Will Arsenal need more firepower?
Victor Gokeres scored his fifth Premier League goal of the season from the penalty spot in Arsenal’s recent 1-0 win against Everton.
While he may not be able to expect the kind of return he expected in January from a player signed for £63.5m in the summer, Mikel Arteta has indicated he could enter the market if the right player is available.
“We always have to be ready,” the Arsenal manager said in December. “Depending on what happens, when you have the option to either modify the team, improve the team or protect the team, I think we need to be open to it.
“What’s going to happen from here until the window closes, it’s the same with football. So we don’t know, but we’re definitely on alert and we know where the risks could be in terms of the team and we’re ready in case we have to do something.”
‘He’s unbelievable’ – Arteta backs Jesus as striker returns from injury
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According to Sky Sports, no team in the Premier League has suffered more injuries than Arsenal since the start of last season, and the Gunners are the only team to have suffered more than 100 injuries in the past 18 months.
The arrival of eight new faces in the summer was designed to address issues with the squad’s depth, with those reinforcements currently proving essential, but it remains to be seen whether Arteta intends to address this issue further, given the team’s healthy position in both the Premier League and UEFA Champions League.
With Gabriel Magalhães and Kai Havertz both coming off injuries in preparation for their return, and Gabriel Jesus returning from a long-term ACL injury, Arsenal could very well keep the powder dry to avoid impacting business next summer.
Arsenal haven’t made a big-money deal in the January period since 2023, when Leandro Trossard arrived from Brighton, alongside Jakub Kivioglu and Jorginho.
Amorim hopes to avoid January’s mistake
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has insisted that the club will not rush into the transfer window to deal with their current injury problems, and will instead look for solutions within their existing squad.
He made clear he had no intention of pressuring Director of Football Jason Wilcox or CEO Omar Berrada for additional deals.
After the defeat to Aston Villa on December 21, Amorim said: “What we can’t do is go into January and try to do everything in a hurry and make mistakes, and then we’ll make a lot of mistakes and say, ‘Here we go again.”
“I’m not going to go with Jason and Omar and say, ‘We need a lot of players,’ because we have a plan.
‘It doesn’t matter’ – Amorim says Mainu will not be punished for his brother’s T-shirt message
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“If we have to suffer, the club comes first. Of course we are in a period where we need points, but we also need to find solutions and we will continue with our plans. You can feel at this moment that we will suffer, but we will see in time. We have to deal with it.”
The Guardian reports that there is interest in Al Hilal’s Ruben Neves and Atletico Madrid’s Conor Gallagher, while Bournemouth’s Tyler Adams is another midfielder on the radar.
Earlier this month, iPaper named Napoli and Bayern Munich as the main overseas teams interested in unstable midfielder Koby Mainu.
The player is aiming to become a regular in the first team, with reports of interest from Chelsea, West Ham and Everton.
Harry Maguire’s contract runs until the end of the season and the club have an option to keep Casemiro, but a decision on either of the senior players could be made in the spring.
Trafford stays in Manchester
Manager Josep Guardiola has always believed that any new players brought in during January need to fulfill the club’s long-term ambitions, rather than being short-term additions.
Manchester City were busy last year with Claudio Echeverri, Abdukkodir Kusanov, Vitor Reis, Omar Marmouche and Nico Gonzalez all called up, and Guardiola insists this will be no exception.
“Last season’s transfer window was for one reason only. We had no players, no old players, no players, and for the next few years we needed a new atmosphere, a new energy. That was the reason,” the Manchester City manager said in December.
“But I’m not a big, big, big, big fan of the (January) transfer window. You always have to stay open and you never know. And it’s possible that the club decides it’s good for now and for the next three, four, five, six years, but why not? But at the end of the season, it’s better to know what happened and how it was this season. It’s much better that way.”
City have emerged as the frontrunners to sign Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, with the Etihad Stadium said to be his preferred destination, according to reports.
