Football clubs have been eyeing up new recruits for months now, but it's only now that they can start do the business. As the world saw in the New Year, it also triggered the opening of the January transfer window and the Premier League clubs now have until January 31 to snap up new players to try and bolster their squads for the second half of the season.
While it's pretty straightforward in England with the transfer window opening between January 1-31, it is a little more complicated when trying to sort deals out with European clubs. The window in France and Germany copies that of the English transfer window, but Spain's window doesn't open until January 2, while in Italy there's a lot less time to do business as the Italian window opens on January 3, but is abruptly shut on January 18, so those clubs looking for Serie A for some notable recruits had better get their skates on.
Down the years there have been some notable signings halfway through the season with Liverpool one of the clubs that like to get stuck in during January. Luis Suarez and Virgil Van Dijk have been two sensational recruits by the Merseysiders in January, but many will also remember Andy Carroll switching from Newcastle to Anfield in one of the biggest Premier League flops of all time.
Chelsea are another club that have been involved in some notable January transfer movement, as they paid Liverpool £50m for the services of Fernando Torres, while they let Juan Mata head to Manchester United a few years ago, and you have to feel that both of those clubs are set to be active in the January window as they look to improve their squads heading into the second half of the season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in particular, could look to bring in some defensive assets to bolster a flaky United defence, while their bitter rivals Manchester City may need to recruit, if they are to try and reel in Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
So, the January 2019 window could be very eventful over the coming weeks, and it could have significant ramifications as to who will lift the Premier League trophy at the end of the season.
European Guide To January Transfer Window
- England - Opens January 1st, Closes January 31st
- France - Opens January 1st, Closes January 31st
- Germany - Opens January 1st, Closes January 31st
- Spain - Opens January 2nd, Closes January 31st
- Italy - Opens January 3rd, Closes January 18th
