Arsenal tried for a striker, but will now stick to long-term plans

Sky Sports News’ Dharmesh Sheth:

Arsenal’s transfer window was dominated by a search for a striker following the injury suffered to Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus. Mikel Arteta and the recruitment team worked hard to try and bring someone in.

There was a bid that was rejected by Aston Villa for Ollie Watkins and there was interest in a number of other players, including Mathys Tel, but it was decided they would revert back to the longer-term summer plans and a decision was made not to recruit in January.

With regard to departures, there was lots of interest in Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney. Tierney will join Celtic as a free agent in the summer after they agreed a pre-contract agreement.

Flamengo are interested in taking Jorginho on a pre-contract agreement, but Arsenal have decided to keep the senior squad together to ensure they have cover in every position.

A strong window for Aston Villa

Sky Sports’ Patrick Rowe:

Not many teams can say they have been as busy as Aston Villa in the January transfer window and even fewer can say they have signed players of the same quality.

Donyell Malen, Andres Garcia, Marcus Rashford, Marcos Asensio and Axel Disasi marks an impressive haul in a market which is notoriously hard to navigate.

Despite leaving it late to complete much of their business, Villa have ensured Unai Emery has more options to call upon going forward while also bolstering the defence. The squad is now riddled with international and Champions League experience, which could prove to be invaluable throughout the final stretch of the season.

Mass movement has also seen the likes of Jaden Philogene, Diego Carlos, Jhon Duran and Emi Buendia all depart – but none of these players were regular starters for the Villa boss.

Receiving upwards of £100m for these players while also recruiting the likes of Rashford, Asensio and keeping hold of Ollie Watkins amid strong interest from Arsenal, marks an impressive feat for the recruitment team.

Now it is down to Emery to embed these talents for the second half of the campaign, as he looks to balance the push for a spot in the top-five with his pursuit of silverware in Europe and the FA Cup.

No new striker at Bournemouth

Sky Sports News’ Mark McAdam:

AFC Bournemouth’s window started with two serious injuries to both strikers but they’ve finished the window with no new strikers despite the club’s recruitment team scouring of the market.

Cherries boss Andoni Iraloa consistently said it was a position that was the most difficult to recruit for and that turned out to be the case.

Sixteen goals in five games would suggest they’re ok but only time will tell if they’ve left themselves short as this incredible season continues.

This window has really given an indication as to the club’s philosophy; young players they can develop for the future.

There’s been three new signings: 18-year-old Eli Junior Kroupi – who will stay at Lorient – 19-year-old Julio Soler from Lanus and 18-year-old Matai Akinmboni from DC United. All players with huge potential they’ll be hoping can become Premier League stars of the future.

It was a positive window in terms of ins but the fact they didn’t lose any of their key stars will be seen as the biggest win of the window. This summer might prove more of a challenge to keep a number of players who have all been catching the eye of Europe’s elite.

Crucial that Brentford kept hold of Mbeumo and Wissa

Sky Sports News’ Zinny Boswell:

It was a quiet window for Brentford, but crucially they kept hold of their stars Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. There was concrete interest in Wissa, with Nottingham Forest seeing a bid rejected, but it would have taken a huge offer for Brentford to sell.

There was also some interest in Kevin Schade from Borussia Dortmund, but it was never part of the plan to let any of these players go in this window and Brentford stuck with their guns.

Brentford have five key areas they want to strengthen in over the long term, one of those being right-back, and they managed to address one of those areas by bringing in Michael Kayode from Fiorentina on loan with an option to buy.

That allowed Mads Roerslev to join Wolfsburg for the rest of the season. That deal also includes an option to buy.

Brighton continue trend of finding young talent

Sky Sports News’ Elliot Cook:

Brighton have quite the reputation for finding young talent in an untapped market. Tony Bloom and the recruitment team will be hoping that they have struck gold again with the signing of 19-year-old striker Stefanos Tzimas from FC Nurnberg.

Brighton have paid the German side £20m for a player who was scouted by Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur and was also on the radar of other top European clubs. Tzimas will join Fabian Hurzeler’s side in the summer after spending the rest of the season on loan at FC Nurnberg.

