Dry January is over - and now the 2024 summer transfer window promises to be epic!

The 2023 January transfer window was nothing short of insane, at least in the Premier League. A grand total of £780 million ($992m) was spent by clubs in the English top-flight, with Chelsea accounting for more than half of that amount as Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital consortium gave the green light for nine signings, including Enzo Fernandez and Myhailo Mudryk.

Another £2.4bn ($3bn) outlay followed last summer, a new record for the Premier League, who have left Europe's remaining four top divisions behind in terms of commercial and broadcasting returns. Something had to give eventually, and Everton ended up being the club to trigger a tightening of the purse strings across English football when they were docked 10 points from breaching profit and sustainability rules in November.

A second charge has since been imposed on Everton, and Nottingham Forest are also awaiting punishment for exceeding losses of £105m ($133.6m) over a three-year period. Meanwhile, Champions League holders Manchester City have 115 Financial Fair Play charges hanging over their head, and extreme sanctions could come their way if they are found guilty of wrongdoing, with the trial set to kick-off in the autumn.

As a result of all the chaos behind the scenes, club officials were at lot more careful in the 2024 January window. Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 outfits leaned more towards trying to find value in the loan market, younger talent, and the free agency pool. But the likelihood is, this was just the calm before the storm.

No one wants to sell their best players midway through the season, while the Africa Cup of Nations and Asia Cup also took centre stage. Things will go back to normal in the summer, when squads need reshaping, and top players have a far greater chance of negotiating their dream move or cutting ties with a club that no longer feels like home.

GOAL is here to run down the most intriguing storylines to look forward to, starting with a certain Frenchman still weighing up his future...