On the early morning of the Lunar New Year, the winter transfer windows for the five major European leagues for the 2021-22 season have been closed one after another. Compared with last winter, when the major leagues stood still and transactions were deserted, the winter window transactions of the five major leagues, led by the Premier League, which spent more than 280 million pounds, increased to varying degrees compared with the same period last year, and all saw orders exceeding tens of millions. body transaction.
On closing day, led by Luis Dias, Bentancur, Alvarez and others, the lively scene of crazy signings at the buzzer was a grand event that had not been seen for a long time. Newcastle United, which signed five major new players in a row, spent 85 million pounds, and unsurprisingly became the top spender. The winter window bidder Vlahovic's worth of 81.6 million euros, even in the summer window, is definitely a seismic deal. Regardless of the total expenditure, transaction volume, number of participating teams and player value, the consumption vitality of the five major leagues has gradually recovered during this winter window.
Even before the window closes on January 31, the top 20 Premier League teams have already spent 187.7 million pounds on signings in 30 days. This figure is already the expenditure of the top 20 Premier League teams in the 2021 winter window. (84.2 million pounds) more than twice. After all, due to the aftermath of the Premier League's halving in the first half of 2020, as well as the sharp drop in ticket and match day revenue that lasted for nearly a year, most Premier League teams chose to celebrate the New Year in a pessimistic way. It can only be regarded as an ordinary transaction, and except for Amad Diallo, Stefanovic and others who have been introduced by the Manchester City duo with an eye on the future, there are also Sanson and the like who are not core figures in Villa so far. It is pessimistic. Emotions are visible at a glance.
It is true that the raging Omicron epidemic in the island is now more turbulent, but the collective action of the Premier League powers to check for leaks and fill the gaps has obviously improved compared to last year. As many as 12 teams participated in cash transactions. Only Leicester and Leeds United have made zero signings. The total expenditure of 280 million pounds made last year's winter window expenses only a fraction. In addition to the initial demonstration of "money ability" by the new wealthy team Newcastle, transactions inside and outside the league are also particularly active. Although half of the Big6 are on hold, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham were active on the deadline day; after Ranieri dismissed get out of class, Watford, which signed six players in a row to avoid relegation, became the player with the most formal transfers completed among the 20 teams.
The recovery of consumption in the Premier League may be expected by most fans, and Serie A and La Liga, which have been traumatized by the epidemic in the past year, are no longer bystanders in the winter window. Juventus intercepted Vlahovic, who had a friendly relationship with Arsenal at first, and did not hesitate to satisfy the Lion's open-minded agent, which shows his determination to avoid sinking and return to the front line; although Barcelona has no cash transactions since Ferran Torres, in the summer The struggling red and blue giants have partially met Harvey's recruitment needs by demolishing the east wall to make up for the west wall.
In addition to the two struggling giants that have spent the most money, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Atalanta and other league backbones have also completed their reinforcements through small transactions and loans. As for the Bundesliga, which is accustomed to collective silence in the winter window, although the first group is collectively absent, Augsburg introduced American star of hope Pepi, and Wolfsburg replaced Weyhorst with Wende, which were also rare in previous years. Big deal.
Are Vlahovic and Ferran Torres the prelude to the next wave of money-burning frenzy in European leagues? After all, Kylian Mbappe and Haaland, who are sure to enter the market in the summer, are destined to trigger a long-lost battle for players. However, before the bidding begins, the European giants' "warm-up" method is to rent or buy out without a visa. There is certainly no shortage of "big fish" such as Alves, Coutinho, Kulusevski, Martial, Ndombele, Gosens and even Eriksen in the 2022 winter window, but they have changed the way they approach the goal. Either he joins as a free agent, or he rents for half a year and then negotiates a buyout in the summer. The change in mainstream trading methods also shows the calmness of most teams in winter window operations. The model of this operation is undoubtedly Inter Milan. Caicedo and Gosens are both immediate reinforcements. The team not only continued the idea of ??clearing out high-paid players since the summer window, but also dealt with the problems caused by Juventus' crazy buying at the minimum cost. pressure.
In addition, the "chain operation" on the buzzer deadline also made this winter window close in a particularly dizzying way, adding a lot of drama: Although Barcelona failed to sell Dembele to the world, But he still couldn't stand Aubameyang's imitation of the passionate Alves and a significant salary cut to complete the deal; Newcastle bought Chris Wood from relegation rival Burnley, who was looking for Verhorst in the Bundesliga. Wolfsburg also added Wende in time. Although Everton sold Digne early in the morning, they immediately added Gazzi, Mekolenko and Patterson on the two wings. With Lampard taking over, "Toffee" gave the new coach another gift. Received two big gifts from Van der Beek and Ali. Even Manchester City, which basically confirmed that Ferran Torres would leave the team in December last year, used 1/3 of the Spaniard's transfer fee to win Julian Alvarez at the buzzer.
Of course, some people are particularly lively in the winter window, while others are silent. If Real Madrid's insistence on "the best possible position" is out of persistence in the established strategy and confidence in the team's performance, then Arsenal, who have been asking for prices all over the world, finally failed to advance but retreated, which really frustrated the fans to the extreme. Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, which are more urgent to eliminate redundant personnel than to recruit, and Bayern, which rarely makes big moves in the winter window, have also joined the army of bystanders. It is obvious that their time to make efforts will be five months later.
