With the January Transfer Window now open, we bring you all of the biggest confirmed deals from around Europe’s top leagues!
This list will be updated regularly as more deals are confirmed by clubs.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
LA Galaxy (Free Agent) → AC Milan – FREE
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has now gone full circle after returning to AC Milan following a wildly successful stint over in the States with the LA Galaxy. Whether or not the Swede was ever going to leave the USA wasn’t the question after he repeatedly jabbed at the quality (or lack thereof) of the MLS. He returns to the Italian club while they’re battling arguably their lowest ebb since they were relagated in the 1980s following the Totonero match-fixing scandal. Shocking ownership and poor player recruitment over the last few years has seen the club – which as recently as 2007 – dominated European football, fall into a such a trough that they’re now being slapped 5-0 by Atalanta. While he certainly won’t turn the fortunes of the club around alone, his signing will certainly get the fans on board during a time when the Rossoneri desperately need them.
Mario Mandzukic
Juventus → Al-Duhail – FREE
This one certainly came as a bit of a surprise, especially considering that some top European clubs were allegedly considering landing the big Croatian. The biggest of these names, of course, was Manchester United, a club who could desperately use the services of an experienced frontman. Instead, Mario Mandzukic has opted to sign for Qatar Stars League club, Al-Duhail. The Doha-based outfit don’t really have anyone else in the way recognised stars, with Edmilson Junior the only other player on the books who has had any kind of top-level experience in Europe – the Belgian played 72 times for Standard Liege. One thing’s for sure, we can expect Mandzukic to hammer home plenty of goals for the top team in what is a very weak league.
Takumi Minamino
Red Bull Salzburg → Liverpool – £7.3m
Liverpool acted swiftly and decisively to secure the services of Red Bull Salzburg’s Japanese dynamo, Takumi Minamino after activating his release clause. Jurgen Klopp and his technical team saw first-hand exactly what Minamino was capable of, as he along with the likes of Erling Haaland and Hwang Hee-chan were capable of as the Austrian club fought from three goals down at Anfield only to go down 4-3 in a memorable Champions League fixture. In many ways, the 24-year-old perfectly fits into the Liverpool mould under Kopp. He works incredibly hard off the ball, is technically sound and has an eye for goal which saw him net 42 times in 136 appearances for the Austrian club. He’s likely to play off the bench for much of the remainder of this season, but expect him to feature prominently over the next few years for the Reds as he grows into the English game.
Erling Braut Haaland
Red Bull Salzburg → Borussia Dortmund – £19.2m
Yet another centre-forward Manchester United missed out in this window. In the end, it’s perhaps no surprise that Erling Haaland has decided to sign for Borussia Dortmund. After all, the German club has propelled many young players into stardom in the past. Just look at the likes of Marco Reus, Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski, Shinji Kagawa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Already a hulking forward at the age of just 19, the Norwegian has socred for fun since turning professional. He bagged 17 goals in just 16 appearances for Salzburg while also managing to score nine in a single match for Norway in the U20 World Cup. Expect big things from the 6ft4 forward in the coming seasons.
Julian Weigl
Borussia Dortmund → Benfica – £17m
In arguably one of the more curious transfers of the window, Julian Weigl has opted to swap Borussia Dortmund for Benfica in a £17m move. An all-action midfielder with bags of technical ability to boot, he has recently been courted by the likes of PSG and Manchester City – both of whom were reportedly still keen on signing him. In many ways, he was a victim of his own versatility at Dortmund, often being asked to play at the heart of the defence. His real strength, however, lies in his ability to get things going from midfield. He holds the record for the most touches in a single Bundesliga match (218 in 82 minutes against Cologne) as well as being 1860 Munich’s youngest-ever captain at the age of just 18. Like Haaland, expect Weigl to use this move a springboard to greater things.
Santiago Ascacibar
Stuttgart → Hertha Berlin – £8.5m
While not many will be familiar with Santiago Ascacibar, the 22-year-old Argentinan quietly went about becoming one of the Bundesliga’s better defensive midfielders before Stuttgart were relegated at the end of the 2018-19 season. He’s known for his no-nonsense style of football and has no doubt been brought in to provide a shield for what has been a leaky Hertha Berlin defence this season.
Dejan Kulusevski
Atalanta → Juventus – £30m
The second Swede on this list, Dejan Kuluisecski has sealed a big-money move to Juventus after impressing this season on loan at Parma from Atalanta. Juventus chiefs now need to make a decision about whether they allow him to remain at Parma for the remainder of the season. The winger has impressed during this season at high-flying Parma and has contributed four goals and seven assists already this season. The right winger is technically proficient, if not very tricky – especially by modern winger standards. He’s direct, strong and is good with both feet and will thrive for Juventus. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the Old Lady recall him from his loan now or wait until the end of this season.
Jack Rodwell
Free Agent → Sheffield United
This one came as a bit of a surprise, to be honest. Jack Rodwell, formerly of Everton, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers – perhaps most famously – Sunderland, has signed a short term deal with Sheffield United. The 28-year-old has been training with the Blades of late and has clearly impressed Chris Wilder enough to earn another shot at Premier League football. Rodwell, unfortunately, is seen a bit of a villain, especially up North where he dug in, sat on the treatment table and trained with the youngsters while earning a massive wage packet as Sunderland were plummeting through the divisions. He’s been without a club since leaving Blackburn Rovers at the end of last season. It’ll certainly be interesting to see whether he is deployed in his more favoured central midfield position or if Wilder will look to install him as a centre-half.
Alexander Nübel
Schalke → Bayern Munich – Free
Bayern Munich have once again dipped into Schalke’s basket of goalkeepers, and this time they’ve come away with the wildly talented Alexander Nübel. The 23-year-old will join the Bavarian juggernaut at the start of the 2020/21 campaign. There are, of course, comparisons being drawn between Manuel Neuer and Nübel. Both joined Bayern from Schalke and both – at the time of their signings – were around the same age, and considered the future of German goalkeeping. They’re also both well over 6-feet-tall and have such a similar playing style that Nübel was nicknamed Manuel whilst was playing age-group football at Paderborn. Expect big things of the 23-year-old although he may have to wait a year or two until Neuer moves on or retires, with the German number one having regained his best form since returning from a slew of injuries which kept him out of contention for much of the 17/18 and 18/19 seasons.
Compiled by Jason Dewey for Hollywoodbets.
