Deadline Day - everything you need to know about the January transfer window closing

Goal runs through the vital ins and outs of the winter window's finale such as when it finishes, who might sign whom, and the lucrative China shadow

WHEN IS TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY?

Because January 31 falls on a weekday (Tuesday) in 2017, that date will be the final one in which European clubs can sign players this season.

On the same night there are seven Premier League matches - featuring Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea - meaning many clubs, players and fans will have their attentions turned to action on the pitch, rather than off it.

OFFICIAL: Griezmann is Superman!

Article continues below

Manchester City and Manchester United could be more inclined to do last-minute deals should their managers wish to be hands on in the process as they play the following evening.

WHEN DOES THE JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW CLOSE?

Getty composite

Premier League clubs have until 11pm (UK time) to sign any players before the transfer deadline day shenanigans conclude.

Spain's La Liga clubs, France's Ligue 1 teams and Netherlands' Eredivisie sides all shut at the same time.

Serie A will be open for business one hour less, while Germany's Bundesliga clubs will need to have filed their transfer business before 5pm UK time.

WHEN DOES THE CHINESE TRANSFER WINDOW CLOSE?

Getty composite

European clubs aren't safe from lucrative bids from Asia - the Chinese transfer window is open until February 28, 2017.

Carlos Tevez, Oscar and Axel Witsel are among the renowned players to have left more prestigious clubs for Chinese Super League teams in the last few weeks.

Memphis: It wasn't easy under Mou

More recently, Diego Costa, Wayne Rooney and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have been tentatively linked with a mega-money move to China.

WILL THERE BE A MAJOR TRANSFER?

HD Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Borussia Dortmund

Getty Images

It's impossible to tell exactly what will happen, although there's precedent for hefty panic buys later in the winter window.

Liverpool splashed £35 million on Andy Carroll - a price tag that haunted him during his time at Anfield - but more recently clubs have opted to do their biggest buys in the summer.

However, that by no means implies that the January transfer window is a ghost town as over £170 million was spent by Premier League clubs last year.

BARCELONA OR REAL MADRID TRANSFERS?

Both clubs have been reluctant to do notable deals in the winter window in recent history.

And besides, despite Real Madrid's recent woes - they're now struggling to win in La Liga and were dumped out of the Copa del Rey after initially going 40 matches unbeaten - they would be unable to buy a big name in January due a transfer ban.

No treble or Copa for Real Madrid

Barcelona, on the other hand, are expected to stick with their tried-and-tested team as they chase silverware in Europe and Spain, led by Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in attack.

Both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been loosely linked with departures - but there's absolutely no chance of them being sold this season unless a Chinese club somehow found £1 billion in their back pocket.

WHAT ABOUT MAN UTD TRANSFERS?

Getty

There's no doubting that United are the biggest spenders in today's transfer market.

They smashed the world record transfer fee to buy Paul Pogba from Juventus in the summer and Deloitte ranked them as the richest club in the world in their annual report earlier this month.

Jose Mourinho's men have been linked with Benfica's Victor Lindelof - but will they sign some of the bigger fish in the sea like Antoine Griezmann or Gareth Bale? It would be an astonishing twist.