Gakpo’s Reds move could set the tone for a busy transfer window

Liverpool

snapping up Cody Gakpo

from PSV Eindhoven was an indication that business is likely to be brisk in the English Premier League’s January transfer window.

That deal, done for £35 million (S$56.7 million), introduced a few patterns to follow before the window slams shut.

Gakpo had been a long-term target for Manchester United, and a player who shares an agent with their manager, Erik ten Hag. The deal Liverpool completed, paid straight out plus add-ons that will cap the fee at £50 million, looked doable for United.

But, according to financial figures released in December, United owe over £300 million in unpaid transfer fees. The signing of

Antony from Ajax for £86 million

towards the end of the summer window had left them with little wriggle room. 

“I think we are always in the market but it has to match the sporting criteria and also the financial criteria,”

said ten Hag on Friday.

The expectation is that United may move into the loan market, with Atletico Madrid’s Alvaro Morata one player linked with such a move. Having

Cristiano Ronaldo off the books

at least clears some space for wages. 

Both Liverpool and United

are up for sale,

both clubs’ owners having recently released prospectuses for either investment or complete buyouts, but it appears the Reds’ owners, Fenway Sports Group, have greater access to cash than the Glazer family.

Meanwhile, though Liverpool’s long-term interest may lie with Jude Bellingham, the latest intelligence indicated that the England star will go to Real Madrid next summer. That means the Reds may move in January to fill their gap in central midfield.

Brighton’s Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo is at the top of the next-best list, but the Seagulls usually drive a hard bargain and are also having to fight off bidders for Argentinian World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister.

A mid-season World Cup could be disruptive for smaller concerns like Brighton. They and others are likely to find themselves warding off suitors for players who did well in Qatar. 

Arsenal, having

lost Gabriel Jesus to a knee injury

suffered while playing for Brazil, will be active in the transfer market. Their manager, Mikel Arteta, all but demands it.

“This squad still doesn’t have the luxury of not maximising every single window,” he said last week.

Mykhaylo Mudryk, a Ukraine winger of huge talent, is the likeliest arrival and would probably cause a rearrangement of Arteta’s front line but Shakhtar Donetsk are hanging on for £85 million. 

Gakpo is already beginning to look a real bargain, with another World Cup winner in Enzo Fernandez, a midfielder who would solve several clubs’ problems, set to cost over £100 million. Chelsea are seemingly willing to pay it, though.

Newcastle, having spent over £100 million last January, are expected to be quiet in this market despite their push for Champions League qualification. 

The cheapest, most doable deals may lie with those players out of contract this summer, with Youri Tielemans at Leicester and Wilfried Zaha at Crystal Palace leading the list.