Rumour Reel: Transfer Recap
A flick through the transfer news of the day
Tuesday brings the start of a brand-new month. Have you stuck to your New Year’s resolutions? No, neither have we. It’s also the end of ‘silly season’, or the January transfer window for work purposes. Isn’t that a relief? We take a glance at how some of the Premier League sides handled their business.
Chelsea
So, Chelsea didn’t splash £40m on a player from the Scottish leagues, one they could have picked up for a handful of spare change from neighbours Fulham back in the summer. Imagine that. One man who did make headlines was Costa, but not how we all thought. He’s still at Chelsea – until the summer at least – and thanked fans for their support by missing what would’ve been a match-winning penalty at Anfield. Nice.
Sakho to Crystal Palace on-loan
Liverpool
The Reds could’ve done with a couple of new faces to tighten up their push for a top-four finish, but they remained rather quiet in the closing stages of Monday. The only real piece of business coming out of Anfield saw defender Mamadou Sakho travel to London to sign for Crystal Palace on-loan for the remainder of the campaign. Big Sam could certainly do with his help too.
Man Utd
Another club happy to sit out of the limelight during the madness and the only crumbs of comfort United threw to journalists, usually rushed off their feet at this time of year, was a statement from Jose Mourinho assuring fans that their leading scorer Wayne Rooney would not be leaving this season. He was linked to a move to the Chinese Super League – weren’t we all – and I am sure that one will resurface in the summer. Ashley Young also kept his peg in the changing room, which was more of a surprise.
Rooney and Young staying at Old Trafford
West Brom
The Baggies have been going well this season, and enter February in eighth-place. They enhanced their chances of a top-half finish by scooping up Bournemouth’s unsettled defender Marc Wilson on-loan until the end of the season. The Ireland international has barely kicked a ball this term and his move was put down as one for personal reasons. We’re not sure what’s going on behind the scenes there, but I would be surprised to see him pull on a Cherries’ shirt again.
Southampton
The Saints stood out, doing one of the deals of the day when signing Napoli striker Manolo Gabbiadini for a fee of £14m. The 25-year-old put pen to paper in a four-and-a-half-year contract, which is a huge commitment to his new employers and he’ll be eager to hit the ground running and help push Southampton up the pecking order. He comes with an impressive CV, having represented Italy.
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