January, the month of winter magic in the football market. It’s just that the window displays are not li up with the same intensity every year, nor are clubs willing to sell off the best footballers in the middle of the season. And many customers with proverbially deep pockets don’t decide every winter to go on a massive shopping spree.We will remember the January explosion Chelsea made exactly one year ago with the purchase of Enzo Fernandez for over 120,000,000 euros, and total expenses of 330,000,000 euros. We will not forget Juventus’ purchase of Dusan Vlahovic from the beginning of 2022 for more than 80,000,000, or say January 2018 when Felipe Coutinho went to Barcelona for 135,000,000 and Virgil Van Dijk arrived at Anfield for 84,650,000.Do not expect similar amounts at the start of 2024. The focus of the giants and more vocal clubs from the top five leagues will mostly be patching holes caused by serious injuries, and it does not seem realistic that by January 31st we will see a purchase more expensive than 50,000,000, 60,000,000 euros. Of course, there is always room for surprises.The January transfer window is OPEN! ✍️Throwback to Chelsea’s spending last year 🔵🤯 pic.twitter.com/rDiDsAkrKa— LiveScore (@livescore) January 1, 2024 So let’s start with the defenders – they are the most ‘sought-after goods’ this winter.DEFENSE: TODIBO, DRAGUSIN, ITAKURA…A big Premier League auction is being prepared for Jean-Clair Todibo, a guy who this season in tandem with the seasoned Dante has built a wall in the back line of Nice. Todibo is one of the main reasons why Nice, along with Inter Milan, have the reputation of having the best defense in Europe’s elite football leagues, and this has not gone under the radar of the members of the ‘Big Six’. He was a former member of Barcelona with a market value of 35,000,000 euros on Manchester United’s wish list this summer and his name is still there, but the clubs from London are in the foreground at the moment. Tottenham very specifically presented to Nice that they want the 24-year-old, and according to the information of the French transfer expert Santi Auna, Chelsea also joined the race. The attitude of the Eagles from the Allianz Riviera is that they do not want to break up the duo that holds their defense, but we will see if they remain immune to the offers that Chelsea and Tottenham will present.##EDITORS_CHOICE##However, Spurs also have the B option in mind, for which coach Ange Postecoglou also gave the green light to the sports sector. Radu Dragusin has been the hit of Serie A this season, especially after he helped Genoa stop Inter at Marassi in the last match of 2023. The Romanian is 21 years old, and the statistics show that this season there is no one better when it comes to air-game in Serie A. Whoever watched the duel between Genoa and Inter could make sure that the former Juventus stopper is a high-flyer – he was a permanent danger in the air, scored a goal with his head, defended perfectly against one of the league’s best forwards, Marcus Thuram. There have been rumors in the Italian and European press in recent days that Dragusin has been eyed by Barcelona as well, the Romanian is also interesting to Napoli, who have not found a new defense commander since the sale of Kim to Bayern, and Manchester United are reportedly following him. The price? Genoa will not release him for less than 30,000,000 euros even though they paid 5,500,000 to the Old Lady last summer.Ko Itakura, the sweeper of Borussia Mönchengladbach, is also in the news this winter. According to Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool sent scouts to watch the Japanese on several occasions this season, who is also being watched by Tottenham since Postecoglou once wanted to bring him to Celtic.🚨⚪️ Understand negotiations are underway between Tottenham and Genoa for Radu Dragusin after the agreement on personal terms with Romanian CB.Spurs confident to advance as contacts continue on daily basis.No changes on Jean-Clair Todibo deal, almost collapsed. pic.twitter.com/IZvflzZp5M— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 2, 2024 Todibo and Dragusin seem like the two sweepers with the best chances to change their environment and make a breakthrough in their careers, but they are not the only ones around whom dust has been rising in recent weeks. There are rumors about the potential return of Raphael Varane to Real Madrid, who after serious injuries to Eder Militao and David Alaba must react. One of Real’s picks is Sporting’s Gonzalo Ignacio, and some English media speculate that the Portuguese is also under the watchful eye of Liverpool. There is also a 20-year-old pearl hiding in Italy who plays for Atalanta, but has been in the scouting reports of big clubs for some time. Giorgio Scalvini shines in Bergamo, Italy has not had a more talented defender for a long time. Inter wanted him this summer, but he was too expensive an option, now Real Madrid and Bayern are following him, but it is more likely that his signature will meet someone’s paper in the summer. His market value has already grown to 40,000,000 euros.MIDFIELD: GALLAGHER IS CHELSEA’S BEST PLAYER BUT THE BLUES WILL LET HIM GO!?There is no place for Kalvin Phillips in the Manchester City team. This was also clear this summer when Pep Guardiola brought Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic. The defensive midfielder whom the Cityzens paid Leeds €49,000,000 in the summer of 2022 has been given the green light to leave the Etihad. For days, Juventus were the main interested party to take Phillips from Manchester, but according to the British Telegraph, Paris Saint-Germain joined the race, and Newcastle intensified their pursuit. Considering that he has spent less than 900 minutes on the pitch since he arrived at