Buyer's inventory: Newcastle United has begun to show "money power", Barcelona continues to operate
The 2022 winter window has ended, Newcastle United, Juventus and Barcelona have become the top three money-burning players. Except for Zenit, the only non-major league team among the top ten spending teams, Everton, Tottenham, Fiorentina, Watford and other teams also have enough active participation to brush up on the football market. Sense of presence. Taking stock of the major donors in the winter window, who can spend the most and who knows how to spend the most?
·Unsurprising Award: Newcastle United·
Main signings: Trippier (15 million euros), Chris Wood (30 million euros), Guimar?es ( 42.1 million euros), Dan Byrne (15 million euros), Taggart (loan)
From the end of the year to the beginning of the year, Newcastle, which continued to dominate the market, theoretically has more than 2 The signing budget of 100 million pounds, but in the end, the "Magpies" who tested the waters for the first time only spent less than half. Although the original planned central defender partners Diego Carlos and Bertman failed because the players were not interested in Newcastle, and Lingard, who was hotly fired on the deadline, also missed the chance to join on loan, all three lines have been strengthened. The Magpies are better than their relegation peers who have also spent a lot of money to increase their troops, both in terms of spending and the level of new players. The experience of Trippier and Wood is even more urgently needed by Newcastle.
·The Burning Cauldron Award: Juventus·
Main signings: Vlahovic (81.6 million euros), Zakaria (8.6 million euros)
With a transfer fee of 70 million and an agent commission of 11.6 million, Vlahovic has become the third most expensive player in the history of Juventus in the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era. After the new year's financial report showed a huge loss of 210 million euros, the Bianconeri's gamble for a Champions League seat has already begun and there is no turning back. The Serbian's unique scoring efficiency in Serie A will undoubtedly solve the urgent need for the Zebras who are currently unable to score goals. After sending away Bentancur and Kulusevski, who had little real contribution and whose reputation among fans continued to decline, Zakaria, whose contract expired in the summer, was paid for a mere 8.6 million euros, at least on paper. Good deal.
·Extreme Operation Award: Barcelona·
Main signings: Ferran Torres (55 million euros), Adama Traore (loan), Aubameyang ( Visa-free), Alves (Visa-free)
After Laporta came to power, Barcelona became more and more "unconventional" in the football market: following the visa-free move in the summer window, Al The arrival of Weiss and Aubameyang did not cost Barcelona a penny in cash, and had almost no impact on the increasingly tight salary cap.
And the 55 million euros is the first shot of the winter window deal, which further proves that the team's financial situation is not as bad as Laporta has repeatedly claimed.
But this winter window, Barcelona's biggest invention is the "hedging transaction": renting Adama Traore from Wolves, the forward 35 million euro buyout clause is not mandatory, obviously to offset the Wolves' The team is not prepared to execute Trincon's buyout fee of the same amount. Of course, Barcelona, ??which insists on "never suffering a loss", except for Umtiti, who is destined to be beaten by Dembele and seriously injured, also makes the team's operation of renewing the contract and sharing annual salary suddenly eclipsed a lot.
·Meet and greet award: Everton·
Main signings: Mekolenko (23.5 million euros), Paterson (14 million euros) Euro), Van de Beek (loan), Ali (loan), Ghazi (loan)
Mo Xuli is not a stingy club, but the reality is that you can’t spend money when you have it. After sending away Digne, who Benitez disapproved of, and then expelling the Spanish coach together, the Toffees, who lived within their means, gave new coach Lampard a fairly sincere New Year's bonus: the imported left-back against him. Mekolenko has been tempered by the European Cup, and Patterson, who has a "striking" nature, also has an appetite for making good use of the newcomer's "magic lamp". Van de Beek can bring a lot of vitality to the midfield, and press Ali, who was introduced with zero down payment, is even more amazing. The former Three Lions international will only trigger a buyout fee of only 12 million pounds after 20 appearances. Considering that the latter's downturn at Tottenham was more a matter of attitude than ability, the team obviously made a good deal.
·Rainy Day Award: Liverpool·
Main signing: Luis Dias (45 million euros)
Salah’s weekly salary of 400,000 pounds Negotiations on a new contract have been delayed, and the African Cup has caused the Red Army to lose key players in the midfield and frontcourt. Liverpool fans who are increasingly questioning the management's continued investment have received a slightly unexpected gift in the New Year: Dias, the third most expensive player in the winter window. , although it is not the most urgent position for the Red Army, it can also show the team's long-term operational thinking. The Colombian winger who tied with Messi as the top scorer in last year's Copa America is only 25 years old, and his peak period has not yet fully arrived. Once the team is not prepared to raise the salary total and is determined to dismantle the trident, Dias is obviously an important part of the Red Army's reconstruction. One of the newcomers.
·Only out but no prize: Arsenal·
Main transfers: Aubameyang (terminated), Kolasinac (terminated), Niles (loan) ), Chambers (free transfer), Pablo Mari (loan)
Although before the transfer window closed, Arsenal tried to introduce Morata and made an intention offer to De Tomas , but with the gunman's usual procrastination and hypocrisy, it was expected that he would be rejected. The team's radical attrition and efficiency policy reached its culmination in this winter window: Mari and Chambers left at the same time, further weakening the team's central defenders, Niles went to Rome to join Mourinho, and the midfielder also lost reliability. Rotate. As for the "send away the plague" to terminate the contract of former captain Aubameyang, although it saved a lot of expenses, the method was really chilling to those who saw it. Perhaps the biggest failure of the Gunners in this winter window is not that they got nothing from their signings, but that they failed to send Leno away in time!
Text|Yang Jian
Editor|DBSQ