January transfers talking points: Eriksen kickstarts final day
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Five January transfers talking points
The Premier League winter transfer window will shut at 11pm tonight and there is plenty of business to be completed by top-flight clubs.
North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are keen to offload big-money stars while another side in the capital, Brentford, have signed Christian Eriksen in a fairytale return to football.
With Everton and Newcastle, 9/2 and 5/4 to be relegated respectively, in the lower echelons of the table following a poor first half of the campaign, they are two of many near the bottom likely to be active during the next 24 hours.
We’re looking at some of the January transfers talking points that could be finalised today.
Eriksen back in Premier League
Christian Eriksen is back in the Premier League having agreed a deal with Brentford until the end of the season.
✍ Welcome to Brentford, @ChrisEriksen8 👊#BrentfordFC 🐝 #EriksenJoins pic.twitter.com/O8h5WbdUZ2
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 31, 2022
The 29-year-old midfielder, who suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020 last summer, was a free agent after leaving Inter Milan by mutual consent as rules in Italy prevented him from playing with a implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device fitted.
The ex-Tottenham had been training with former club Ajax but has now agreed terms with Brentford having completed his medical assessments.
Will Arsenal’s batman disappear?
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has not featured for Arsenal since December 6 after a second disciplinary breach of 2021 and this latest one resulted in the forward losing the club captaincy.
Boss Mikel Arteta has refused to discuss the future of the Gabon international in detail since, but a move away on the final day of the January transfer window suits all parties.
Barcelona and Juventus went head-to-head for the 32-year-old and it seems a temporary switch to LaLiga will be the final result. It could leave Arsenal light on attacking options after they missed out on Dusan Vlahovic, but it will be further evidence of the backing Arteta is receiving at the Emirates following a similar exit for Mesut Ozil this time last year.
Paratici plate spinning for Spurs and Conte
Fabio Paratici’s arrival at Tottenham as director of football in the summer was meant to make signings more straightforward for the north London club but they are still to make a single addition this month.
After missing out on Adama Traore and Luis Diaz, it does seem Spurs will break their January duck, with Juventus pair Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur set to swap Serie A for the Premier League. Antonio Conte will welcome the arrivals and could also see several out-of-favour squad members move on.
Tanguy Ndombele, Dele Alli, Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil are some of those linked with a departure and it means Paratici’s phone will not stop ringing during the next 24 hours.
Donny a Toffee?
With Frank Lampard set to be confirmed as Rafael Benitez’s successor, Donny Van De Beek should be his first transfer as Everton boss.
The Dutch ace has struggled for game-time at Manchester United since he moved to the club 18 months ago and will hope to reignite his career on Merseyside.
It could be the start of a busy day for the Toffees, who have lost 10 of their last 13 matches and been dragged into a relegation battle as a result.
Full-backs Vitaliy Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson joined at the beginning of January but more firepower is required and a late move for Dele Alli is one to keep an eye on.
Newcastle eye extra ammunition
Newcastle were able to secure the addition of Bruno Guimaraes from Lyon on Sunday to further boost their battle to beat the drop.
It followed the arrivals of Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood, but Eddie Howe is determined not to finish there. With Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium eager to support their manager since October’s takeover, a fee has been agreed with Brighton for the purchase of Dan Burn and he should sign on deadline day.
Others could follow, though, with the Magpies desperate to kick-start their campaign.