City (largely due to a serious injury), it is hard to believe that the champions of England can recover the invested money. At the same time, Phillips turned 29 a month ago.The importance of being Viktor – Chelsea have to set aside over 100 million euros, regardless of the striker they yearnOne of the biggest transfers this winter could be the departure of Conor Gallagher from Chelsea. Gallagher is cemented in the starting line-up for Mauricio Pochettino (19 out of 20 matches in the Premier League). An all-around midfielder that Chelsea would let go for around 55,000,000 to 60,000,000 euros.It may seem counterintuitive given that Gallagher wears the captain’s armband and starts games, but The Athletic assures that this is the case. The Englishman has entered the last 18 months of his contract and there are currently no negotiations or any indication of an extension. At the same time, the Blues have to put their financial books in order, and Gallagher is a player from whom the club could receive a serious cash injection. Last January, he was rejected by Everton, this summer he did not want to go to Tottenham, who are still following him, as well as Newcastle.1 – Conor Gallagher is the only player in Europe’s big five leagues this season with 20+ shots, 20+ chances created, 20+ dribbles completed, 20+ touches in the opposition box, 20+ duels won, 20+ tackles and 20+ interceptions. Unique. pic.twitter.com/drDjVq7DRR— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 29, 2023 In the Premier League, that is, in London, there is another footballer whose transfer could be one of the more pompous this winter. However, Joao Palhinha is more likely to stay at Fulham than to leave Craven Cottage. Admittedly, the parting of the Cottagers with the Portuguese is not impossible. Bayern wanted him even in the summer transfer window, but failed to bring him. A potential January transfer could hinge on Fulham signing Fluminense’s Andre. In that case, the departure of Palhinha to the Allianz Arena would be more realistic. Arsenal are interested in the Portuguese, but they are not thinking about buying before the summer, Liverpool are not currently in the game for his signature.##NAJAVA_MECA_7775966##ATTACK: SERHOU GUIRASSY – GOALS GUARANTEE FOR POCKET CHANGEThere is no player in Europe’s top leagues who has exploded this season as unexpectedly as Serhou Guirassy. The goal scorer from Guinea in the Stuttgart jersey is on fire, he has 17 goals from 14 league matches, and when it was revealed that he has an exit clause of 17,000,000 euros in his contract, Europe went crazy. AC Milan, Manchester United, Tottenham started to line up one after the other…So far, the Rossoneri have been the most specific in their talks with the Bundesliga club, but they themselves have not decided whether they will step on the gas pedal or the brake. Many dilemmas exist in Milan’s sports sector, which at first planned to overpay Guirassy a little in order to entice Stuttgart to allow him to pay in installments. But one of the problems is that Guirassy is going to the Africa Cup of Nations in January, and another detail that they are weighing at San Siro is the increasingly fruitful performances of Luka Jovic, which makes Geoffrey Moncada and Giorgio Furlani wonder if they even need a new striker this winter. Some names of potential interested parties for Guirassy have not been disclosed yet, but rest assured that the situation is being monitored by many other clubs.At the beginning of December last year, BILD announced the exchange of Jadon Sancho from Manchester to Dortmund in the winter and Donyell Malen heading in the opposite direction. And while it is a question of when one of the biggest disappointments in the history of United will leave Old Trafford, it still sounds illogical that the Red Devils will reach for Malen, who does not make a big difference even in the Bundesliga, proverbially very fruitful for attackers. However, several Premier League clubs are following the Dutchman, and for them the price of around 30,000,000 euros is not too high.GOALKEEPERS: AARON RAMSDALE IS NOT HAPPYLast season, Aaron Ramsdale was standard between Arsenal’s posts, he defended in all 38 games, kept a clean sheet on 14 occasions, helping the Gunners to be competitive in the final stages of the championship for the title, which they did not win in the end. And then this summer, Mikel Arteta brought his countryman David Raya from Brentford, created unhealthy competition at the Emirates and overshadowed the disgruntled Englishman, who mostly sits on the bench. Ramsdale wants to play and it wouldn’t be surprising if he changed his surroundings this January, even if it was on loan. He seems to be an ideal solution for Newcastle, who are without Nick Pope due to a serious injury.When it rains, it pours… on Arteta and his crew: “Our worst performance of the season”The center of attention this winter could be David De Gea, who has been out of work for half a year, since he parted ways with Manchester United this summer. He could also be the solution to Newcastle’s goal, but the fact is that a goalkeeper with such renowned experience, especially as a free agent, is interesting to many.WHO ARE WE LEAVING FOR THE SUMMER?A lot of dust should be raised around Kylian Mbappe, who entered the last six months of his contract at the beginning of 2024 and thus officially got his hands free to negotiate with whomever he wants and possibly sign a preliminary contract. But neither he, nor many footballers whose contracts expire in the summer, such as Luka Modrić, Toni Kroos, Piotr Zielinski, Olivier Giroud, Marco Reus or Wissam Ben Yedder, will certainly not change the environment before the end of the 2023/24 season.It’s deadly serious – and it’s official: Joker joins Paris for $22 million
