Latest transfer news (2024)

January transfer window

• The players who could move this month
• Premier League completed transfers January 2024
• Podcast: Can Man Utd spend in January?
• Latest transfer features and analysis

Latest deals

• PSG interested in signing Earps
• Mbappe yet to make decision on PSG future amid Real Madrid interest
• Man Utd trigger Wan-Bissaka extension option
• Reguilon returns to Spurs following Man Utd loan

Elsewhere

• Ratcliffe tells Man Utd staff making money from investment not a focus
• Onana to face Tottenham before AFCON
• AFCON prize money increases by 40 per cent

Sean Dyche believes the VAR slow motion replay of Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s red-card challenge against Crystal Palace made the “minor contact” appear more serious.

Calvert-Lewin was dismissed after 79 minutes during Thursday’s FA Cup third round draw at Selhurst Park for “serious foul play” following a challenge on Nathanial Clyne.

The striker went in to the slide tackle with one foot off the ground, and this was not initially deemed a red card offence by referee Chris Kavanagh before he was sent to the monitor to review the incident by VAR Craig Pawson.

Dyche said Everton were similarly unfortunate to not be awarded a penalty after Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen grappled with Beto in the box.

“I haven’t asked Dom (how he feels about the decision),” Dyche told ITV Sport. “Slow-mo shows a different picture. If you’re going to slow mo things then you’ve got to slow mo the penalty on Beto — or what should have been a penalty. Andersen’s got his hands clearly around him, cupping his body, but it’s not a penalty.

“If you want to slow mo everything, you’ve got to slow-mo everything. You can’t just have it one for one and one for the other. At the end of the day, there’s contact, it’s minor contact. Live time he doesn’t give anything, slow it down everything looks worse on slow mo, we know that.”

Ange Postecoglou says he’d never opt against signing a player for fear of losing them to a mid-season international tournament.

The Tottenham Hotspur manager will be without key players Son Heung-min, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma this month and possibly much of February, with the former at the Asian Cup with South Korea, and the latter two representing Senegal and the Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

But when asked if he’d therefore be reluctant to sign any more players from countries with mid-season international tournaments, Postecoglou said: “I’d hate for that to be the case because you’d miss out on some fantastic talent. We’ve got a generational player from Asia that’s been representing our club. If we lose him every four years for five weeks, I think it’s a real small price to pay.”

More below

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has told Manchester United staff that he is not concerned about making money from his investment and instead solely wants to return the club to winning the biggest trophies.

United’s new co-owner said the football team had been failing for the past decade and the INEOS era is determined to bring success by creating an elite environment.

He insisted the reasons for United’s substandard output compared to other big European teams with similar budgets, who compete for domestic titles and Champions Leagues every season, will have to be properly addressed or the status quo would remain.

The British billionaire addressed an audience of employees in an Old Trafford lounge at an all-hands meeting on Thursday and drew applause for what sources, speaking toThe Athleticon the condition of anonymity, describe as “straight-talking” and “honesty” about the issues that have dogged the club for years.

While Joel Glazer has not spoken directly to staff en masse since his family’s 2005 takeover, Ratcliffe’s presence in person, as well as the message he delivered, is said to have invigorated workers.

More below

Nottingham Forest might have had a couple of good weeks on the pitch after the arrival of Nuno Espirito Santo, but new concerns are brewing at the City Ground.

Forest have been reported as a club at risk of breaching the Premier League’s rules on profit and sustainability. As reported on Tuesday, Forest could face a points deduction if they were found guilty of any breaches.

Here, Paul Taylor explains the situation…

West Ham defender Thilo Kehrer is set to join Monaco in an initial loan deal.

Discussions are advancing over a move that would see Kehrer head to Ligue 1 until the end of the season, with Monaco given the option to sign him permanently in the summer.

The 27-year-old made 38 appearances last term, featuring 27 times in the Premier League as well as helping David Moyes’ side to Europa Conference League glory.

But he has fallen down the pecking order this term, making only four top-flight appearances — all from the bench.

Kehrer joined West Ham on a four-year deal from Paris Saint-Germain in 2022 for a €12million fee.

Monaco are currently third in Ligue 1 — seven points behind leaders PSG.

An unusually competitive title battle may be dominating English football’s agenda this season, but look further down the Premier League and there are plenty of intriguing storylines to be found.

We asked our experts at The Athletic to name the players that have most impressed from each club outside the top 10 — including two from Bournemouth…

Full list below

Djed Spence will return to Tottenham Hotspur after Leeds United triggered a break clause to cut short his loan move.

The 23-year-old joined Leeds on a season-long loan in August but saw his time at Elland Road disrupted by injury.

Spence was restricted to seven Championship appearances after being sidelined for over two months with a knee injury.

