Dean Jones’ Transfer Rumours: Deadline Day Desperation to kick in?

It’s deadline week in the January transfer window and if this period of business is going to liven up then we need to see a few clubs showing signs of panic.

It’s been quiet. Some clubs are restrained by financial constraints and others are mindful of holding back their money until the summer window because there is not enough to be gained by buying players for the second half of this season.

Here at William Hill we have been breaking down big transfer rumours throughout the month but in this edition we look a specifically at three huge clubs and their potential for business before Monday’s cut off…

Chelsea

If ever a club is capable of bringing a transfer window to life it’s Chelsea – and they are tempted to dip into the market.

Recruitment staff have been looking at solutions in attack and Karim Benzema is a high profile link. It’s true that they are interested but that one is going to be very difficult because of the finances and circumstances of his deal in Saudi Arabia – but they have other options too.

Interestingly the name most talked about right now is Jhon Duran—not quite the player with a prolific goal-record you might expect the Blues to go for right now. He has not started a game for Villa in the league so far and has a total of four goals across all competitions. He does not seem the step up from Nicolas Jackson that Chelsea need.

Nevertheless, they have been looking into it and if Armando Broja makes a transfer away from Chelsea – which is looking increasingly possible – they will have to bring in a replacement. And Duran does fit with the profile they have used in the past of looking for young players with a high ceiling.

Arsenal

If Arsenal are going to win the league, they need a new striker. That’s been the narrative of the past few months, anyway!

But big links with Ivan Toney and Benzema have not materialised and briefings out of the club suggest that will remain the case and we should not expect any signing on that scale.

Arsenal just don’t have much financial wiggle room at the moment and will only strike a late deal if it holds great value and is viewed as an unmissable opportunity.

Options in defence might be their most likely temptation, just to give Mikel Arteta some peace of mind about depth.

A big exit that could spark incomings would be for the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith-Rowe or Eddie Nketiah but none of those are actively for sale.

In the summer they will make a splash—look out for Martin Zubimendi as someone they are genuinely interested in – and they should be in the Toney chat more firmly.

Manchester United

United fans should be hoping the fact they announced new CEO Omar Berrada without any speculation or gossip could be a sign the club will spring a surprise in the transfer window too.

At the moment there really is little sign of anything significant happening – a striker on loan is about as tasty as we should anticipate, unless the club have a surprise up their sleeve.

This is a team also linked with Benzema but with the same complications as other clubs would face. A deal for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has not really gained much traction in recent days and there really is a passage of thought whereby Hojlund is given as many minutes as possible to build him up at United.

The fact Anthony Martial is out injured brings further hope of a late signing but links with Brian Brobbey and Mehdi Taremi are not going to come through so we are waiting for one out of left-field here.

Bids for Casemiro, Aaron Wan-Bissaka or Rafael Varane have small potential in terms of big-name players that could exit but sources feel the general feeling is to stick with this squad for the rest of the season and then undertake a pretty major overhaul in summer.

It’s not exciting right now but the summer window genuinely could get pretty tasty, so this might end up being worth the wait for United fans.