The departure of Evan Ferguson to West Ham on loan looks on the face of it a good move for all parties. Ferguson wanted game time and is linking up with Graham Potter, who gave the forward his debut for the south coast club. Brighton strengthened in the centre of defence with Eiran Cashin joining from Derby and Diego Gomez arrived from Inter Miami.

But perhaps most importantly of all, Brighton resisted the millions on offer from Al Nassr to sign winger Kaoru Mitoma.

Chelsea will be pleased Nkunku stayed

Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol:

Overall Chelsea will be happy with the window. I know a lot of their supporters wanted them to sign an out-and-out striker and a new goalkeeper but that was never really on the cards.

The kind of players they’re looking at they’re more likely to get in the summer. So it was really a question of trimming their squad, doing a bit of housekeeping.

That’s why we’ve seen loan exits for Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, Joao Felix and Carney Chukwuemeka.

It’s good news that Christopher Nkunku has stayed. There were concerns that maybe he’d set his heart on a move to Bayern Munich but Enzo Maresca has suggested that they’ve had clear-the-air talks with him, and Chelsea will hopefully see the best of him.

Manchester United tried to get him as well but Chelsea were never going to let him go out on loan.

The message we had consistently from Chelsea was that this was going to be a quiet window for them. If somebody like Nkunku had left then they would replace him, but the players that have really left are fringe players.

The Blues are set to sign Mathis Amougo from St-Etienne in a £12m deal and he is one for the future, with the club believing he is a midfielder with huge potential.

But I suppose one thing that is a little bit of a concern is that they’re without Mykhailo Mudryk now, they’re without Felix as well, so have they left themselves a little bit short when it comes to forward options?

Still no striker, still no new goalkeeper but there is a new goalkeeper coming in the summer with Mike Penders joining from Genk.

Crystal Palace’s defence to be tested

Sky Sports News’ Michael Bridge:

Oliver Glasner’s preference for a back three will be tested after being unable to add a central defender on Deadline Day.

Chadi Riad’s season-ending knee injury and Trevoh Chalobah returning to Chelsea midway through his loan spell leaves them short.

You wonder if Palace might have considered Tottenham Hotspur’s reported £70m bid for Marc Guehi if they had been able to bring in new defenders.

Romain Esse is an excellent signing from Millwall who scored on his Premier League debut. Palace also needed another left wing-back and in Ben Chilwell, they have signed an England international who needs a fresh start after being left on the sides under Enzo Maresca.

Everton window determined again by PSR

Sky Sports News’ Alan Myers:

PSR has once again determined an Everton transfer window with the financial restrictions dictating what can, or more accurately, can’t be spent.

In truth, there are a number of factors that have presented themselves over the last month at the club which has resulted in the only transaction coming on the final day of the window.

Along with the finances, there was a change of manager in the middle of January and an interruption to the targets which may have been lined up previously.

Another issue which Everton faced later in the window was a raft of long-term injuries suffered by the likes of Armando Broja – who is staying at Goodison Park for treatment, rather than return to parent club, Chelsea – Dwight McNeil, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Orel Mangala.

The latter will go back to Lyon, which likely prompted the arrival of Charly Alcaraz, who joined on loan with an option to buy on Deadline Day.

There was always a feeling there wouldn’t be much money spent in this window. New owners TFG see the summer as the time to re-build, with an improving PSR landscape, a longer, less pressured transfer window, a new stadium and a chance to oversee a full squad overhaul with a number of players out of contract.

Everton have been fighting with financial difficulties, restricted to spending just £145m in the last six windows at a time when the average Premier League spend was £100m in the last window alone. There has been a gigantic effort to steady the ship over the last few years and this window has reflected the fact that there was still some work to do on that, but the summer window is expected to see a much brighter outlook and much more financial freedom.

There is of course the risk that not signing replacements – in particular for the injured players – may have an effect in the final months of the season. But with returns on the horizon, along with the three victories in his first four games, it has given Everton breathing space from the relegation zone and a renewed sense of belief that they will have enough to see them begin life in their new stadium in the Premier League.

