LONDON: The January transfer window closes on Thursday with a late splurge from the Premier League’s biggest clubs unlikely after a month in which the biggest movers have been on the continent, from Barcelona to AC Milan.
Of England’s ‘Big Six’, the busiest club has been Chelsea, who signed Gonzalo Higuain on loan from Juventus after buying USA winger Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund for £58 million ($74m) and loaning him back for the rest of the season.
Chelsea’s rivals towards the top of the Premier League have kept their cheque books closed ahead of the window shutting on Thursday at 2300 GMT.
“It’s a tough situation because people tell you ‘here’s a player, there’s a player’, and you buy him, but it’s helpful for three weeks, and after that you have a problem because the other boys come back,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told the BBC, confirming he does not want short-term fixes to defensive injury problems.
“We have to go through that, and this transfer window will not be ours.”
Beyond Pulisic, the biggest January transfer in England has been Dominic Solanke’s move from Liverpool to Bournemouth for a reported £19 million ($24m), while Wolves completed a joint club-record £18 million deal to sign Jonny Castro on a permanent contract from Atletico Madrid on deadline day.
“During one month I said we are not going to do anything in the transfer market,” insisted Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.