Who could move on transfer deadline day? Gallagher to leave Chelsea?

On January 31, 2024, at 9:00 AM, the blog post was published.

As we approach Thursday's deadline, the winter transfer window of 2024 is in its last moments. At precisely 11 p.m. GMT / 6 p.m. ET, the Premier League will officially end its transactions (check when other leagues will conclude theirs). Nevertheless, several teams throughout Europe are still anticipated to close one or two deals before time runs out.

Don't anticipate too much as the Premier League's January transfer window has been remarkably silent this year. Combined spending by the 20 clubs has not even reached £100 million. In contrast, last year's total expenditure came up to £815 million, with Chelsea's acquisition of Enzo Fernández from Benfica for £105 million being the most expensive transfer and also breaking the UK transfer record.

Many clubs in the Premier League have been cautious with their spending this month due to the consequences of breaching the strict profitability and sustainability rules (P&S). This is because of what happened to Everton in November when they exceeded their spending limits and were penalized 10 points. The club's appeal against this punishment has started being heard since Wednesday.

There have been a number of transfer deals completed recently. Barcelona have purchased 18-year-old striker Vitor Roque for €40m. Bayern Munich have spent €30m to secure the services of Galatasaray right-back Sacha Boey. Atlético Madrid have bought Arthur Vermeeren from Antwerp for €27m. Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur have made a €25m offer for Genoa defender Radu Dragusin. Manchester City, on the other hand, have signed Claudio Echeverri from River Plate for an initial fee of €15m, but have loaned him back.

Most of the business transactions in the football world have been centered around loan deals. These include transfers such as Jadon Sancho's move from Manchester United to Borussia Dortmund, Timo Werner's switch from RB Leipzig to Tottenham, Kalvin Phillips' transfer from Man City to West Ham United, Sergio Reguilón's move from Spurs to Brentford, Goncalo Guedes' transfer from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Villarreal, Ben Brereton Díaz's move from Villarreal to Sheffield United, and David Datro Fofana's transfer from Chelsea to Burnley.

As Thursday's deadline day approaches, let's take a look at what's been happening in Europe's major leagues. Here's a guide to everything you need to know with just one day left.

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On the final day of the transfer window, Conor Gallagher from Chelsea and Giovanni Reyna from Borussia Dortmund are the prominent figures to keep an eye on, as they could potentially still join any of the Premier League clubs.

Even though the Chelsea coach, Mauricio Pochettino, has emphasized how crucial the English midfielder, Gallagher, is to his plans at Stamford Bridge, there is a possibility for him to be sold as his contract only has 18 months left. This is because Chelsea considers selling academy products as pure profit, which in turn helps the club balance their books and avoid breaking profitability and sustainability rules.

Tottenham has shown interest in Gallagher as a potential transfer target. However, Chelsea has put a valuation of £50m on the player. Despite this, Gallagher has decided to stay quiet this month and has not shown any signs of aggressively seeking a move away or signaling a desire to remain at Stamford Bridge.

Armando Broja, a player who was nurtured by Chelsea's own academy, is reportedly on the radar of Aston Villa, Fulham, and Wolves. These clubs have the opportunity to secure him on loan; however, they will also need to come up with a whopping £50 million if they are keen on having the 22-year-old on a permanent basis. Broja, who has a contract that extends till 2028 with Chelsea, may well be on his way to a new club.

Sources close to ESPN have revealed that Nottingham Forest is the leading contender to secure the loan of Reyna from Borussia Dortmund. However, they are not the only ones interested, as there are two other rivals in the form of Marseille and Fiorentina who are also vying to acquire the 21-year-old USMNT player.

Aston Villa might strengthen their attacking squad by acquiring Morgan Rogers, who is a talented young player from Middlesbrough at the age of 21. According to reports, Aston Villa has made a third offer of £7.5m to Boro that was declined earlier this week. However, it will be a challenge for the Championship team to keep hold of the winger.

Even though top-tier clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United were in need of more attacking players, it seems unlikely that any significant signings will be made during this transfer window. Limited activity is expected from Liverpool and Manchester City as well.

During the month of January, many people thought that Ivan Toney from Brentford would be the most wanted player for transfer deals. However, Toney was recently suspended for eight months due to breaking betting laws and has now stated that he is not anticipating an £80 million transfer to happen during this window. Brentford's head coach, Thomas Frank, has confirmed that Toney will remain on the team until the end of the season.