More below

Raphael Varane is a three-time La Liga champion, has won the Champions League four times, is a World Cup winner and is widely considered one of the more talented and well-respected centre-backs of his generation.

He is the sort of player that gets compared to a Rolls-Royce, but at the moment, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag believes it better to leave him parked on the substitutes’ bench than use him in their starting XI.

How did one of the most decorated centre-backs in world football end up as fourth-choice at his club, unable to dislodge a partnership that first materialised at Leicester City in 2019?

The Athletic previously reported that the 30-year-old is among several players who for one reason or another, will be weighing up their options in January.

More on Varane below

Sunderland have apologised to fans for a “serious error in judgement” after decorating a hospitality bar at the Stadium of Light in the colours of rivals Newcastle United ahead of Saturday’s Wear-Tyne derby.

Photos emerged on social media on Thursday of Sunderland’s Black Cats Bar decked out in black and white and bearing Newcastle the slogans “Keep the black and white flag flying high”, “We are United” and “Howay the lads”.

The club confirmed these have been removed and the space returned to its original state, and have vowed to conduct a review to “determine how this process unfolded”.

The bar is set to host Newcastle’s corporate guests for Saturday’s FA Cup third round tie between the pair.

More below

Opportunities are vital in football.

The joy experienced by Alex Iwobi hitting the griddy after Fulham beat Arsenal, Anthony Elanga dancing after assisting Nottingham Forest’s winner against Manchester United and Cole Palmer equalising for Chelsea against Manchester City comes from them being given a chance to show their talent.

Most people want to see talent flourish. That is why one of the undercurrents of Arsenal’s 2023-24 season — the lack of meaningful chances for peripheral academy graduates — has become a problem.

Emile Smith Rowe, 23, and 24-year-old Reiss Nelson are the standout names while there has also been confusion around the lack of exposure for the club’s younger academy graduates.

Full story below

When Wayne Rooney was told his time as Birmingham City manager was up after just 15 games, he was shocked.

Having signed a three-and-a-half-year contract, the former England striker was under the impression he had joined a long-term project. Rooney had enjoyed an open dialogue with the club hierarchy — including chief executive Garry Cook and director of football Craig Gardner — and there had been no indication their faith in him was waning.

Birmingham won just two of Rooney’s 15 games but even after his most recent defeat, at Leeds United on New Year’s Day, he had spoken bullishly of being a “fighter” who would not shirk the challenge of rescuing the team from its tailspin. That run had seen Birmingham slide from sixth to 20th in the Championship table, just six points above the relegation zone.

City supporters had never warmed to Rooney after he replaced the popular John Eustace and by the end of Monday’s game, their cries of “Wayne Rooney, get out of our club” left nobody in any doubt that their minds were made up. Less than 24 hours later, the club’s executives had reached the same conclusion.

Full story below

It’s a question beloved of football trivialists and diehard fans alike: who are the biggest club in English football?

Everyone will have their take on it, often shaped by tribal loyalties, but there is another debate, less frequently aired but just as worthwhile: who are the biggest English club never to have won a major trophy? And the week of the 2023-24 FA Cup’s third round feels as good a time as any to have it.

By a decidedly non-scientific formula comprised of historic league ranking, time spent in the top division and average crowd size, we have narrowed the field down to six (with apologies to followers of Plymouth Argyle, Hull City and Bournemouth).

A couple of other caveats: we are defining ‘major trophy’ as either the top-flight title, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League/European Cup and UEFA Cup/Europa League, and we are only considering clubs currently in existence.

Let the debate begin…

Chelsea have confirmed that Alex Matos has completed his loan move to Huddersfield Town.

The Athletic reported that Chelsea agreed a deal with the Championship club for teenager Matos to move for the remainder of the season.

Huddersfield manager Darren Moore said: “With so many important games to come, improving our options in midfield early in the window was crucial as we’ve seen the impact that injuries can have on the way we want to play as a team.

“Alex has a fantastic pedigree, exciting career to date and huge hunger and desire to succeed right at the very highest level of the game - as his manager, it’s that mentality and application that I find most exciting about him.

“A little bit different to all of our current options, I’m keen to get working with him straight away to see how his game can compliment and enhance not only his teammates in midfield, but the side as a whole.”

Matos, 19, is versatile, capable of playing as a forward but more at ease in a midfield role. He has made two appearances for Mauricio Pochettino’s side this season.

The teenager has been included in 16 matchday squads for Chelsea this campaign, earning praise for his potential within the club.

Matos discussed the switch with Chelsea teammate Levi Colwill, who had a successful loan spell with Huddersfield during the 2021-22 campaign, making 32 appearances.

Despite making two first-team appearances for Pochettino’s Chelsea this season, the club believes that a temporary move to secure regular first-team minutes is the best path for Matos' development.

