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The January transfer window is now behind us and though the transfer window was active for a whole month, for most of the clubs and players, it feels as if it came and went in a blink of an eye.
Like every year, there was a lot of activity in the market but not everyone was able to secure their desired move and was left frustrated at their clubs, staying put just on the hope of finally getting their transfer approved in the summer.
So, with that being said, here we take a look at the top five players, who failed to move to a new club despite being heavily linked with a host of clubs last month.
#5 Ivan Rakitic
Just until last year, Ivan Rakitic was one of the first names in the starting XI for Barcelona, but this season things have taken a turn for the worse for the 31-year-old.
Rakitic had signed a contract extension until 2021 in March 2017, when he was an indispensable player to the squad and on top of his game, but three years on and it seems he is no longer the irreplaceable player he used to be, with the Catalans acquiring lot of reinforcements in the midfield over the seasons.
In Frenkie de Jong, Arthur and also Arturo Vidal there for the manager to consider, the Croatian has been used intermittently.
Even before the transfer window was active, lot of sources reported that Rakitic's time at the Camp Nou was over and that a January move was imminent, with Manchester United and Juventus reportedly interested.
It is understood that Barcelona were willing to offload the player this month and even included him in a swap deal for Juventus striker Federico Bernardeschi, but nothing worked out in the end.
He recently spoke out on his displeasure at his situation at Blaugrana after being frozen out of the squad for the past six months. He said:
"There have been several things that I did not like. I say it very clearly."
"In the end the best thing for the club has to be what is good. We must accept not to understand some things."
As things stand, it has been reported that fellow La Liga side Atletico Madrid are already negotiating with Ivan Rakitic about a possible move at the end of the season.
#4 Gareth Bale
It is no secret that Gareth Bale is not part of Zinedine Zidane's plans at Real Madrid for the future. Since the last transfer window, Bale continues to be linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu and always top the list of players most likely to leave the club.
He came tantalisingly close to departing from the club back in the summer,with the Chinese club Jiangsu Suning agreeing on personal terms with the player offering him a whopping wage of over £1 million a week. But Real Madrid pulled the plug on the deal at the eleventh hour.
Since this fiasco, in the six months that have followed, he only made a total of 12 appearances in the La Liga for Los Blancos scoring twice and adding two assists to his tally as well.
In the January transfer window, as usual, Manchester United were reported to be interested in him, but his former club Tottenham Hotspur emerged as surprise suitors for him, with multiple reports indicating that Spurs were keen on bringing him back, especially with Jose Mourinho, his long-time admirer at the helm.
But, despite club president Daniel Levy visiting Madrid to hold talks with Real Madrid, nothing came to fruition and he is now left no other option than to bide his time at the club under a manager who does not find him useful.
#3 Leroy Sane
Leroy Sane had his best season at Manchester City in the 2018/19 campaign, in which he found the back of the net 10 times and laid on 11 assists.
But just before the current season kicked off, he was injured in the Community Shield against Liverpool. Since then he has not set foot on the pitch as he continues to recover from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
His injury proved to be a setback for the player, who was said to be interested in heading back to his home country in the summer. Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich were keen on adding him to his ranks, but with the player out injured a move didn't pan out.
Sane's current contract at the Etihad runs out in June 2021 and even when he's fit, he has often found himself struggling for a place in the starting XI under manager Pep Guardiola.
Bild reported that the player wanted to secure an immediate move to the German giants last month, but his persistent injury and Manchester City's insistence on getting at least £85 million stopped any move from happening.
As per latest reports, the German club have still maintained their interest in him and will again try to sign him in the summer, when he'll be completely fit and match ready.
#2 Olivier Giroud
Inter Milan have made a habit of signing wantaway Premier League stars in the last two transfer windows. One of their top priorities for the month was bringing in a striker and Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud was linked with them throughout.
The former Arsenal star has been intermittently used by manager Frank Lampard this season and has managed only five appearances in the Premier League this term. He has not started a game since December.
The 33-year-old has been angling for a move away from the Stamford Bridge, as a lack of playtime hurts his chances of starting for the French national team at the upcoming EURO 2020.
Two factors played their roles in blocking his move, the first one being Chelsea's asking price of £6 million for a player who can be signed for free in the summer and the other one was the unfortunate injury to Blues' top scorer Tammy Abraham, which forced Lampard's hand to not let the veteran striker go.
Fellow London club Tottenham Hotspur were also said to be interested in the striker, but the club's signing of Dutch forward Steven Bergwijn for £25 million derailed that operation.
Now with just four months remaining in his contract, he will certainly leave for free in the summer.
#1 Edinson Cavani
PSG striker Edinson Cavani found himself linked with a host of top clubs across Europe last month which included Manchester United, Chelsea, Inter Miami and Atletico Madrid.
The striker personally favoured a move to the Spanish club and was even willing to take a pay cut to join Diego Simeone's side. But the club did not move ahead with their decision to sign the player as they fell short of PSG's asking price for the Uruguayan forward.
Atletico had to give up their pursuit of Cavani from PSG due to issues with the player’s salary and Atlético’s inability to free up some cash by offloading a player or two themselves.
In a recent interview with AS, Cavani's mother revealed that there was no chance of her son moving to the Premier League as he was not motivated by money and wanted to play with Simeone. She said:
"Edinson didn't want money to be the reason, because if it was about money, he would have gone to Manchester United, Chelsea or Inter Miami, who made a big offer for him."
The 32-year-old will be a free agent in the summer and a move to La Liga with Atletico Madrid can't be ruled out.
