The winter transfer window was activated on Monday January 31 in the last hours in France and abroad. Between Newcastle, which has spent lavishly, Saint-Étienne and Bordeaux, which have strengthened themselves with a view to maintaining or even the return of Christian Eriksen to England… We summarize for you the most important transfers of mid-season.
Lille’s Jonathan Ikoné at Fiorentina
French champion last season with Losc, the 23-year-old attacking midfielder, who has played 25 games this season with the northern club, signed up at the start of the transfer window with Fiorentina, for four years.
Jonathan Ikoné, French international (4 caps, 1 goal), had participated in the resumption of training with Fiorentina at the end of December. He has already played four games with the Italian club and provided 2 assists. The transfer fee is estimated at around 15 million euros including bonuses.
Hatem Ben Arfa joins Lille
Free since the end of his contract in Bordeaux last summer, Hatem Ben Arfa (34) has found a club. With Losc, he discovered his seventh Ligue 1 club, after Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris, Rennes and therefore the Girondins. The attacking midfielder signed a six-month contract with the French champion, which therefore binds him to the club until the end of the season.
Anthony Martial loaned to Sevilla
Little used on the Manchester United side since the start of the season, the French international wanted to relaunch in another club for the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year. After weeks of negotiations between the two clubs, an agreement has been reached for Anthony Martial to join Sevilla FC on loan until the end of the season, with no option to buy.
La Juventus s’offre Dusan Vlahovic
The Old Lady formalized on Friday January 28 the arrival of Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic (22), who had been playing for four years at Fiorentina. The Turin club set a new record in a winter transfer window, paying 80 million euros (including bonuses) to secure his services, far ahead of the 55 million spent by Manchester United for Bruno Fernandes two years ago .
The player, who has scored 41 goals for a year and a half in Italy, has signed a four and a half year lease with Juventus, currently 5th in Serie A.
Newcastle panics the transfer market
It was the club that was most active at the end of the winter transfer window. Bought last fall by a public investment fund from Saudi Arabia, Newcastle United has almost unlimited financial resources. After having offered right-back Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid) and striker Chris Wood (Burnley) for a value of 40 million euros, the English club, 18th in the Premier League, has also recruited the Brazilian midfielder from the ‘OL, Bruno Guimaraes.
The amount of the transfer, indicated by Olympique Lyonnais, is “50.1 million euros, bonus included as well as a 20% incentive on any capital gain”. The Magpies have also obtained the loan of Matt Target, English left-back from Aston Villa, until the end of the 2021-2022 financial year.
Ndombele back at OL, Faivre replaces Guimarães
It was one of the hot issues of this transfer window. A time announced on the side of Paris Saint-Germain, the French international midfielder (7 caps) finally signed for Olympique Lyonnais a few hours before the closing of the transfer market. Tanguy Ndombele, who wore the Gones jersey between 2017 and 2019 (96 games played in all competitions), had joined Tottenham for an amount of 60 million euros.
The 25-year-old arrives on a paying €1.42m loan with an option to buy until the end of the season. He compensates for the departure of Bruno Guimarães, who left for Newcastle.
On the arrival side, OL also recorded the signing of Stade Brestois midfielder Romain Faivre (23), for 15 million euros. He signed up until June 2026 with the Rhone club.
The Greens are strengthening quantitatively
AS Saint-Étienne, bottom of Ligue 1, was activated on the transfer market in January. In addition to having recruited a new coach, Pascal Dupraz, at the beginning of December, the Saint-Etienne leaders signed several players, as part of a maintenance operation.
Paul Bernardoni, goalkeeper and Sada Thioub, right winger, both arrived on loan for six months from SCO Angers. Free of any contract, striker Bakary Sako, formerly of the Greens, has signed up until the end of the season. Enzo Crivelli, arrived on loan from Basaksehir, with a purchase option of 2.5 million euros. Finally, just before midnight on January 31, the club formalized the arrival of defender Falaye Sacko, on loan from Vitoria de Guimarães.
Christian Eriksen bounces back at Brentford
Without a club since his heart attack in the middle of a match during the last Euro seven months ago, the Danish international, now wearing a pacemaker, joined the English club Brentford on January 31. Former Tottenham player Christian Eriksen has signed a six-month contract with the promoted Premier League player.
The 29-year-old attacking midfielder had to terminate his contract with the club Inter Milan last December, the Italian authorities prohibiting any professional player with a pacemaker from exercising his profession in this country.
Ferran Torres new Barca player
While he is riddled with debt, FC Barcelona managed to recruit Manchester City winger Ferran Torres at the end of December for 55 million euros. The Spanish international (21) has signed up with the Blaugrana club until 2027. He was recruited in August 2020 for 20 million euros by the Citizens, from Valencia CF.
The Spanish striker has already played three games with Barça, and he has already been decisive, with a goal in the round of 16 of the King’s Cup and an assist on January 23 for Frenkie de Jong (1-0 victory against Alaves).
Cédric Bakambu new Marseille striker
It’s a return to France for Cédric Bakambu. The Congolese international striker (38 caps), free since the end of his lease in China, in Beijing Guoan, signed up for two and a half years with Olympique de Marseille, who were actively looking for a center forward with a profile different from that of Arkadiusz Milik.
The former Sochaux and Villarreal player immediately melted into the Marseille squad: two minutes after coming on against Lens in Ligue 1, for his first appearance, he scored the break goal (victory 2 -0).
Major cleaning in Bordeaux
Like AS Saint-Étienne, Bordeaux is in great difficulty in the league (17th), despite its recent success against Strasbourg (4-3). The Girondins carried out a squad review: Samuel Kalu signed a contract with Watford (England), while Laurent Koscielny was pushed out by the Bordeaux leaders. Striker Josh Maja has signed up in the form of a loan with an option to buy (estimated at 3.5 million euros) with Stoke City.
In the direction of arrivals, Marcelo, released from his contract by Olympique Lyonnais, signed for six months in Gironde. Midfielders from Wolfsburg, Josuha Guilavogui, and Shakhtar Donetsk, Danylo Ignatenko, have signed up with the Girondins in the form of a loan with an option to buy. At the very end of the day, this Monday, January 31, Bordeaux signed its fourth recruit, with the defender of Malmö Anel Ahmedhodzic. The 22-year-old is also on loan, with an option to buy estimated at 4 million euros.
