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Arsenal ignore their problems once again while Wolfsburg sign a new team - the losers of the January transfer window
Goal.com takes an in-depth look at the dealings from the last month, picking out which teams failed to sign their targets, which had moves back-fire, and which were overall duds
01-Feb-2012 6:50:41 PM
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Much was promised in the January transfer window, but in the end, relatively little actually happened. In spite of widespread rumours linking them with moves, Carlos Tevez, Keisuke Honda, Giovani dos Santos, Lucas Barrios and more stayed put.
And as proposed deals collapsed left and right, many teams failed to bring in the reinforcements they had sought last month. Some even acted to sell first, assuming the eventual signing of a player who never came. Indeed, as the deadline struck, there were many 'losers.'
Goal.com has run the rule over the teams in Europe's top leagues, assessing the good and the bad that has come for each team. Below, we take a look at the teams that suffered most during the January transfer window.
They were in the market for a new winger as in their current squad only Derk Boerrigter and Miralem Sulejmani are Ajax quality, and announced on deadline day that they wanted to sign Heerenveen star Luciano Narsingh. Nevertheless, the 21-year-old ruled out a move to the Amsterdam ArenA shortly after.
To make things even worse, Ajax lost one of their biggest talents for a relatively small fee as Netherlands Under-19 star Ouasim Bouy left the club for Juventus. The midfielder turned down a contract offer in December, and would have been available on a free this summer. Therefore, Ajax had little choice but to cash in on Bouy now.
And to cap a not so successful month, they failed to offload Mounir El Hamdaoui to Fiorentina. The Morocco international is one of the top earners in Amsterdam, but has not played a single game since April after falling out with head coach Frank de Boer. A move to the Viola seemed to be on the cards, but eventually fell through after Ajax demanded a bank guarantee minutes before the window closed, and Fiorentina could not present one on that short notice.
Much of the damage was already done even before Deadline Day for Arsenal, who lost all three of their Premier League games this month largely because Arsene Wenger has had no fit full-backs in his squad.
In a rare position of strength going into January, the Biancocelesti had high hopes of backing up their elevated league position with a good transfer campaign. However, despite sitting in the box seat in the race to sign Keisuke Honda, they ended up just missing out on the Japanese international's signature, and their late bid to raid Villarreal for Nilmar as a second choice option proved fruitless.
And while they have not lost names of note, they have certainly lost numbers. Djibril Cisse's summer move never came off, with only his debut goal against Milan to show for his 18 league games. But, due to the Honda and Nilmar failures, he has not been replaced.
Elsewhere, Antonio Candreva - who has flattered to deceive in countless settings over recent years - and Emiliano Alfaro have both come in, but they are the only incomings to offset six departures as an already shallow squad just got lighter.
Failing to sign the striking quality they sought while also reducing their squad size does not add up to a good month for Lazio.
In a glorious case of irony, Marseille helped strengthen the top contenders for the Ligue 1 title, PSG. In letting Lucho Gonzalez leave for Porto, L'OM set in motion a string of transfers that ended with Thiago Motta moving to the Paris club.
Gonzalez had been struggling this season and was an acceptable loss for Marseille. However, his arrival at Porto allowed the Portuguese side to loan Fredy Guarin to Inter, which in turn facilitated PSG's move for the Brazilian midfielder.
Now, with nine points separating them from the leaders, Marseille have dug themselves an even greater deficit than before. A seemingly harmless move gone awry.
Having lost star midfielder Santi Cazorla in the summer, Villarreal got off to an awful start in La Liga, winning just one of their first nine games and lurking in the relegation zone before suffering another big blow as they lost striker Giuseppe Rossi to a serious injury.
The January window was just around the corner, though, and seemed an ideal time for the club to strengthen their struggling squad. A new striker was the priority, but the defence had also looked sub-standard and the midfield short of quality following the departure of Cazorla.
The club set their sights on Tottenham's Giovani dos Santos, but failure to free funds through the sale of Nilmar means the club were unable to sign the Mexican, and are stuck with an injury-prone and under-performing forward who does not want to be at the club.
Meanwhile, the deadline-day arrival of Argentine Alejandro Martinuccio looks like a Plan B at best and the squad remains short in other areas. The only plus point: the club have found some form under new coach Jose Molina. But they remain in the bottom three and desperately need to avoid further injuries if they are to beat the drop. This transfer window was a missed opportunity for Villarreal.
When Monchengladbach host Wolfsburg on Saturday, Marco Reus & co. will recognise only a couple faces from the last time the two sides squared off. During the transfer window, Felix Magath made no fewer than eight signings, and sent away six either on loan or as full transfers.
Wolfsburg's willingness to freely move players in and out of the Volkswagen Arena is risky, and to some extent nonsensical. The Lower Saxons stand in mid-table now, and have absolutely no chance of qualifying for the Champions League. But with just five points separating them from potential relegation to the 2. Bundesliga, to roll the dice by making such wholesale changes is to take a massive risk.
It would be unfair to write off Wolfsburg's new signings already, but their policy has a familiar tune with an unsavoury precedent, and smacks of despair. Time will tell whether Magath has signed the next Dzeko, Misimovic and Grafite - or whether he simply signed the next batch of duds to be shown the door in six months.
