Manuel Sanchez Gomez |
London (EFE) with the Argentine Enzo Fernández, the Ukrainian Mykhailo Mudryk and the Portuguese Joao Félix at the helm.
The English team has paid 130 million for Fernández, this being the most expensive signing in the history of the Premier League, above the 100 million that Manchester City paid at the time for Jack Grealish. It has also left 95 million in Mudryk, of which a good part has gone to the war in Ukraine, some 11 ‘kilos’ in the transfer of Félix until the end of the season, 30 million euros in the end of PSV Noni Madueke and 40 million in the French central Benoit Badiashile.
In addition, the club chaired by the billionaire Todd Boehly has left more than 30 million in Malo Gusto, a young promise of French football, and has also disbursed a few million to bring Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana.
In exchange, he has let the Italian Jorginho go to Arsenal, for about 15 million, and closed the door on the departure of Hakim Ziyech to PSG. The Moroccan had it done with the French, but a problem with the documents frustrated his pass at the last minute.
Chelsea has been the great agitator among the greats, due to the urgency that their position in the league demands (10th, 21 points behind the leader and 10 from the Champions League), quite the opposite of a Liverpool that is not in a better situation than the ‘Blues’, but that they have only been able to conquer Cody Gakpo in this winter window.
Jürgen Klopp, who has not stopped complaining about his team’s lack of financial muscle, has only been able to recruit the Dutch winger, who comes to complement an attack in which Darwin Núñez does not start and in which Luis Díaz is still injured until march.
The ‘Reds’ had urgent needs in defense and in the center of the field, but the market has not served to alleviate them.
In the case of Arsenal, the refusals have marked their journey this winter. First it was Mudryk who told them no, despite flirting with the ‘Gunners’ on social networks, and later it was the Ecuadorian Moisés Caicedo who couldn’t make it, this time not because of the player’s refusal, but because Brighton & Hove Albion closed the door on the 60 million they offered for the Ecuadorian.
Mikel Arteta has had to settle for the arrivals of Leandro Trossard, separated from Brighton, and Jorginho, thus complementing a squad that has the possibility of winning the first Premier League in 19 years.
Another club on the rise, Manchester United, has hardly touched up its squad, with the addition of striker Wout Weghorst and midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, on loan until the end of the season. Weghorst fills a type of striker United did not have, while Sabitzer will replace the injured Christian Eriksen. Jack Butland has also arrived, as a third option for the goal.
On the other side of Manchester, movements have been few until the bomb exploded and Joao Cancelo, one of the pillars of Pep Guardiola’s scheme, went on loan to Bayern Munich until the end of the season, with a purchase option that borders on the 70 million. The lack of minutes has precipitated the departure of the Portuguese, one of City’s essentials in recent years.
To complete the ‘Big Six’, Tottenham have brought in Pedro Porro for the right side and Arnaut Danjuma for attack. The Spaniard has a mandatory purchase option of 50 million euros, while the English club will decide at the end of the season with the Dutchman.
In total, English clubs have disbursed 922 million euros during the winter transfer window, which represents an all-time record and an increase of 83% compared to the previous most wasteful market, that of 2018, in which the clubs left about 200 million.
Spending between the summer of 2022 and this winter amounts to 3,170 million euros, surpassing the previous record of 2017, when 1,580 million were paid in transfers.
