5 Questions Heading into the Transfer Window

The mid-season January transfer window is fast approaching.

Several Premier League clubs are in need of an upgrade and will be looking to add to their squads as the season nears its midpoint.

Today, I’ll be looking at the biggest transfer window questions from around the EPL.

Is Jack Grealish Headed to Manchester?

Okay. This transfer rumor has been swirling around the Premier League for the better part of 2020 but signs continue to point towards Grealish staying in Birmingham with Aston Villa. Speculation on a potential transfer especially died down when Grealish signed a new five-year extension with Villa back in September. However, as January nears, Grealish could be looking to take his talents to Manchester, and possibly even Liverpool. The Manchester Evening News is reporting that both Manchester clubs, United and City, plan to reengage transfer talks with Villa. Liverpool is also in the running. Their midfield is probably the weakest part of one of the top squads in the league. Jurgen Klopp would certainly be able to take Grealish’s ability to a whole new level. The price for an attacking midfielder of Grealish’s talent is no doubt going to be very steep, likely close to £100 million.

This doesn’t even include the fact that in his extension, Grealish has a clause stating that should he leave Villa for any reason, his wage will double at his new club. Smart move by his agent in my opinion. To me, City is a better fit for Grealish than those other clubs that I mentioned. They are in desperate need of some extra creativity, even with Kevin De Bruyne in the midfield. Also with the injury bug that is devastating lineups across the league, some extra quality midfield depth can’t hurt. All in all, a deal for Grealish is going to be difficult to complete in the winter but with so many suitors, a move is still very much within the realm of possibility.

Should Arsenal Be Buyers or Sellers?

The short answer is they need to be both. Since 2015, Arsenal actually has the third-highest net expenditure in the Premier League. The only clubs with higher nets are United and City. As we have seen this season, that expenditure hasn’t exactly lead to fruitful play on the pitch. Arsenal currently sits 15th in the table, just four points outside of the relegation zone. They are on a horrific run of form, one that has seen them lose 4 of their last 5 EPL matches. All this being considered, Arsenal should have two main goals for this window.

Firstly, they have to improve their midfield. Liile MF Hassem Aouar and Real Madrid MF Isco are the reported top targets for the Gunners, however, both players have openly denied links to Arsenal. Pulling one of these stars away from their current clubs is going to be a difficult task, especially for a team like Arsenal that quite frankly, doesn’t have a whole lot of leverage at this point.

In addition, Arsenal still has to heavily focus on selling their older players in this window. CB Shkodran Mustafi, LB Sead Kolasinac, and CB Sokratis are all well past their prime. It would be smart for Arsenal’s management to move on from these players in order to free up their wage budget for future windows. I expect Arsenal to do a lot of selling in January, and possibly sign some players as well.

Pogba to Juventus?

There’s really not a whole lot to talk about here because it seems Pogba isn’t going anywhere until at least summer 2021 when top clubs will have more money at their disposal. However, his agent made some headlines a couple of weeks ago when he told Italian newspapers that the Man United midfielder was unhappy playing under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and could possibly move to Juventus in January.

Again, this is a highly unlikely scenario as United would need a massive offer to sell one of their top players mid-season. Reds fans don’t have to worry about Pogba leaving just yet.

Where Will Dele End Up?

Dele Alli was one of the brightest young talents in football for some time, but in the past couple of seasons, his play has dropped off. Ever since Jose Mourinho arrived at Tottenham, Alli just hasn’t been the same player. Now, that’s not to say Mourinho is at fault for this fall from grace, it’s just a fact that Mourinho prefers to play other midfielders at Alli’s position. Alli has only appeared four times in the Premier League this season, mainly featuring in cup ties and Europa League matches.

A transfer has been in the cards for a while now. PSG are the favorites to land the 24-year-old midfielder, especially with the hiring of former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino just a few days ago. Real Madrid and Man United are the two other clubs that could make a move for Alli in January, yet, all signs point to PSG.

Will Liverpool Sign a Central Defender?

Injuries have ravaged just about every club in the Premier League, but an argument can be made that no team his had suffered from the injury bug more than Liverpool. The defending champs are somehow still top of the table, despite losing their two best defenders in Trent Alexander Arnold and Virgil Van Dijk to injury. With this in mind, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Reds go after a central defender.

To me, CB Ben White is the best option for Liverpool. White was the best player with Leeds last season during their run to the Championship title. He returned from loan to Brighton this season and hasn’t lost a step. White is only 23, which makes him a long term option as well as a fix for Liverpool’s currently broken backline. Signing a defender as good as White would definitely be a luxury, however, the champions are always looking to get better.

With the Premier League title race being so tight, this is sure to be one of the crazier January transfer windows we have ever seen. I’m guessing that a lot of money will be spent by the title contenders in hopes that a signing or two will boost their chances for the EPL crown.