Fulham quiet in this window

Sky Sports News’ Zinny Boswell:

Fulham have had a quiet window but managed to keep hold of Andreas Pereira despite strong interest from Palmeiras to take him to his native Brazil. Multiple bids came in but Fulham stood strong and retain one of their most key players.

It was understood that Marco Silva was keen to add a right-back with Kenny Tete injured for the foreseeable and out of contract at the end of the season, but a deal never materialised. They have recalled Devon Tanton from his loan at Chesterfield to provide cover for Timothy Castagne in the meantime.

Late on Deadline Day, Fulham have agreed a deal to re-sign veteran winger Willian to boost their attack in the final half of the season as they chase European qualification.

A busy January for Ipswich as they look to beat drop

Sky Sports News’ Dharmesh Sheth:

It was always going to be a very busy window for Ipswich Town as they battle to stay in the Premier League.

At one stage, as many as five players were predicted to come in. In the end, they signed four senior players. Ben Godfrey joined from Atalanta on loan. They finally got Jaden Philogene having agreed a deal with Hull in the summer, only for Villa to trigger a matching clause.

Philogene didn’t get the first-team opportunities that were predicted. Ipswich saw an opportunity and signed him for £20m. Julio Enciso also came in from Brighton on loan until the end of the season.

There were a couple of outs as well in Ali Al-Hamadi and Harry Clarke and on Deadline Day, they did manage to bring in a goalkeeper in Alex Palmer from West Brom.

Leicester’s morale-boosting signing never arrived

Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett:

A devilishly difficult transfer window for Leicester City, but it is one which most Foxes fans will surely categorise as dismal. A morale-boosting, squad-galvanising signing never looked likely, and none materialised.

In truth, Leicester’s bosses had little wriggle room as they continue to be very mindful of PSR restrictions. But with only a single squad player added to the ranks, there’s little to give Ruud van Nistelrooy – or the supporters – renewed reason for optimism in their relegation battle.

The fact that Leicester’s biggest headline on Deadline Day surrounded the potential swap deal with Wolves involving Conor Coady and Craig Dawson, sums it up. Both are in their thirties, and have had just one Premier League start between them in 2025. Even that transfer excitement was short-lived.

Woyo Coulibaly – back-up right-back for James Justin – was the only incoming in the winter window, meaning Leicester spent a grand total of £2m in January, despite them sitting third-from-bottom in the table.

Van Nistelrooy will have been under no illusion how tough this job was when he took it on in November. But, now in February, the winter window has done nothing to raise the mood, or the expectation levels, for anyone at King Power Stadium.

An expectedly quiet window for Liverpool

Sky Sports News’ Vinny O’Connor:

It was the window we were always expecting from the moment Arne Slot made the point he wasn’t desperate for new signings in the summer, so it would be strange to perform a U-turn on that in January.

And it’s easy to see the logic. Liverpool currently enjoy a six-point lead in the Premier League title race, they finished top of the Champions League standings and they are 90 minutes away from a return to Wembley in another League Cup final – albeit they have a one-goal deficit to overturn at home to Spurs.

The caveat, as ever, was if one of their long-term targets became available and they needed to make a move then they would. That didn’t happen and they didn’t need to spend money by bringing in numbers for the sake of it.

Injury wise, Joe Gomez is close to a return while Trent Alexander-Arnold isn’t expected to be sidelined for too long.

Federico Chiesa – Liverpool’s one summer signing – is beginning to contribute after being hampered by injury. Harvey Elliott is getting back to his best and James McConnell seemingly has a part to play between now and the end of the season, so Liverpool have, at the very least, two players for each position.

A quiet window also means that, financially at least, Liverpool are in a strong position to go after their targets in the summer. Then, they will know exactly the scale of the rebuild required as the futures of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold will have been determined.

Yes, there hasn’t been the excitement of a signing that could be looked upon as enhancing Liverpool’s quest for multiple successes this season, but it’s a measured approach that may pay greater dividends in the long term.

Man City comfortably the biggest spenders

Sky Sports News’ Zinny Boswell:

Manchester City don’t tend to do business on Deadline Day, but this year they made an exception as they brought in midfielder Nico Gonzalez at the final hour.