Newcastle United could have a hectic final day of the transfer window, but it seems they will be more focused on retaining their current players. They have managed to turn down Bayern Munich's advances for defender Kieran Trippier, although they haven't completely put off enquiries from Saudi Arabia for Miguel Almirón, or Paris Saint-Germain's ongoing pursuit of midfielder Bruno Guimarães. However, the likelihood of many of their key players leaving St James' Park is unlikely, considering that Eddie Howe's squad is still in contention for the FA Cup and has a slim chance of securing a top-four place.

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It seems that the transfer window in LaLiga will come to a close without any last-minute activity at either Barçelona or Real Madrid.

Madrid has suffered from many injuries on defence for a long time, but they have chosen not to make temporary signings this month.

Barcelona has experienced numerous injuries, and it would be great if they could improve their squad this week. Besides recruiting Vitor Roque, they also hope to bring in a midfielder to fill the void left by Gavi, who was forced to sit out the remainder of the season due to an ACL tear. Barça requires someone who can bring the same level of vigor and enthusiasm to the team.

The club has already spent more than their allowed budget for LaLiga this season, which made it seem highly unlikely that they would be able to make any further signings. However, Gavi's injury provided the opportunity to complete the Roque deal earlier than anticipated. To make matters worse, Alejandro Balde is now unfit for the remainder of the season, which means that his salary can be excluded from the team's finances, giving Barça some space to explore cost-effective, temporary solutions.

Despite this, the Catalan team is optimistic about soon finalizing a contract worth €7 million to bring in Lucas Bergvall, a promising young midfielder from Djurgårdens, for the upcoming season.

Girona's experience in January has been peaceful up to now, however the team, who unexpectedly leads LaLiga, is still considering new possibilities before the deadline ends. The coach, Míchel, seeks an additional midfielder and center-back to boost their championship prospects but he is looking for options that can provide benefits in the long run, rather than making short-term investments. He doesn't believe in buying players just for the sake of it.

There are rumors that Fran Beltrán from Celta Vigo, Sergi Darder from Mallorca, and Matt O'Riley from Celtic may be considered to improve their midfield.

Atletico Madrid has managed to secure a spot in the top four of the Spanish league, and they have been making moves before the deadline day. Unfortunately, they will not be able to welcome Moise Kean from Juventus as planned since there have been issues related to his medical condition. Atletico is not planning to look for another striker since Angel Correa will remain in the team for the time being, despite interest from Saudi Arabia. On a positive note, Memphis Depay has recovered from his injury and is available for play.

Atletico is thinking about bringing in Gabriel Paulista from Valencia to make their defense stronger after losing Caglar Soyuncu on loan to Fenerbahce and with Jose Maria Gimenez sustaining an injury. -- Sam Marsden

Herculez Gomez believes that Nottingham Forest is the top choice for Gio Reyna.

Herculez Gomez has given his opinion on why he thinks that Gio Reyna should consider moving to Nottingham Forest during this transfer window.

Similar to the situations in England and Spain, the transfer period has been relatively calm in the Bundesliga and Serie A. However, there have been a few more noteworthy moves in Ligue 1.

The Lyon team has been very active in the transfer market recently. They have acquired three new players, Nemanja Matic, Gift Orban, and Malick Fofana, but they are not done yet. They are currently on the hunt for another midfielder, specifically Orel Mangala from Nottingham Forest. Additionally, they are very close to finalizing a deal for Saïd Benrahma of West Ham and are working on securing Arnaut Danjuma from Everton.

There's no guarantee that PSG will surprise us, but there's a good chance that Marseille will. Marseille needs to make some cash after signing four new players - Jean Onana, Ulisses Garcia, Quentin Merlin, and Faris Moumbagna. To raise funds, they might let Vitinha go to either Genoa or Bologna. Plus, they might put Pape Gueye and Jonathan Clauss up for transfer. Marseille is also keen on signing Reyna from Dortmund and Benrahma if he doesn't sign with Lyon.

There isn't expected to be a lot of action among Juventus, Inter Milan, or AC Milan in Italy, but Southampton player Carlos Alcaraz is going to Turin on a temporary basis, while Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah is being considered by Milan, Juve and AS Roma. The top Italian clubs are also keeping a close eye on Fiorentina winger Jonathan Ikoné. However, the smaller teams such as Genoa, Bologna, Udinese and Sassuolo are gearing up for a very busy day.

The football teams Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, and Borussia Dortmund have completed their transactions in Germany.

Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg are both vying to acquire PSG striker Hugo Ekitike on loan, which would be a major move. RB Leipzig have lost some key players and must bring in new talent to maintain their top-four position. Óscar Zambrano, a promising player from Quito, has caught the attention of SC Freiburg, and VfB Stuttgart are hoping to sign former Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic. It looks like there will be a lot of activity in the transfer market. -- Julien Laurens