January transfers: Nine deals Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham & Man City have planned before window shuts

The January transfer window has been extremely quiet for the Premier League, but some dramatic big deals could yet still go through before it slams shut. 

The ‘Big Six’ of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City are considering some late signings as they eye a strong second half of the season.

With the window due to close at 11pm on Thursday February 1, we look at the position those clubs are focusing on and the deals that could still go through in the next few days.

Manchester United 

Manchester United have endured a seriusly-underwhelming campaign so far and Erik ten Hag is focused on bringing in a new centre-forward this month.

Rasmus Hojlund scored a fine goal against Tottenham in their last league game, but he has generally struggled to climatise to Premier League football.

Anthony Martial, on the other hand, has netted just one PL goal and is expected to leave the club at the end of the season.

New minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning a Manchester United squad revamp this summer, but Ten Hag wants to bring in a new No 9  as a stop-gap solution to his team’s striker problems.

The most likely signing for Man Utd at this stage is Bayern Munich veteran Eric Choupo Moting. They have enquired about signing the 34-year-old forward on loan until the end of the season.

TEAMtalk sources have confirmed that their interest in Choupo-Moting is genuine, though a deal remains difficult to complete and still has several hurdles to overcome.

Getting unwanted players such as £85m flop Antony – who has failed to score a single goal this season – off the books could be key to Man Utd’s striker hunt.

They are willing to accept a £50m bid from ANY club in the final days of the window. 

Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are on fire at the moment and are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table.

The manager is very happy with his current squad but he would be keen to strengthen the centre-back position should the correct opportunity arise.

Lille wonderkid Leny Yoro – who is being targeted by some of the biggest clubs in Europe – is someone Klopp sees as a potential long-term replacement for Joel Matip.

Liverpool are also keen on Sporting Lisbon’s Ousmane Diomande and Benfica’s Goncalo Inacio but are yet to firm up their interest with an approach.

TEAMtalk understands that it is likely to be a quiet end to the window for the Reds, with nothing imminent expected.

They will definitely look to bring in a new centre-back in the summer if not this month, however.

Chelsea

Like Manchester United, Chelsea are also looking to bring in a new striker before the window closes.

Mauricio Pochettino is keen to bring in an experienced front man to provide competition for Nicolas Jackson, exit-linked star Armando Broja and Christopher Nkunku – who will return from injury soon.

TEAMtalk can confirm that Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, who is unhappy at Saudi club Al-Ittihad and has now made clear his wish to leave, is someone who has been discussed by the Blues’ hierarchy.

The 36-year-old’s wage demands are a significant hurdle to any deal, however. He currently earns an eye-watering £2m per week in Saudi Arabia.

Benzema would be willing to take a pay cut to join Chelsea on loan, but the club would still need to sell players before sanctioning a deal.

Out-of-favour centre-back Trevoh Chalobah and Broja are two players who could depart Stamford Bridge before the close of the window.

Arsenal

Arsenal have once again enjoyed a solid start of the season and are dreaming of lifting the Premier League title this season.

Several big-name strikers have been linked with a move to the Emirates but TEAMtalk has been informed that Mikel Arteta is willing to wait until the summer to bring in the perfect forward.

A more likely addition for this month would be a defender who has the ability to play all across the back four.

Jurrien Timber was brought in to play that role last summer, but he is sidelined with a serious knee injury.

Our sources have stated that Southampton’s Kyle Walker-Peters is a name for Arsenal fans to keep an eye on over the next week.

Tottenham and Chelsea have also been linked with a move for the 26-year-old.

Tottenham

Ange Postecoglou will be determined to secure a top-four finish this season at the very least. He has already made some exciting January additions to help with that effort.

Tottenham have brought in centre-back Radu Dragusin on a permanent deal – at the time of writing the biggest deal in the January window so far – as well as former Chelsea striker Timo Werner on loan so far, but they still want to sign a new winger.

Club Brugge star Antonio Nusa remains their priority target. Recent reports have suggested negotiations over a deal have stalled, but this is not the case.

TEAMtalk can confirm that Spurs are still confident that they can sign Nusa this window, with terms on track to be agreed upon this week.

Postecoglou would also like to acquire a new midfielder with Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher being his main target – but as we exclusively revealed, the England star is likely to reject any move away from Stamford Bridge this month.

It has been claimed that Blackburn Rovers starlet Adam Wharton has been eyed by Tottenham as an alternative, but he would be more of a prospect than an immediate improvement to their starting XI.

Tottenham are also fielding interest in out-of-favour Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and we can reveal that, while a move to Italian suitors Juventus looks tough, an oportunity could arise to sell the star to a Saudi Pro-League club.

Manchester City

Manchester City are in a similar position to Liverpool in that Pep Guardiola is very happy with his current squad.

The Cityzens are confident that they already have enough quality in their ranks to close the five-point gap on Liverpool at the top of the table.

Guardiola is focused on developing young prospects for now, evidenced by Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb being brought into the fold this season.

In terms of incomings, Man City are set to focus on the summer window and at this stage, it is unlikely that they will bring anyone in before the end of the month.

Some players could leave, though, with Kalvin Phillips on the verge of joining West Ham on a straight loan – as TEAMtalk exclusively revealed on Monday.