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The transfer window is something which is always eagerly awaited by football fans all over the world, for it symbolizes a fresh air of hope. Gossips and rumours strewn in sports columns of newspapers become the order of the day. Player agents will be found to be in constant dialogue with many a club, amidst transfer fees and weekly wages being the points of discussion over hot beverages.The January transfer window represents all this, added to the fact that a good chunk of the season has been done and dusted therein. Hence, clubs will be employing their particular strategies to repair the chinks in the armour by luring the best available talent in the globe.The 2016 January transfer window will be opening on the 2nd for the Premier League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1. It opens on January 4, 2016 for La Liga and Serie A. It will run until Monday, February 1 for all major European leagues as January 31 falls on a Sunday. It can be said, without a shred of doubt that this one-month period will be that of frenzied unpredictability.Here is a list of five European clubs which simply cannot wait for the window to start.
#1 Chelsea
The whole of the footballing world has been stunned by the way last season’s English champions have choked their way into the bottom half of the English Premier League this time around. Jose Mourinho, the ‘Special One’, has so far been a failure in addressing the imminent concerns of the Blues as Stamford Bridge has seen itself plummeting deep into a downward spiral.
Chelsea is currently languishing at a pitiful 15th place, a mere five points above the relegation zone. Their go-to man and star playmaker, Eden Hazard has been a shadow of his past self, managing to notch only a single goal so far in the league. Adding salt to the wound is the long-standing absence of Thibaut Courtois, their numero uno goalkeeper.
The new recruit from FC Barcelona, Pedro has also been found wanting, with him missing the mark in replicating the form and consistency he had, in Spain. Therefore, with the defence leaking goals, midfield lacking cohesion and the attack being rendered toothless, it is a no-brainer that the Londoners will be aiming for reinforcements, come the January transfer window.
Amidst news that Radamel Falcao might be shown the door, rumours suggest that Chelsea have shown interest in signing players like Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli, Harry Kane from fellow Londoners Tottenham Hotspur, Antoine Griezmann from Atletico de Madrid, Paul Pogba from Juventus, Amadou Diawara from Bologna, Stefano Sensi from Cesena and Jonathan Calleri from Boca Juniors.
While all these can be dubbed as mere gossip, one or two of these acquisitions might be enough to redeem Mourinho’s side as they look to get back into top four contention. Whatever be the case Chelsea have no go, other than changing their shape in January, probably the reason they cannot wait for the transfer window to start.
#2 Inter Milan
The predicament of Inter Milan, the Nerazzurri, is in stark contrast to that of Chelsea, as the former finds itself sitting atop the Serie A table, with an impressive tally of thirty points from thirteen matches, dropping just nine points in the process. Roberto Mancini’s side has proved to be very successful in methodically executing their plans, albeit inviting a fair share of criticism from certain corners.
Their ace custodian Samir Handanovic has been instrumental in Inter’s success as the side has relied on his reflexes quite a lot recently. Although their defensive style of play has been getting a bit of flak from critics the attacking combination has truly clicked with Mauro Icardi and Stevan Jovetic finding their foothold properly. The newfound form of Jonathan Biabiani and Adem Ljajic is also a joy to behold for the Inter fans.
But if reports are to be believed fan favourite Rodrigo Palacio might be headed to Boca Juniors. He might be followed by Andrea Ranocchia who has been linked with rivals AC Milan, and their talisman Mauro Icardi, who has drawn interest from Arsenal. Also in the limelight is the news that Andrea Pirlo might be attracted to a switch to Inter, a move which will see him set the San Siro ablaze again after his long stint with the Rossoneri.
It has been reported that Inter is keen on signing Jese Rodriguez from Real Madrid, in addition to acquiring the services of Nikola Vlasic, the Croatian starlet. Hence there is no wonder as to why the Milan team is eagerly waiting for the winter window to begin.
#3 Liverpool
After seeing erstwhile manager Brendan Rodgers being given the axe and duly been replaced by the much accomplished German gaffer Jurgen Klopp who has ushered in a fresh philosophy, Liverpool has truly had a mixed season so far. From being unable to score goals at all, the Reds have turned their fortunes around by displaying inspired performances one after another, the most recent one being the impressive 4-1 drubbing of Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Klopp has succeeded in making a mark for himself in the Premier League with his signature playing style of relentless pressing by all the outfield players. Due to this especially they find themselves slowly clawing back into the top half of the English Premier League at a respectable ninth place, with 20 points in the kitty from 13 matches.
