The winter transfer window is usually quiet compared to the summer window. Clubs in the top-flight leagues that are struggling to win games usually make purchases in order to bolster their team and help them secure their position for at least one more season.
There’s usually no reason for Europe’s footballing giants to dip their feet and make some big changes during this window. Most of the top clubs did their shopping in the summer and are satisfied with their purchases.
However, the season is long and unpredictable. Some of the leading clubs may find themselves in dire straits due to injury or their players not performing to their high standards. When these things happen, these big clubs ripple the European transfer market with the acquisitions they make.
This is exactly what has happened in the window as there were some significant moves that happened in this winter window.
Morata at the centre of big Spanish moves
Depending on who you ask, they will say that the Spanish top flight is the biggest football league in the world. With the quality of players and the amount of prestige the giants of La Liga have garnered over the years, the league is an ideal destination for some of the more talented players.
Real Madrid are struggling to get things together in the league, but they didn’t make any moves this window. Instead, they went and swooped in two young players that they will try to develop for the future. They paid a pretty penny for Brahim Diaz’s services while they promoted Zinedine Zidane’s son, Luca, to the first team.
Alvaro Morata made the biggest buzz in the Spanish capital, though. Many European transfer 2019 predictions had the former Real Madrid striker going to Atletico Madrid as the Rojiblancos struggled to keep up with the best of them on the attacking front.
It remains to be seen if Morata will be able to turn his form around after an abysmal stint at Chelsea, and fans are already cynical of the club’s decision to pick him up from London. He would have to score goals on the regular if he is to win them over for the last three months of the season.
Meanwhile, Barcelona just got stronger with the acquisition of Jeison Murillo and Kevin-Prince Boateng.
Dortmund’s curious decision tops Bundesliga news
Borussia Dortmund are finding a lot of success in the Bundesliga right now: they are at the top of the table and have a deep pool of talent that can help them win the league title and make deep runs in the DFB Pokal and the Champions League.
However, it is still curious for some passionate BVB fans as to why the club decided to sell one of their top stars in Christian Pulisic. The American winger was sold to Chelsea for €64 million and will be joining the Premier League giants next season.
While some fans will be disappointed that they let such a talented youngster leave, they cannot deny that the money they got for him is more than worth the amount of investment they have put on him. The fact that they also get to keep him until the end of the season is a big win for them as well. They also acquired Leonardo Balerdi as a quality option at centre-back.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich made a move for the future by capturing 18-year-old Canadian wonder Alphonso Davies. RB Leipzig kept true to their transfer policy and signed a slew of promising youngsters.
AC Milan splashed in the January market
There wasn’t a lot of significant movement in Serie A, but AC Milan made a lot of European transfer 2019 news by acquiring two talented attacking players to solve their worries up front.
Krzysztof Piatek and Lucas Paqueta were both purchased from Genoa and Flamengo for a whopping total of €70 million while sending a disgruntled Gonzalo Higuain back to Turin. These acquisitions are daring for a club that has long struggled to keep up with the best clubs in Italy over the past couple of seasons.
Both players were featured in the Rossoneri‘s league game against Napoli, a match that ended in a bore draw. While both players weren’t able to make any significant impact, the AC Milan faithful are already looking forward to the impact these two men will have on the game at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, some of the other Italian sides also flexed their financial muscles. Internazionale, AC’s neighbours, picked up Andrew Gravillon from Pescara for €7.5 million. Fiorentina burned through €12 million for Hamed Junior Traore.
Juventus were quiet in this window: they got Martin Caceres from Lazio for less than a million Euros.
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