We’re halfway through January and it’s safe to say not much is happening on the transfer front. The ingredients are all there in the pot but somebody has forgotten to turn the hob on. The big boys are keeping their wallets in their pockets and the rest of the league are hardly setting the pulses racing with their own business.
But business is business, so let’s look at what’s happened since the last round-up.
The big news so far is that Memphis Depay is all set for an early Old Trafford exit. The Dutch winger arrived with a big reputation and took on the weight of the famous number seven. However, as he immediately didn’t start playing like Cristiano Ronaldo or George Best, he found himself rooted in the Old Trafford dugout. Premier League clubs refuse to learn their lesson with Eredivisie players and likely hope that each player signed from there comes with a one year return warranty. Lyon appear to be Memphis’ next destination. Should he thrive in France, United can buy him back.
But why would they do that? After all, it seems United have a genuine interest in Atleti hot-shot Antoine Griezmann. But only if he’s available, says Sky Sports. Which he probably won’t be.
Moving on, the Dimitri Payet saga is rapidly approaching tedious. West Ham have acquiesced to his demands to be sold, but are playing tough with Marseille. A third bid reportedly on its way after a reported £20 million bid rejected on Monday. West Ham are demanding £30 million but with just the one club interested they must be desperately hoping somebody else comes in and jacks that price up. Otherwise, something tells me this saga will come to a quick and anticlimactic end.
Next, we have the Robert Snodgrass saga. The Robert Snodgrass saga doesn’t sound as sexy as the Dmitri Payet saga, does it? Nonetheless, West Ham’s interest in the one good player Hull have has led to a rejected £6 million offer. Shame on West Ham for thinking they could land a bargain in today’s market.
Down in the relegation scrap, Swansea had landed Spurs creator Tom Carroll and Norwich full back Martin Olsson. Early signs suggest Swansea will be the club doing their summer shopping six months too late. Or maybe it’s six months too early. Preparing your squad for Championship rigours well in advance isn’t the worst strategy in the world.
Middlesbrough, meanwhile, have decided the best solution to their goal scoring problems is to sign more goalscorers. Villa’s Rudy Gestede and Chelsea’s Patrick Bamford have joined the collection. Karanka hopes that with more bodies in the box, one of Adama Traore’s shoddy crosses will find a Boro player instead of a Boro fan.
Speaking of inconsistent Spanish wingers, Gerard Deulofeu is desperate to move to AC Milan on loan. The former Barcelona wonderkid has struggled for first team action and feels that a move to a bigger club would solve that problem. Milan, however, are refusing to stump up the loan fee. Perhaps that’s a sign for Deulofeu to set his sights a little lower. His crosses might reach the target that way.
That’s all for this round-up. We’ve little under halfway to go this window, so there’s still time for something silly to happen. Keep your fingers crossed that it won’t happen to your club.