Anfield has again become the reverberating cauldron of noise that it once was, as James Milner and company strive day in, day out to embody the ‘heavy metal’ style of football that Klopp used to envisage, back in his coaching days at Borussia Dortmund. With club captain Jordan Henderson and star striker Daniel Sturridge injured, the Scousers have had players like Philippe Coutinho, Jordan Ibe and Christian Benteke coming to their rescue.
Hence it is unsurprising that the club is looking forward to signing a few players in the coming January transfer window. The club does not have a lot of replacement players in the squad for some positions. Klopp himself has expressed his desire to sign a new goalkeeper. The centre midfield and attacking midfield also need strengthening, as the bulk of the burden falls inevitably on Emre Can and Coutinho.
Some names in the rumoured list of arrivers are Isco from Real Madrid, Ilkay Gundogan and Marco Reus from Dortmund and Manuel Lanzini from West Ham United. It is with bated breath that Liverpool will be watching the winter window.
#4 FC Barcelona
Perhaps one of the very few clubs which have had unmitigated success over the past year, FC Barcelona has enjoyed a great deal of plaudits for their own spectacular way of playing the beautiful game. The current UEFA Champions League and Spanish La Liga holders have been in the form of their life, with the club churning out brilliant performances every weekend, making the Camp Nou faithful happy and contented, to the fullest.
The trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar has been par excellence without doubt, as was evident in their thumping victories over Real Madrid and AS Roma most recently. All doubts that the Blaugrana might not be able to replicate their form without able reinforcements owing to the departure of Xavi Hernandez to Al Sadd, Pedro to Chelsea, Ibrahim Afellay to Stoke City and Gerard Deulofeu to Everton, have been cast away by Luis Enrique’s side.
But the Barca manager will obviously like to play it safe by getting a couple of players who can prove to be able replacements for the aforementioned ones who had their way out of the Catalan club. Some of their possible targets include Liverpool’s Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho, Juventus’ Paul Pogba and the AS Roma duo of Alessandro Florenzi and Miralem Pjanic.
Yet perhaps the most important reason as to why Barca would be closely watching the January transfer window, could be that the transfer embargo imposed by FIFA on them will be over, come this January, meaning thereby that they could finally be able to play both Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal, players they signed from Atletico de Madrid and Sevilla respectively.
The winter transfer window is bound to strengthen FC Barcelona as a unit, and maybe that is why the club is patiently waiting for it to begin.
#5 Manchester United
The story of the Red Devils, so far this season, has been quite baffling, to say the least. Louis Van Gaal’s side has not only failed to carve out an attractive way of playing attacking football, but also lacked the consistency a side needs to come up trumps at all levels.
Despite shelling out a lot of money to secure the services of Anthony Martial, Memphis Depay, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Matteo Darmian from AS Monaco, PSV Eindhoven, Bayern Munich, Southampton and Torino respectively and Sergio Romero on a free transfer from Sampdoria, United have not really found real form in the Premier League or the Champions League.
Still they have huffed and puffed their way to the second place in the League behind surprise leaders Leicester City, largely thanks to the well-organized defence spearheaded by Chris Smalling and their trusted custodian David de Gea. Luke Shaw broke his leg in what could be a time-consuming injury lay off, due to which Van Gaal might need to sign a left back in January.
They have also loaned off James Wilson, their substitute striker to Brighton and Hove Albion very recently, in addition to selling strikers Robin van Persie and Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez to Fenerbahce and Bayer Leverkusen respectively. The resulting dearth in the striking department might be compensated by signing a new striker, and names like Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy, who is enjoying a purple patch, are doing the rounds.
After failing to land Sergio Ramos and Nicolas Otamendi in the summer window, United might be looking to sign Mats Hummels from Borussia Dortmund this January. Other names in the rumoured list are Cristiano Ronaldo, Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller and Sadio Mane. Van Gaal and the red half of Manchester will surely be eagerly anticipating the beginning of the January transfer window.
