The winter transfer window is launched. From Wednesday January 1, the players' waltz can begin and will conclude on February 3 at 11 p.m. Adjustment market, unlike the summer one which concerns major maneuvers, this year it should be consistent with its reputation, even if a few big transfers could shake up the European market, starting with PSG or Lyon.
Free stars who could move to Europe
For a star to change clubs in the winter, this often results from two possibilities: a lack of agreement for an extension of a contract which expires the following summer so as not to see the player leave free. Or a consummate divorce that cleans up a locker room.
Mohamed Salah is in the first configuration. The Egyptian winger, still sparkling this season, indicated at the end of November that an agreement had still not been reached with Liverpool, opening the door to a departure. But it should undoubtedly extend to the banks of the Mersey. A question which also arises for Trent-Alexander Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, two other Reds executives at the end of their contract next summer.
Among the other big names subject to the end of their contract in June, those of the Bavarians Alphonso Davies, announced at Real Madrid, and Joshua Kimmich, return with insistence, as does Jonathan Tah (Leverkusen) at Barcelona. In France, it is Jonathan David (Lille) who is attracting attention, he who has often been announced as leaving in recent seasons.
Finally, Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) is more in the second category stated above. The Englishman has never been favored by new coach Ruben Amorim and is expected to leave in January after a total of 20 years at the club. Towards France, like his former teammate Mason Greenwood?
At PSG, a thorny case and adjustments
In France, it is logically towards PSG that the main adjustments will turn. The Parisian club is more accustomed to downsizing rather than adding in January, and arrivals have rarely been successful since the 2012 winter transfer window, when they nabbed Alex, Thiago Motta and Maxwell.
This winter, the buzziest name to pack might be Randal Kolo Muani. The French international, relegated to the bottom of the hierarchy, could find a way out on loan which would allow him to regain playing time and confidence, as qualifications for the 2026 World Cup quickly loom.
For the rest, Milan Skriniar and Marco Asensio could also be on the move, while PSG, given their performances, have physical gaps in the middle and will undoubtedly have to recruit an offensive element to compensate for the departure of Kolo Muani.
In Lyon, a choice to make between results and liquidity
In great financial difficulty and downgraded as a precautionary measure by the DNCG mid-NovemberOL will have to sell for relatively large sums, starting this winter. Banned from transfer and while his payroll is regulated, he could however welcome Thiago Almada, Argentinian midfielder from Botafogo. The latter has already announced his arrival in Lyonwhen Pierre Sage appeared more moderate in front of the press.
While it is almost of the survival of the club to present accounts in order during its next appearance before the financial body, OL will not have much room for maneuver in its negotiations. When publishing its income statements, the French branch of Eagle Football Holdings, owner of Lyon but also of Botafogo in Brazil, Molenbeek in Belgium and Crystal Palace in England, presented a net cash debt of 463.8 million dinars. euros according to AFP.
A total to which we could already reduce a few million, obtained thanks to Botafogo's success in the Copa Libertadores, and which should fill a small part of the deficit, as announced by John Textor once the sanction has been pronounced.
But the latter also announced that Lyon did not intend to sell its best players, to qualify for the Champions League at the end of the season. So what about the cases of Rayan Cherki, Malick Fofana, Georges Mikautadze, who have some of the best salaries and have the highest market values? Problem: they also constitute the best sporting assets of the club, which owes them a lot in its current good dynamic.
The Diarra ruling, a “temporary” modification that changes the market?
This winter transfer window will have a particularity. The International Football Federation (FIFA) announced on Monday, December 23, the adoption of “of a temporary framework” relating to the regulation of player transfers. This follows a decision by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in connection with a dispute over a transfer of Lassana Diarra.
The court considered that it was “weigh on these players and on the clubs wishing to engage them with significant legal risks, unpredictable and potentially very high financial risks as well as major sporting risks, which, taken together, are likely to hinder the international transfer of players..
In detail, the framework published on December 23 “covers the rules governing compensation for breach of contract, joint and several liability, incentives for breach of contract, international transfer certificates and proceedings before the football court”summarized the proceeding in a statement, which indicates that it aims to “establish greater clarity and stability”.
If we will have to see the real consequences in the facts of this still nebulous framework, this means that Fifa wants to show that it is taking action. A framework which nevertheless did not convince the UNFP, the French players' union. He believes that if “these provisions incorporate certain requirements of the CJEU, in particular the automatic issuance of the international transfer certificate”these amended rules remain “contrary to the judgment” of the court and aim to perpetuate a “fundamentally illegal transfer system”.
