Transfer Deadline Day is upon us – so what transfer deals are we still expecting to get done?
Christian Eriksen has finally completed a move away from Tottenham, Moving to Inter Milan. Manchester United have finally come to an agreement for midfield Bruno Fernandes; In what was beginning to become a “will it, won’t it” saga! However, there are still a lot of deals that are up in the air and some still yet to be confirmed. Ahead of today’s 11 pm deadline, I will assess which deals we are most likely to see happen
Islam Slimani – Leicester City to Manchester United
Manchester United are desperate for a striker after the injury to Marcus Rashford. United was already light in the forward department after the departure of Romelu Lukaku in the summer; But with Martial and Greenwood the only two fit strikers, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in need of reinforcements.
United have been linked with Slimani and Odion Ighalo. While it is shocking that they are linked to them, January is not an ideal window to purchase a quality forward at a reasonable price; Prices are usually inflated.
While it would be the biggest shock of the window, time is running out, both have Premier League experience and a short term loan would be perfect for all parties. United NEED a striker.
Olivier Giroud – Chelsea to Inter Milan, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Lazio
Olivier Giroud is surplus to requirements at Chelsea and it will be no surprise if he does, in fact, leave in this transfer window. Giroud had been tipped for a permanent transfer to Inter Milan but that looks to have collapsed for financial reasons. There have been links to Spurs however it would be highly unlikely for Chelsea to sanction a deal to a club they are in direct competition with.
There has also been talk of Newcastle making a move for Giroud on Loan to solve their striker issues. However, I am led to believe that Giroud’s preference would be to stay in the south of England or move to Europe. This has led to Lazio becoming frontrunners to seal his signature. It still remains seen where Giroud will end up; But the transfer could all rest on Chelsea bringing in a replacement.
Olivier Giroud
Edinson Cavani – PSG to Chelsea, Atletico Madrid
Edinson Cavani hasn’t started a game for PSG since November 8th, his contract runs out at the end of the season and he has handed in a transfer request. I guess it’s fair to say Cavani is almost definitely leaving PSG this window. The real question is where will he go?
Chelsea have an interest in bringing in an experienced striker with Tammy Abraham injured and Giroud almost out the door. However, negotiations have reportedly not progressed. Manchester United have shown an interest and Cavani fits the mould of strikers they historically go for; World Class strikers coming to the end of their careers – Falcao, Henrik Larsson and Ibrahimovic are prime examples.
However, Cavani has his heart set on Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone is an admirer. So it would be no surprise if he arrived at the Wanda Metropolitano on deadline day.
Edinson Cavani
Moussa Dembele – Lyon to Chelsea
Chelsea are crying out for a striker and Frank Lampard has made it clear that it’s his priority to bring in a goalscorer before the window closes. It’s been evident in recent games against Arsenal and Newcastle that they are crying out for a striker; They had more than 20 shots but lost points in both games.
Scouts have been watching Dembele in recent games but it remains to be seen if Lyon are willing to let go of one of the prized assets in January. Dembele would be open to a return to the Premier League; The 23 year old made 3 appearances as a youngster at Fulham so a move back to the capital would be appealing.
Other clubs such as Man United have shown an interest but I expect if Dembele is on the move in January, his likely destination is Stamford Bridge.
Dries Mertens – Napoli to Chelsea
Dries Mertens is an experienced International and Champions League forward and is very close to becoming Napoli’s record goalscorer. However, he has just become Chelsea’s last throw of the dice in the January transfer window.
Mertens contract runs out in the summer so Napoli could be inclined to do a deal. Any deal for Mertens from a Chelsea point of view would be a short term fix with long term target Timo Werner not interested in leaving his current club In January.
Chelsea are in need of some quality in front of goal and January is normally a hard window to pick up quality for a reasonable price so a deal for Mertens could be the bargain of the window
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Dries Mertens
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – Southampton to Tottenham Hotspur
A move by Spurs for midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has come pretty late in the window but it does have substance. Hojbjerg is a Champions League winner and has been instrumental in the upturn in Southampton’s recent form.
With Injuries to Moussa Sissoko and the sale of Christian Eriksen; Tottenham are crying out for some creativity in Midfield. A move for an experienced Premier League Midfielder; Who has played in and won the Champions League. And only has 1 year left on his contract could be a shrewd move. However, it would be very surprising if Southampton let go of one of their star players without bringing in a replacement.
With it being Transfer Deadline day I cannot see Southampton bringing in a replacement so while this deal could happen, I think its more likely to happen in the summer.
Paul Pogba – Manchester United to Real Madrid
Real Madrid have been long term admirers of Paul Pogba; Zinedine Zidane has made no secret that Pogba is his number one target.
At the beginning of the window I thought there was no chance of Pogba leaving in January. However, there have been recent reports that Pogba is out of favour with Solskjaer and with the arrival of Bruno Fernandes, United may decided to offload. The fact Pogba is still out Injured does make that tricky. So it is more likely he will depart for Spain in the summer. But could the transfer of Pogba be the shock of deadline day?
Paul Pogba
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