One of the players expected to remain at the club is goalkeeper James Trafford. Despite not starting in the Premier League since August, the 23-year-old was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad in November in favor of Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson and Nick Pope.
James Trafford will remain at Manchester City next month
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Guardiola, who was linked with a transfer just six months after his move from Burnley, was asked in January if Trafford would stay: “Yes, he is a great keeper. Unfortunately for him, Gianluigi (Donnarumma) is his first choice keeper, but he is a great keeper.”
“We know the keeper position is very special. You can change in one game all year long. The keeper position is special. He’s with us, he’ll be with us this season, and then we’ll see what happens.”
Will Issac’s injury force Liverpool into action?
Alexander Isak has undergone surgery on serious injuries sustained in the win over Tottenham, “including a fractured fibula”, but it remains to be seen whether this will force Liverpool into next month’s transfer window.
The club has a long history of January action, having previously brought in the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Andy Carroll, Luis Suarez, Codi Gakpo and Luis Diaz.
Arne Slott won’t be Liverpool’s first manager looking to fill some holes, as Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho also arrived in early 2013.
‘He is a dream’, says Hargreaves of Guehi’s ability to play for Madrid
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Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi was heavily linked with a move last summer, but the move fell through in the final stages as Palace were unable to find a suitable replacement.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner has already confirmed that Gehi will not extend his contract next summer, but could Liverpool reignite their interest next month to beat the competition?
The Reds’ interest in Semenyo appears to have cooled, with Man City reportedly favorites to trigger his £65m release clause.
While Kodi Gakpo is returning to fitness, Slott is not worried about his team’s attacking depth and dismissed the prospect of calling up Harvey Elliott to strengthen options.
“Harvey is an Aston Villa player,” Slott said in late December. “He is going there for a season. Any questions about him are best asked at Villa.”
Maresca’s message is becoming more meaningful
Manager Enzo Maresca’s thin message to the Chelsea board may suggest that the January transfer window will not be as busy as the Italian would have hoped.
He has shut down numerous questions about who he would target since spending what he described as the “worst 48 hours” at the club in December – and since then, the Chelsea manager has been linked with a move to Manchester City if manager Josep Guardiola decides to leave at the end of the season.
Attention may already be turning to the summer period, with next month focusing instead on offloading fringe players.
“It never ends well” – Cole and Crouch on Maresca’s cryptic comment
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According to Sky Sports, Raheem Sterling, Axel Disasi and Tilik George will be available in the summer and could leave the club. Sterling remains in the so-called ‘bomb squad’, but a move is complicated by his desire to remain in London and his high wages.
Although Disasi has returned to first-team training, he is expected to receive renewed interest from multiple clubs as the summer approaches and could see him move away from Chelsea. George, on the other hand, is doing well but is looking for regular soccer amidst the intense competition.
Will Villa hang on or twist?
Aston Villa are torn between sticking with the players who have brought them to the unlikely position of challenging for the Premier League title and adding more options to cement their credentials.
This comes as continued restrictions under the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) are hampering summer business, and there could be a case for sanctions on the sale of players in order to gain access to the market.
Key starting pitchers such as Morgan Rodgers, Ollie Watkins, John McGinn and Matty Cash remain central to Villa’s plans, most of whom are tied to new deals, and the squad remains unchanged as they continue on an 11-game winning streak towards the end of December.
Ross Barkley’s contract ends in 2026, so he could be one of the players to leave if Villa want to get a bonus but don’t want to extend his contract.
Highlights: Tielemans winner, Villa win over Basel
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Fringe players, especially the aforementioned Elliott, could leave. Elliott’s situation is uncertain due to his loan terms and limited opportunities under manager Unai Emery. Having already featured for both Liverpool and Villa this season, his options are limited.
However, Villa did have one signing ahead of January, agreeing to sign 19-year-old winger Alisson from Gremio as a development player, with a transfer fee that could exceed £10m.
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