City were comfortably the Premier League’s biggest spenders with six additions at a cost of more than £175m as they brought forward their rebuild to help Pep Guardiola curb a troubling run of form that has seen them drop out of title contention.

The £63m acquisition of forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt was the most expensive arrival and the 25-year-old has quickly slotted straight in.

Meanwhile, teenage defenders Abdukodir Khusanov (£33.5m) and Vitor Reis (£29.4m) have been brought in with a view to rebuilding the City defence for the future.

Part of that rebuild has seen Kyle Walker depart for AC Milan on loan in a deal which includes an option to buy. The England defender’s exit marks the end of an era, having won 14 major trophies in seven full seasons at City under Guardiola.

Man Utd solve two major objectives

Sky Sports News’ Melissa Reddy:

Manchester United had two major objectives heading into the January transfer window: sign a left wing-back and find a solution to the Marcus Rashford situation.

With Deadline Day quiet against expectation, the anti-climatical feeling for supporters is understandable, but so is the club’s perspective that they’re comfortable with their business.

The signing of Patrick Dorgu from Lecce for £30m – below his valuation, and with other teams in for him – boxed off Ruben Amorim’s greatest desire in the market and United’s most pressing position.

Aston Villa’s late loan move for Rashford, with the potential for them to pay 90 per cent of his salary and a buy option of £40m has significantly trimmed the wage bill – along with Antony’s temporary switch to Real Betis – and creates room for United to manoeuvre in the summer.

Another loan outgoing is expected with Tyrell Malacia set to join PSV and in terms of trying to move players on, the transfer team has done well – especially with the salary structure of the arrangements.

There will be fears they are short in attack and criticism for not bringing in a forward. United need goals, but they also desperately need to be more sensible and financially responsible in recruitment.

The club believe they have done that by not panic buying in this window and swerving on deals they would have fell for in the past.

United, working within very tight financial constraints and PSR limits, now have more scope to spend in the summer when they feel there are better opportunities to sign players that fit into their long-term plans. That will be the true test of their transfer business.

January was always framed as a quiet window unless there were sales and Alejandro Garnacho was the only asset that generated interest in that regard – not at a fee to tempt United and actually, the 20-year-old’s performances and reaction to Amorim’s demands has only boosted his market value.

United have more trimming to do in the summer and the real shaping of Amorim’s squad vision has to begin then.

Fanbase frustration as Newcastle fail to add again

Sky Sports News’ Keith Downie:

It was a very quiet window for Newcastle, for the third time running. No new arrivals, but two departures in the shape of Miguel Almiron and Lloyd Kelly.

They were two deals that made sense for Newcastle as they eased their PSR issues. Almiron signed for former club Atlanta United for £11m, while Kelly’s Deadline Day loan to Juventus will be made permanent in the summer to the tune of £15m plus £5m add-ons.

Coining in those fees now will put Newcastle in a good position to spend in the summer – they have kept their powder dry for over a year now – but they run the risk of going stale at a key stage of the season due to lack of new arrivals.

There is a frustration from the fanbase at the overall inability to add – Newcastle are currently stuck in a PSR battle. They will be in a stronger position to spend in the summer, but to how much we don’t yet know.

They also need to achieve Champions League football with a thin-looking squad to give themselves the best chance of holding on to star names like Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali this coming summer. A big few months ahead – starting on Wednesday with a Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Arsenal.

Nuno keen to not upset balance of Forest squad

Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett:

After the Forest fireworks of Deadline Days past, this was a much more muted affair – but such is Forest’s position of power in the Premier League, the feeling was there was no need to strengthen. In fact, Nuno Espirito Santo’s priority was to avoid upsetting the positive balance in the squad, bringing in new players who would struggle to get in his team.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis told Sky Sports News in November that he felt the squad is already strong, and so probably wouldn’t pump more money in this January.

Seven new faces arrived in the summer – that was when the important moves were made. Twenty-three first team players arrived in the first 12 months following promotion from the Championship. But this is a very different Forest squad to the one that made it to the Premier League in 2022, one that doesn’t need major surgery.

