The noises coming from many managers in the Premier League are not encouraging when it comes to January additions.
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has publicly hinted that, despite being owned by one of the world’s wealthiest sovereign wealth funds, they may not be able to do much in terms of transfer business in January.
Liverpool’s more frugal approach to transfer spend is expected to see them take a back seat, while considerations over potentially falling foul of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) for the current financial year for Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United mean that they are focused on who they might be able to get out before they can think about who comes in. The summer appears to be a more realistic time for them to spend their money.
Spending fears sweep Premier League
Twelve months ago Chelsea committed more than £300m in January to new additions, smashing the British transfer record to land Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for £106.8million; Arsenal added Leandro Trossard, Jakub Kiwior, Jorginho, and Leandro Trossard for a combined £59m; Liverpool signed Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven for £45m, and Newcastle added Anthony Gordon for a similar fee from Everton.
This January there is some concern all around, though. The severity of the punishment handed down to Everton – where the Toffees were hit with a 10-point deduction for breaching PSR – was the cause of much shock among Premier League chiefs, with the punishment enough for them to have to take their own PSR positions very seriously to avoid suffering a similar fate.
On Monday a second charge against Everton was made, while Nottingham Forest was also hit with a breach. Both clubs have been referred to an independent commission and will find out before the end of the season what the punishment, if any, is. Everton has a live appeal against the decision of the independent commission concerning the first breach.
There are less than two weeks left in this January transfer window and there has only really been one Premier League club that have been seeking to strengthen, and doing so from a position of comfort when compared to nearly all of their rivals.
