As the winter transfer window came to a close in most of Europe’s top leagues, especially in those of the highest level, it’s a good time for a brief overview of some of the most significant activity in the market.
Although much less active than the summer window, it still saw some big moves, especially thanks to teams like Manchester City, whose poor form in the first half of the season left them in a drastic need for fresh strenghts. So, why not start with them?
Biggest spenders of the winter
The sub-headline really says it all – The Citizens were this winter’s highest spenders, by quite some margin. A mix of injury-related problems and some of their most reliable players falling out of shape, the club decided that January was the time to start the rebuild of a squad that is almost certain to go through even more changes in the time to come.
Egyptian winger Omar Marmoush joined for a staggering €75M after having a dream season with Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. Their back line, arguably their weakest spot, got an overhaul with two new signings, two centre-backs: Uzbek talent Abdukodir Khusanov and a promising Brazilian from Palmeiras, Vitor Reis.
They’ve also spent €60M in trying to find a replacement for their most notable absence, Ballon d’Or winner Rodri. La Masia graduate Nico González joined from Porto to try and fill in his fellow countryman’s shoes.
The Italian Job
AC Milan is another giant that has decided to improve it’s squad for the remainder of the season. Although most deals they’ve completed were loan deals, they did make a permanent transfer for Santiago Giménez, the Mexican striker that’s been lighting up the Eredivisie with Feyenoord for a few years now. Álvaro Morata left for Galatasaray and João Félix was singed on loan.
The biggest name, however, must be Man City’s right-back Kyle Walker who joined the Rossoneri on loan in an attempt to rediscover his finest form.
Villa adds firepower to stay competitive in all fronts
In a situation different to that of Manchester City and Milan, but still facing some new and important challenges, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa was also a team that made a few interesting moves in the market.
Most of them, much like Milan’s, were loan moves. They snatched the opportunity to strike a deal with Marcus Rashford who’s future seems to be away from Old Trafford as long as Rubén Amorim’s in charge. A player of undisputed quality, Rashford could be a dream package for Aston Villa if everything clicks in the right way.
Similar is the case of Marco Asensio – a player who’d seen it all and won it all with Real Madrid joined PSG in 2023, but struggled to find the rhythm in France. Unai Emery hopes to push the right buttons to unlock the best version of the Spaniard which is very, very good. Axel Disasi joined on loan from Chelsea to make up for the departure of Diego Carlos who left for Turkey.
Speaking of departures, Aston Villa is the club that received the highest transfer fee this winter, a stunning €77M from Al Nassr for the services of Jhon Durán. The 21-year-old Colombian striker impressed every time he was on the pitch for Villa this season, but opted to leave in a big money move. As his replacement, Villa have hand-picked Borussia Dortmund’s Donyell Malen who joins for a fee of €25M.
Tukrey’s two giants set to go toe-to-toe yet again
As we mentioned Fenerbahçe in the previous paragraph, it’s only fair to mention the remaining signings by José Mourinho, as they’ll also be very familiar to footballing fans around the world – Anderson Talisca and Milan Škriniar. Fenerbahçe weren’t hesitant to invest funds in their squad in order to catch their nemesis, Galatasaray, who are currently looking good for a domestic three-peat.
They haven’t been sleeping themselves, either, in the winter market as they’ve brought in Álvaro Morata from AC Milan and brought back Mario Lemina, the midfielder who already played with Galatasaray during the 2019-20 season.
Biggest deals across the world
To wrap things up, a brief overview of the biggest deals of the winter. The already mentioned deal involving Jhon Durán was the biggest fee spent. Saudi clubs continue to spend money, but not quite recklessly as we might have expected when their shopping spree started last summer. Al Ahli reinforced their squad with Galeno, Porto’s exciting winger. Porto’s other big outgoing transfer, the sale of Nico González, leaves them in a solid position when it comes to the funds available for squad strengthening.
A huge move involving two of Europe’s finest, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain, was that of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia who moved to France for a fee of €70M. PSG was involved in another big deal, this time on the other end – RB Leipzig decided to make Xavi Simons‘ loan deal a permanent one. The young Dutchman is enjoying life in Bundesliga and is one of Leipzig’s leaders with an impressive Sofascore rating of 7.54 across all club competitions. The move cost Leipzig €50M, but is one their fans will definitely welcome.