The one new arrival is one for the future. Defender Tyler Bindon has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract at the City Ground and has returned to Reading on loan for the remainder of the season. The overriding priority was to tie down the club’s biggest stars, and the highlights of this window for the fans will be the new contracts signed by Chris Wood and Murillo. Forest will also trigger the year’s extension on Ola Aina’s contract at the end of the season.

The Portuguese coach likes a tight squad, and hates having players on the periphery. So the departures of James Ward-Prowse, Emmanuel Dennis and Lewis O’Brien will be seen as positives for the players themselves, and the squad unity as a whole.

Further strengthening is on the cards for the summer.

Southampton keep hold of Dibling

Sky Sports News’ Zinny Boswell:

Southampton, the Premier League’s bottom club, have refused to let their perilous position in the table force them to spend big in this transfer window perhaps to the dismay of their fans.

Arguably their biggest win of the window was keeping hold of Tyler Dibling, standing firm on their £55m valuation amid interest from Tottenham. Saints also resisted multiple loan offers for Kamaldeen Sulemana, who has shown promise under new boss Ivan Juric.

Winger Albert Gronbaek, on loan from Rennes, is likely to be the only addition that makes an immediate impact. Southampton have also added teenage defender Joachim Kay Sanda and 20-year-old Victor Udoh to their ranks, but both are unlikely to be in the first-team frame.

Left-back Welington has also come in during this window after Southampton agreed a pre-contract with him over the summer and showed promise in his debut against Ipswich in the final week of the window.

Tottenham Hotspur add ahead of crucial week

Sky Sports News’ Michael Bridge:

Mathys Tel was arguably the most high-profile signing on Deadline Day. Tel told Spurs on Friday he wanted to stay at Bayern Munich but a weekend of thinking and a long conversation with Ange Postecoglou, the deal was back on. Spurs also successfully negotiated an option to buy in the deal.

Kevin Danso arrived from Lens on Saturday night, while Antonin Kinsky has enjoyed an impressive start after his transfer from Slavia Prague.

Spurs had been working to bring in another defender after Danso, due to a serious knee injury to Radu Dragusin. They had a significant bid rejected for Marc Guehi over the weekend. Reports suggested it was worth up to £70m.

Supporters will hope Danso and Tel hit the ground running with a crucial week ahead in both cup competitions.

Forward recruitment a key theme for West Ham

Sky Sports News’ Dharmesh Sheth:

It was always going to be a quiet opening to the winter transfer window for West Ham. The early focus was all on the managerial situation – Julen Lopetegui eventually lost his job and was replaced by Graham Potter.

Potter wanted to assess his squad, but throughout the window, the theme had always been the recruitment of a forward, given the injuries to Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Niclas Füllkrug.

West Ham had to wait until Deadline Day to recruit that forward and it was someone Graham Potter knows very well in Evan Ferguson, who has joined on loan until the end of the season. Potter gave Ferguson his debut at Brighton.

Another deal that was concluded on Deadline Day was the return of James Ward-Prowse from his loan at Nottingham Forest. There wasn’t a break option in the original deal, with Ward-Prowse flying back from Dubai where he had just joined up with the Forest squad for warm weather training.

And will play a part under Potter for the rest of the season. He can’t play for another club as he’s already played for West Ham and Forest.

Wolves will be happy with January business

Sky Sports News’ Dan Khan:

When you consider where Wolves started this window to where they are ending it – I think they will be pretty happy.

Bear in mind they began the month with a new manager, turmoil with their former captain in Mario Lemina and a lack of defensive options. They’ve ended the window signing two centre-backs with Emmanuel Agbadou and Nasser Djiga plus a physical midfielder in Marshall Munetsi.

These players were signed as reinforcements in areas Wolves boss Vitor Pereira reiterated multiple times.

Perhaps the biggest signing of Wolves’ window is their star forward Matheus Cunha – extending his contract and removing any doubt he was going to leave the club in this window despite all the noise around him in January.

One notable out was Lemina departing for Galatasaray, which puts an end to a needless saga for the club. But now it feels somewhat of a new start for Wolves, and they’ll be hoping they can survive any relegation fears once again.