And as proposed deals collapsed left and right, many teams failed to bring in the reinforcements they had sought last month. Some even acted to sell first, assuming the eventual signing of a player who never came. Indeed, as the deadline struck, there were many 'losers.'
Goal.com has run the rule over the teams in Europe's top leagues, assessing the good and the bad that has come for each team. Below, we take a look at the teams that suffered most during the January transfer window.
| AJAX |
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They were in the market for a new winger as in their current squad only Derk Boerrigter and Miralem Sulejmani are Ajax quality, and announced on deadline day that they wanted to sign Heerenveen star Luciano Narsingh. Nevertheless, the 21-year-old ruled out a move to the Amsterdam ArenA shortly after.
To make things even worse, Ajax lost one of their biggest talents for a relatively small fee as Netherlands Under-19 star Ouasim Bouy left the club for Juventus. The midfielder turned down a contract offer in December, and would have been available on a free this summer. Therefore, Ajax had little choice but to cash in on Bouy now.
And to cap a not so successful month, they failed to offload Mounir El Hamdaoui to Fiorentina. The Morocco international is one of the top earners in Amsterdam, but has not played a single game since April after falling out with head coach Frank de Boer. A move to the Viola seemed to be on the cards, but eventually fell through after Ajax demanded a bank guarantee minutes before the window closed, and Fiorentina could not present one on that short notice.
| ARSENAL |
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Much of the damage was already done even before Deadline Day for Arsenal, who lost all three of their Premier League games this month largely because Arsene Wenger has had no fit full-backs in his squad.
Arsenal should have signed a left-back, even on loan, to see them through this injury crisis while the news that Jack Wilshere could be out until the end of the season has left the Gunners lacking drive in midfield.
Despite having the highest ticket prices in the country and public proclamations that there is money available, Arsenal made just one signing this month, a €750,000 deal for relatively unknown Borussia Dortmund teenager Thomas Eisfeld.
The risk for Arsenal now is that they miss out on the top four finish this season and find themselves in a vicious circle in the summer, when it will be difficult to attract top quality players without the incentive of Champions League football.| LAZIO |
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In a rare position of strength going into January, the Biancocelesti had high hopes of backing up their elevated league position with a good transfer campaign. However, despite sitting in the box seat in the race to sign Keisuke Honda, they ended up just missing out on the Japanese international's signature, and their late bid to raid Villarreal for Nilmar as a second choice option proved fruitless.
And while they have not lost names of note, they have certainly lost numbers. Djibril Cisse's summer move never came off, with only his debut goal against Milan to show for his 18 league games. But, due to the Honda and Nilmar failures, he has not been replaced.
Elsewhere, Antonio Candreva - who has flattered to deceive in countless settings over recent years - and Emiliano Alfaro have both come in, but they are the only incomings to offset six departures as an already shallow squad just got lighter.
Failing to sign the striking quality they sought while also reducing their squad size does not add up to a good month for Lazio.
| MARSEILLE |
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In a glorious case of irony, Marseille helped strengthen the top contenders for the Ligue 1 title, PSG. In letting Lucho Gonzalez leave for Porto, L'OM set in motion a string of transfers that ended with Thiago Motta moving to the Paris club.
Gonzalez had been struggling this season and was an acceptable loss for Marseille. However, his arrival at Porto allowed the Portuguese side to loan Fredy Guarin to Inter, which in turn facilitated PSG's move for the Brazilian midfielder.
Now, with nine points separating them from the leaders, Marseille have dug themselves an even greater deficit than before. A seemingly harmless move gone awry.
| VILLARREAL |
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Having lost star midfielder Santi Cazorla in the summer, Villarreal got off to an awful start in La Liga, winning just one of their first nine games and lurking in the relegation zone before suffering another big blow as they lost striker Giuseppe Rossi to a serious injury.
The January window was just around the corner, though, and seemed an ideal time for the club to strengthen their struggling squad. A new striker was the priority, but the defence had also looked sub-standard and the midfield short of quality following the departure of Cazorla.
The club set their sights on Tottenham's Giovani dos Santos, but failure to free funds through the sale of Nilmar means the club were unable to sign the Mexican, and are stuck with an injury-prone and under-performing forward who does not want to be at the club.
Meanwhile, the deadline-day arrival of Argentine Alejandro Martinuccio looks like a Plan B at best and the squad remains short in other areas. The only plus point: the club have found some form under new coach Jose Molina. But they remain in the bottom three and desperately need to avoid further injuries if they are to beat the drop. This transfer window was a missed opportunity for Villarreal.
| WOLFSBURG |
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When Monchengladbach host Wolfsburg on Saturday, Marco Reus & co. will recognise only a couple faces from the last time the two sides squared off. During the transfer window, Felix Magath made no fewer than eight signings, and sent away six either on loan or as full transfers.
Wolfsburg's willingness to freely move players in and out of the Volkswagen Arena is risky, and to some extent nonsensical. The Lower Saxons stand in mid-table now, and have absolutely no chance of qualifying for the Champions League. But with just five points separating them from potential relegation to the 2. Bundesliga, to roll the dice by making such wholesale changes is to take a massive risk.
It would be unfair to write off Wolfsburg's new signings already, but their policy has a familiar tune with an unsavoury precedent, and smacks of despair. Time will tell whether Magath has signed the next Dzeko, Misimovic and Grafite - or whether he simply signed the next batch of duds to be shown the door in six months.
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