Special feature Transfers
Nick Bidwell highlights the most interesting developments from the January window
1 ANOTHER UNUSUAL TWIST IN DANI OLMO’S CAREER
That attacking midfielder Olmo chose to leave Dinamo Zagreb for RB Leipzig says a great deal about his levelheaded take on what is best for his career.
Having won his first full cap for Spain last autumn and starred in the 2018 European Under-21 Championship triumph, he had a gaggle of top clubs tracking his every move for the Croat champions, including Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Milan, Barcelona – where he spent seven years in the La Masia academy – Atletico Madrid, Manchester City and Manchester United. Yet the 21-year-old chose to throw in his lot with Leipzig, having been impressed with their ambitious project and reputation for putting their faith in youth.
In this particular equation, prestige and elite wages were only of fleeting consideration; more important were the practicalities of his next step as a professional: choice of domestic league, style of play there, amount of game time on offer and scope for self-improvement. In both the long and short-term, he took a precise plane: to crack the European big time and perform well enough in the Bundesliga to earn a spot in Spain’s Euro 2020 squad.
At a relatively early stage of the process he had decided it was Leipzig or nothing, converted to the cause by a meeting in Zagreb with RB director of sport Markus Krosche and a phone conversation with the German club’s coach, Julian Nagelsmann. Even when Bayern Munich attempted to hijack the deal, he had no intention of changing his mind, declaring: “I’d made my decision and given my word...I was and am convinced that Leipzig is the best place for me.”
Bayern were thought to be willing to outbid RB, but Dinamo Zagreb’s director of sport, Zoran Mamic, told Croat daily Sportske Novosti that Olmo did not want to play in either England or Italy and insisted on signing for Leipzig.
Interestingly, no one seems to know exactly how much RB will have to shell out for Olmo. Leading German magazine Kicker has mentioned a basic initial fee of €20million, plus further unspecified add-ons, while Marca in Spain has alluded to a €30m payment and another €5m in bonuses. Sportske Novosti suggests that RB paid €18.5m up front and could be forced to hand over a further €16.5m in appearance and achievement top-ups.
Not that RB will be complaining about the outlay. In the face of stiff competition they have one of Europe’s shiniest new stars who is a maestro in any position in the attacking third.
2 THE EMERGENCY CALL
Hit by a defensive injury crisis, Bayern Munich went borrowing at the Bernabeu, securing a six-month loan deal for Real Madrid’s out-offavour Spanish international full-back Alvaro Odriozola. But not everyone in the Bayern boardroom was in agreement. Pointing to the fact the 24-year-old had only appeared in a handful of games for Real this season, some would have preferred a move for Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian right-back Dodo.
3 THE PREMIER LEAGUE SHOPPING EXPEDITION
Totally rejuvenated by the arrival last summer of new coach Antonio Conte, Serie A title contenders Internazionale only used pounds sterling in January, acquiring Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Christian Eriksen for a cut-price £18m, veteran Manchester United left-back/wing-back Ashley Young for £1.35m and Nigerian international winger Victor Moses, whom Chelsea have loaned out until the end of the season
4 RESTORING FAITH
With Manchester United no longer a member of the Champions League inner sanctum, attracting big-names to Old Trafford has become an increasingly difficult task. United’s mid-term swoop for Sporting and Portugal attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes was as much about symbolism as giving the team a creative upgrade. But the 25-year-old has not come cheap: a £47m basic fee, plus another £20m in possible add-ons.
5 BARCELONA RELEASE THE YOUNGSTERS
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and technical director Eric Abidal stand accused of a string of January transfer-window crimes: no over-arching plan, crass errors of communication, shortsightedness and scant concern for the club’s time-honoured identity as a youth development hot spot.
Rather than plugging the glaring gaps in their squad, Barca instead chose to concentrate on loaning out a string of good quality youngsters, with the list including playmaker Carles Alena (Real Betis), winger Carles Perez (Roma), centreforward Abel Ruiz (Braga), French centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo
(Schalke) and Senegalese full-back Moussa Wague (Nice).
This cull of the fledglings has not proved popular, with fans annoyed at what they regard as self-inflicted damage to the identity.
Barca supporters fear that the club’s much-admired La Masia academy is being marginalised.
Not so long ago, La Masia graduates used to have a purely sporting role, deployed in the first-team to supplement the ranks of the imported stars. Those days, though, appear to be ebbing away, with kids offloaded to raise the funds for more big signings.
Supporters especially took exception to the departures of Alena and Perez, both of whom grew up at La Masia, totalling 22 years at Camp Nou between them.
Despite showing much promise and winning Spanish under-21 caps, Alena effectively was frozen out in the first half of this season, not making a single appearance from August to
December. Naturally, he was keen to move on for regular first-team football and in January agreed a six-month loan deal with Betis. While his temporary employers have no option to buy, it cannot be assumed that he will fly back to the nest in the summer.
The decision to allow Perez to leave for Roma - initially on loan, with a definitive €11m transfer to follow at the end of the season - was also somewhat surprising. Although by no means a regular, the 21-year-old certainly made an impact in the pre-Christmas period, scoring his first goal for Barca in a 5-2 thrashing of Real Betis in August, racking up a number of assists in La Liga and opening his Champions League goalscoring account in the 2-1 win at Internazionale.
Barca will claim they are merely engaged in a squad spring clean
– but could this be more a case of economic necessity? In the club’s current financial model, balancing the books is paramount and, if recent reports are to be believed, Barcelona need to raise around €100m before the end of June.
More difficult HR decisions could be in the pipeline.
6 THE SOUTH AMERICAN CONNECTION
Hats off to Real Madrid, who fought off Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City for the signature of Brazilian boy wonder Reinier Jesus. The 18-year-old Flamengo and Brazil under-23 starlet is quite the virtuoso and Real will be delighted to have obtained so much potential for an affordable €30m transfer fee. Under contract until 2026, he will see out this season with Real’s B team, Castilla.
7 THE ETERNAL WANDERER
The 35-year-old African striker Emmanuel Adebayor shows no sign of wanting to jump off the transfer merry-go-round. A free agent after leaving Turkish outfit Kayserispor, the former Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City front man is now off to ply his trade in Paraguay, where he will lead the line for leading domestic side Olimpia. In almost two decades as a professional, the Togo international has now worn the colours of no fewer than 10 clubs.
8 RETURNING FROM CHINA
After several recent attempts to force through a move back to Europe, Belgian left-winger Yannick Carrasco finally had his wish granted by Dalian Professional, who allowed him to join his old club Atletico Madrid on loan until the end of the season. Another Chinese returnee was former Watford centre-forward Odion Ighalo, who, in a shock turn of events, swopped Shanghai Shenhua for a stint on loan at Manchester United.
9 THE SWIFT LOAN-BACK
You have to be a savvy negotiator to pull off this type of deal as the selling party. Receive a good price for a player, but retain his services for a little longer. That was the case with Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, who sold defensive midfielder Lucas Tousart to Hertha Berlin for €25m, then persuaded the German club to immediately loan back the French under-21 for six months. Not only does Aulas get the money, he also has the time to find a replacement.
10 THE BEST “OPTION TO BUY”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp described Emre Can’s mid-season move from Juventus to Borussia Dortmund as a “win-win situation” for the latter. The Ruhr powerhouse, who initially have Can on loan, should benefit from the holding midfielder’s experience, adaptability and drive. And at the end of the season they have the right to definitively buy him for a more than reasonable €25m.