The Daily Bee (February 2, 2021): The January Transfer Window Closes

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Clubs Scramble for Reinforcements as the Transfer Window Closes

The transfer window has now closed, in a window that was dominated by loans rather than permanent signings. Clubs all over Europe have been rushing to bring in bodies to help overcome injuries and fatigue as a result of the muddled schedule since the lockdown last season.

Perhaps the biggest news in the final days of the transfer window was Liverpool’s move to bring in defensive reinforcements. Liverpool have suffered with a whole host of injury problems, including losing all three senior center backs, Virgil Van Dijk, Joel Matip, and Joe Gomez, two of them for the remainder of the season. As a result, Liverpool moved to bring in Ben Davies from Preston and Ozan Kabak from Schalke. Kabak has joined Liverpool on a loan until the end of the season, with an option to buy in the summer. With Kabak heading out, Schalke have signed Shkodran Mustafi as his replacement.

Photo by Andreas Gora/picture alliance via Getty Images

Bundesliga clubs have been reasonably active during this window, with some big incoming and outgoing moves. Hertha Berlin signed Sami Khedira from Juventus, while Bayern’s Joshua Zirkzee moved to Parma, and Bayer Leverkusen signed Demarai Gray from Leicester City, having signed Timothy Fosu-Mensah from Manchester United earlier in the window.

Elsewhere, the big money moves came in Manchester and London, with Amad Diallo completing his move from Atalanta to Manchester United for an initial £19m, with a further £18.2m in add-ons, and Said Benrahma joining West Ham, from Brentford, for £20m. However, both these moves were agreed last summer. The only other big move was for Marseille midfielder Morgan Sanson, who has joined Aston Villa for a reported fee of £14m.

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Finally, there were two big last minute deals that were pushed through before the deadline. Everton signed Joshua King from Bournemouth, beating out Fulham to the deal at the last minute, and seemingly every other club in the Premier League over the course of the window, and Liverpool’s Takumi Minamino joined Southampton on a loan deal for the rest of the season.

BVB Identify Potential Candidates to Replace Burki in the Summer

Borussia Dortmund were quiet in the January transfer window, but that doesn’t mean they are sitting still. According to Bild, the club are considering possible replacements for Roman Burki, as a result of his decline in form this season. Bild reports that there are three main candidates to be the new starting keeper for Dortmund: Andre Onana, Peter Gulasci, and Odysseus Vlachodimos.

While Burki’s lackluster form may have caused the club to start looking for replacements, it would still be a little surprising if they made the move in the summer, having only recently negotiated a new deal with the Swiss keeper.

Either way, I’m not sure how reliable Bild’s report is. Onana and Vlachodimos both seem plausible, but Gulasci seems like an odd choice. He’s a fantastic keeper, but he has just turned 30, and only recently signed a new deal with RB Leipzig. It would cost a pretty penny for BVB to pick up a rival team’s keeper, and Gulasci may not have many years left in him.

The Daily Buzz

With the transfer window now closed, we’ve got no choice but to start speculating about the summer. Who do you think BVB should pursue in the summer? And who do you think they will?