Premier League: why transfer deadline day turned into a dreary day

Deadline day turned into a damp squib, as the January transfer window petered out with a whimper rather than a bang.

There were few talking points, and the fact that the most money shelled out was the £21m that Newcastle paid MLS side Atlanta United for Paraguayan playmaker Miguel Almiron summed up the less than scintillating situation.

Despite rumours that Arsenal were close to signing Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Christopher Nkunku, and that Schalke might make a move for Tottenham striker Vincent Janssen, neither deal was realised.

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Of mild interest was Everton’s rejection of a £26.2m bid from PSG for midfielder Idrissa Gueye late on. That’s about as exciting as it got.

Spending well down

As BBC Sport notes, this year marks the first time since 2012 that Premier League spending fell in January. Deloitte’s Sports Business Group reports that only 12 deals were signed, sealed and delivered yesterday. That final dozen were worth a combined £50m, bringing the total for the month to £180m.

By contrast, £430m was spent by Premier League clubs in January 2018, with £150m on the final day of the window.

Why the shortfall?

In accounting for this huge discrepancy, Deloitte blamed a number of factors:

• reduced activity from the “big six” clubs
• a belief there was a lack of value in the transfer market
• the strongest ever financial position of Premier League clubs, reducing the need to sell their best talent in order to ensure financial stability
• the global value of Premier League broadcast rights, with the 2019-20 to 2021-22 cycle being only slightly higher than the previous cycle, thereby reducing clubs’ desire to spend significantly in the transfer market.

Loan deals popular

Among the deals agreed on deadline day was the signing by Wolves of Atletico Madrid full-back Jonny Castro Otto for £15m, following a successful loan spell. Manchester City paid Hajduk Split £7m for Ante Palaversa, then immediately returned him on loan.

Other loan deals included Leicester capturing Monaco midfielder Youri Tielemans (sending Adrien Silva in the other direction); Crystal Palace taking Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi; Peter Crouch joining Burnley from Stoke City; and promising Arsenal teenage striker Emile Smith-Rowe sent to hone his skills with RB Leipzig in Germany.

Suarez signs on

Undoubtedly the biggest loan move was that of Barcelona winger Denis Suarez to Arsenal, a deal that was announced by the Spanish club on Wednesday night.

Explaining why he wanted Suarez, Gunners boss Unai Emery said: “He is a player we know well and I have worked with him at Sevilla.

“He brings us quality and options in many different attacking positions, so he’ll be able to help the team.”