News Thread

The January transfer window continues to rumble on but it’s incredibly unlikely that any player will swap clubs in a big-money move this month. English Premier League clubs spent an absolute fortune last season as they splurged €842.5 million on new signings but that figure still remains below €50m this January. The financial power of English clubs is renowned and it’s dwarfed their European rivals across the last decade. 

Real Madrid have replaced Manchester City as the highest revenue generating football club in the world for the 2022/23 season. Despite winning a historic treble, City have been eclipsed by the Spanish giants for the first time since the 2017/18 campaign with Madrid strengthened by a higher stadium attendance after the pandemic and merchandise sales. 

In what has been a relatively quiet January transfer window, Manchester City caused quite a stir when they announced the signing of Claudio Echeverri. In a statement on the club website on Thursday afternoon, the Premier League giants confirmed the signing of the 18-year-old attacking midfielder from River Plate. The deal will reportedly cost the English and European giants an initial fee of €14.5 million, but could rise to around €24m if future clauses are met. Having signed a contract with Man City until the summer of 2028, Echeverri will complete the current campaign with River Plate and join his new club at the end of this season. 

Tottenham’s long wait for a trophy continues. It’s been 16 years since they last won silverware, when they beat Chelsea in the 2008 English League Cup final. Their best hope this season is the FA Cup. Not in European football, out of the League Cup, and eight points behind league leaders Liverpool in the Premier League. Spurs cruised past in the third round, and then up stepped the treble winners Manchester City in the draw for the fourth round. But it’s not all doom and gloom.

It’s been a quiet transfer window for English clubs but Callum Wilson has generated considerable column inches. Spending is down significantly from last January with Premier League clubs’ spending power severely limited by FFP regulations. 

Friday’s FA Cup clash at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Aston Villa was not only a tasty knock-out clash in the depths of winter, but it also stood out as a sign of how quickly things have changed in English football over the course of the last few years. In the modern era of the Premier League, few would have taken a second glance at such a tie and simply assumed that it would be an easy home win for the London club. But Chelsea were far from comfortable in front of their own fans, as Villa took the game to their hosts and even had a goal narrowly ruled out before it finished 0-0. As the tie now goes to Villa Park for a second leg, there’s little doubt that two clubs have perhaps swapped places in the Premier League pecking order. 

Girona have been the surprise package in European football this season with the Catalonian side leading La Liga ahead of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Girona enhanced their title credentials with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Celta Vigo at the weekend, keeping them at the top of the league table by a solitary point, following just one defeat in 22 league games to date. 

Manchester City have been nothing short of all-conquering since Pep Guardiola joined the club in 2016 and, with the money afforded to him and his backroom team by the club’s Abu Dhabi Royal family owners, have subsequently built one of the most expensively-assembled football squads in the history of the sport. No less than €1.51 billion has been spent on new Man City players since Guardiola arrived in the Premier League - putting the Etihad club second only to Chelsea in the highest spending clubs over the course of the last eight seasons. 

It was an incredibly quiet January transfer window with very few clubs strengthening their squads with big-money signings. The lack of spending was particularly noticeable amongst English Premier League clubs with spending down significantly on previous seasons. Premier League clubs spent €121 million this January, down 85% from 2023 (€843m) and 65% from 2022 (€345m). 

Leicester City are flying high on top of the English Championship and they appear destined to secure an immediate return to the Premier League. Seven years after famously winning the title, Leicester were relegated last season after Brendan Rodgers was sacked and his replacement Dean Smith was incapable of preserving their top-flight status.