It’s been the quietest January transfer window for several seasons so far and Premier League clubs are running out of time to conclude winter business.
Last season, England’s top clubs set a winter window record with £780.10m spent on new signings, a recruitment drive headlined by Chelsea’s British transfer record capture of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica.
There’s been significantly less activity in January to date, however, with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules having restricted teams in the current window.
While those regulations have been around for some time, Everton’s 10-point deduction for financial breaches and further charges for the Toffees and Nottingham Forest have ensured English sides are unwilling to stretch themselves to their limits in the transfer market.
Spurs have strengthened with the additions of Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner, Brighton have acquired yet another wunderkind in Boca Juniors teenager Valentín Barco, and Sheffield United have given Stoke-born Chile international Ben Brereton Diaz a crack at the Premier League.
Aside from that, it’s been a largely forgettable month of transfer activity, with the air well and truly let out of the optimism balloon.
Premier League teams have just a week to go to make new signings, could we see top-flight clubs get desperate in the final days of the window?
When does the January transfer window close for Premier League clubs?
The January transfer window will close at 11pm in England and midnight in Scotland on Thursday 1 February. Talks with Europe’s major leagues have ensured unison on the winter transfer window dates, with La Liga, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A all set to shut on February 1.