The January transfer window opened for business yesterday, and rarely has so much been at stake for teams in the lucrative English Premier League.
Lagging behind in the race for Champions League qualification, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool could be the most active of the major powers as they look for a strong finish to arguably the most unpredictable season in the Premier League’s 24-year history.
Then there is the scramble to avoid the costliest-ever relegation from England’s top division. Next season ushers in the start of the Premier League’s new three-year TV deal worth a record US$8 billion, and no club will want to miss out on a share of that bounty.
So, count on England being the place where most deals are done over the next month, as usual. In January last year, English clubs were easily the biggest spenders, splashing out about ￡130 million (US$213 million at exchange rates of the time) to shatter the record for the season as a whole at ￡760 million.
Top teams operating strategic transfer plans rarely do major deals in this period. Likely targets can be ruled out of the Champions League and managers can be scared off by inflated prices.
This season could be different.
Chelsea are in 14th place, three points above the relegation zone, in the most woeful title defense that the Premier League has seen. A top new signing by caretaker coach Guus Hiddink could inspire a revival and the striker department needs refreshing.
“The window is wide open,” Hiddink said on Wednesday.
Just as it will be at Manchester United, where Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney are the only two strikers at a club struggling to score goals. A world-class striker could make all the difference for under-pressure United manager Louis van Gaal, who is likely to add to the US$375 million he has already spent in his 18 months in charge.
“Our problem is not dominating the games, it’s to score,” Van Gaal said on Thursday, adding that last year had been a “good year” for United, apart from December.
It is Juergen Klopp’s first transfer window since becoming Liverpool manager. Will he return to his old hunting ground of Germany to bolster Liverpool’s squad?
It will also be interesting to see whether Leicester City, remarkably in second place after half of the Premier League campaign, splashes out to stay in the title contention and if the team manages to keep hold of striker Jamie Vardy.
On Wednesday, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said it would be a “busy” month for his club, with a midfielder needed to solve an injury crisis.
In Spain, Barcelona have been unable to register new players until this month because of a FIFA-imposed transfer ban, so last year’s signings of Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal have spent the past six months training away from the squad.
Turan joined Barcelona from Atletico Madrid in July and is expected to reinforce the club’s left flank. Vidal arrived from Sevilla and likely will be the back-up for Dani Alves at rightback.
Real Madrid made a mess of trying to sign goalkeeper David de Gea from Manchester United at the end of the last transfer window and embattled club president Florentino Perez might try to make amends.
However, Spanish clubs do not usually spend big on January acquisitions and there has been no major speculation about any major signings.
In Germany, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are likely to give up rarely used players rather than bring in major new signings.
Bayern’s situation is made more complicated by the upcoming departure of coach Pep Guardiola, so any new players would probably have to be cleared by incoming coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS