window has barely opened.
The biggest deal, the £58 million Chelsea have committed to bringing in Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund, comes with the agreement that the winger will not even arrive until the end of the season.
Remarkably, it is one of only five permanent transfers completed – amounting to less than £80 million – although others, such as Emiliano Sala’s £15 million switch to Cardiff City and Chris Mepham’s move from Brentford to Bournemouth for the same fee, are close.
Almost all the money already spent, though, is accounted for through Pulisic and the £19 million Bournemouth have paid Liverpool for Dominic Solanke.
Both are young players with potential and the prices quoted show that this part of the market is suffering from huge inflation. If Callum Hudson-Odoi goes from Chelsea to Bayern Munich, as he wants to do, for £35 million, it will skyrocket that market even further. He is just 18 and has made only a handful of first-team appearances. The move could permanently distort an already crazy market.
The other three permanent incomings are the free agent Samir Nasri joining West Ham United, initially for just six months, David Wang, an 18-year-old winger, signed by Wolverhampton Wanderers from their Spanish partner club FC Jumilla and immediately sent on loan to Sporting Lisbon, and Huddersfield Town picking up Tottenham Hotspur full-back Jaden Brown on a free transfer.
That is it. Hardly headline news. There have been just four more deals – all loans. Fees are involved but they are not permanent deals or particularly eye-catching: involving Nathaniel Clyne to Bournemouth, Oumar Niasse to Cardiff, Jason Puncheon to Huddersfield and Ryan Babel to Fulham until the end of the season.
In truth, it is probably the way it should be. Having spent years lamenting the frenzy that appears to grip the Premier League this month, while the rest of Europe look on in amusement, we can hardly complain when clubs do not spend.
Unfortunately, though, the major factor for this does not appear to be sounder planning but the simple fact that clubs are being quoted extraordinary fees and are trying to arrange their finances through loans with options to buy because they have previously over-committed.
That is partly because budgets have been stretched and clubs – particularly Arsenal, who are paying the price for last year, and Everton – have made clear they do not want to spend until the summer. That could change – Everton could commit funds – but it may depend on what those around them do.
Last January was a prime example of two of the biggest reasons for making signings – deals that are “left over” from the summer before, such as the £75 million Liverpool spent on Virgil van Dijk, and the panic moves, such as the deal Manchester United and Arsenal entered into for Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to swap clubs and which neither can be happy with.
But right now there does not appear to be value in the market, partly because clubs simply do not need to sell unless they are made a ridiculous offer. At the same time, clubs not in danger of going down have no incentive to buy, while those in relegation trouble have to weigh up the risk of saddling themselves with signings they cannot afford if they go into the Championship.
Chelsea are the only one of the “Big Six” who are active following Manchester City’s sale of Brahim Diaz to Real Madrid for £22 million, although United are looking and Spurs may have to due to their problems with injury and absence up front.
Like Liverpool, Spurs will try to get through because they have another calibre of player – those who are versatile and can cover a number of positions. Players such as Fabinho and James Milner or Dele Alli and Lucas Moura, who is returning to fitness.
“We know very well the market is very difficult,” Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said. It is a sentiment shared by his peers except, this January, it does appear to be more difficult than ever.