Erik ten Hag has said that Manchester United are in talks over the futures of Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial.

The Athletic had reported Varane could become a free agent in the summer with his contract at United set to expire a year earlier than previously publicised.

Varane joined United from Real Madrid in August 2021, initially stating he had signed paperwork “keeping him at the club until June 2025.” Discussions over his future would have to had taken place, with the 30-year-old able to talk to foreign clubs in the January transfer window.

Martial, meanwhile, signed a five-year deal in 2019, which included a clause enabling United to prolong his stay by 12 months until June 2025. The Athletic reported in December that they do not intend to activate the option to extend his contract when it expires at the end of this season.

United have activated contract extensions for Victor Lindelof and Hannibal Mejbri. The Athletic reported on Wednesday that they had also triggered the option to extend Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s deal to 2025.

Ten Hag said: “We are talking with Rapha Varane and Anthony Martial and we have triggered the options on (Victor) Lindelof, Hannibal (Mejbri), (Aaron) Wan-Bissaka.”

After a period in which there has been constant talk around the need to sign another centre-back, it was a centre-back who secured victory for Real Madrid at home to Mallorca.

Antonio Rudiger was the team’s only senior recognised player in the position available on Wednesday night. Carlo Ancelotti’s side started the season with four central defenders, but first Eder Militao and then David Alaba suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Club captain Nacho is the fourth, but he was suspended after being sent off in Madrid’s previous game before the Christmas break.

Rudiger’s 78th-minute header from Luka Modric’s corner provided the key moment. It was his second La Liga goal for Madrid — the first, in September 2022, also came against Mallorca. Victory meant Los Blancos reached the halfway stage of the season as league leaders, above Girona on goal difference (they beat Atletico Madrid 4-3 at home later on Wednesday to keep up their remarkable run).

Full story below

Aston Villa head into January well-placed. Firmly in the race for Champions League qualification, the winter window is more of an opportunity to refine and tweak rather than a desperate scramble for new signings to provide uplift.

This time last year, Villa were keen to furnish head coach Unai Emery with at least one signing and, in the form of Alex Moreno, an entirely Emery-led pursuit, they sanctioned a low-cost, highly effective deal.

The club’s broader recruitment team also signed Jhon Duran, regarded by inner footballing circles as possessing the potential to be one of the best young forwards in the world and he is already showing green shoots.

The Athletic takes you through what to expect from Villa this winter window…

Forest Green Rovers manager Troy Deeney has been charged by the FA for two alleged breaches of its rules on language and behaviour as he was sent off during their game against Swindon Town.

Deeney, who took over at Forest Green last month, was sent off in the 85th minute of the 2-1 away defeat on December 29.

The FA alleges that Deeney’s language and behaviour were “improper and/or abusive and/or insulting and/or threatening” as he was sent off by referee Scott Simpson. Deeney’s language towards a match official was also allegedly “improper and/or abusive and/or insulting” after he received a red card.

It is that time of year again! It is not unusual for Pep Guardiola to ward off the prospect of January arrivals at Manchester City well before Christmas, insisting “we will stay as we are” until the end of the season.

City have been unlucky with injuries this season and Guardiola has bemoaned the number of matches in the football calendar. Even so, he has said he would “prefer not to be a manager” rather than work with a big squad of players, because he does not want them to become unsettled when they do not start.

So City enter the market with the same rigorous and somewhat complex approach.

Let’s dig into how that might play out.

Birmingham City caretaker head coach Steve Spooner says he has sympathy for Wayne Rooney after his sacking.

Rooney was sacked on Tuesday after a run of just two wins in his 15 games since succeeding John Eustace as manager and Spooner, who is usually the lead professional development coach at the club, will take charge for the FA Cup tie at Hull City on Saturday as Birmingham continue their search for Rooney’s full-time successor.

“Yes, absolutely ( I have sympathy),” he said. “(Rooney) came in on the back of John having a very successful tenure at the club and the club doing well. He was brought in by the owners, so it was hard for Wayne as well.

“But the owners had to make their decisions in terms of bringing him in and sacking him. They have made their decision and I just hope we can get it right with whoever comes in next.”

Despite their poor form and the departure of a second manager since October, Spooner said the players seemed to be in good spirits still, although he admitted he had only spoken to them as a group once and taken one training session as he is usually based at the club’s Wast Hills facility and the first team train at the former Wasps Rugby training ground in Henley-in-Arden.

“What I've seen out on the pitch, and that is only what I'm basing my evidence on, the first session was sharp,” he says. “They were in good spirits and we've got to keep that going and take that into Saturday as well.

“I think they are a good group. They've got to come together and they've got to be unified now, press on and start getting some results for his football club.”