Transfer deadline day: Chelsea near Fernandez move, Man Utd set for Sabitzer as Porro joins Spurs

By Sports Desk January 31, 2023

Europe's elite clubs raced to beat the January transfer deadline as Pedro Porro signed for Tottenham and Enzo Fernandez neared a record Premier League move when the window slammed shut.

Argentina's World Cup winner Fernandez appeared set to complete a long-awaited move to Chelsea in a record-breaking Premier League transfer.

While Chelsea aimed to bring in the youthful Fernandez, veteran Italy international Jorginho departed as he joined Arsenal after Mikel Arteta's side were unable to secure Brighton and Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo.

Manchester United also looked to strengthen their midfield with a loan deal for Bayern Munich's Sabitzer after an injury to key playmaker Christian Eriksen at Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, Tottenham solidified their defensive options by snaffling Spanish wing-back Porro from Sporting CP after lengthy negotiations.

Stats Perform provides a rundown of the notable deals as the mid-season transfer window finally closed.

 

BOEHLY BREAKS RECORD FOR FERNANDEZ

Fernandez emerged as a target for Chelsea following his influential displays for Argentina during their World Cup triumph in Qatar and the Blues' Todd Boehly-led consortium appear to have finally got their man. 

After already snatching Mykhaylo Mudryk from under the noses of Arsenal, Chelsea are set to splash a reported £105.5million (€120m) on Fernandez from Benfica.

That would break the Premier League record of £100m Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish, as the Blues looked to secure the former River Plate midfielder on a reported seven-and-a-half-year contract.

ARSENAL'S CAICEDO BLUES CURED BY JORGINHO

Arteta and Arsenal's pursuit of Caicedo fell on deaf ears as Brighton refused to budge, despite the Gunners lodging a reported £70m bid for the 21-year-old.

After missing out on primary midfield target Caicedo, Jorginho switched the blue shirt of Chelsea for the red of Arsenal as he completed a reported £12m transfer to the Premier League leaders.

The 31-year-old will provide able competition for the impressive Thomas Partey after penning an 18-month contract at Emirates Stadium.

TEN HAG FINDS ERIKSEN COVER IN SABITZER

With Eriksen ruled out for three months, Erik ten Hag and United acted swiftly to attempt to bring in experienced midfielder Sabitzer on a short-term loan.

Opportunities had been hard to come by for the Austria international after joining Bayern from Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig ahead of the 2021-22 season.

He started just 15 times in his 40 appearances for the Bundesliga champions, though he may now have the chance to impress in the Premier League with Ten Hag's resurgent Red Devils.

CONTE GETS PORRO AS DOHERTY AND SPENCE DEPART

It appeared Tottenham may not secure the services of attack-minded wing-back Porro, formerly of Girona and Manchester City, after it seemed negotiations had come to a halt with Sporting.

But Spurs confirmed the 23-year-old's arrival late on, with Porro signing a five-and-a-half-year deal after a reported £40m (€45m) move from Sporting, who signed Barcelona's Hector Bellerin as a replacement.

That transfer saw Djed Spence, who only signed from Middlesbrough in a deal worth up to £20m in July, sent out to Ligue 1's Rennes for the rest of the season on loan.

Fellow full-back Matt Doherty also made way as he joined Atletico Madrid on a six-month contract, with Spurs terminating the 31-year-old's contract to "enable him to join another club".

OTHER DEALS

Bournemouth paid their second-highest transfer fee in history for Illya Zabarnyi, parting with a reported £24m (€27.2m) for the Ukraine centre-back from Dynamo Kyiv.

Gary O'Neil's Bournemouth added a second signing soon after, confirming the arrival of Sassuolo midfielder Hamed Traore on a loan that will become permanent on a five-year deal in June.

Nottingham Forest continued their spending after signing Atletico centre-back Felipe on a deal that will run until 2024, while Jonjo Shelvey also arrived from Newcastle United on a deal until 2025, and a move for Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas on loan was reportedly nearing.

Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace bolstered their midfield by bringing in Naouirou Ahamada for a reported £10.5m (€12m) fee from Stuttgart, while Arsenal's Albert Sambi Lokonga joined on a six-month loan.

Leeds United's Diego Llorente joined Jose Mourinho's Roma on loan until the end of the season, with an option for a permanent transfer reportedly worth €18m (£15.9m).

Ayoze Perez is another Premier League player who will spend the second half of the term on loan, with the Leicester City forward moving to LaLiga side Real Betis.

Aleksandar Mitrovic's Serbia team-mate Sasa Lukic traded Torino for Fulham in a transfer reportedly worth £8.8m (€10m) including add-ons, signing a contract until June 2027.

Lukic will likely be joined by Arsenal full-back Cedric Soares after Marco Silva's side reportedly agreed to bring the former Southampton defender on a six-month loan.

Outside of England, Borussia Dortmund and Belgium midfielder Thorgan Hazard completed a short-term loan move to Eredivisie title hopefuls PSV.

Related items

  • Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Iniesta announces retirement Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Iniesta announces retirement

    Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta has announced his retirement from football at the age of 40.

    Iniesta, who also played for Japanese side Vissel Kobe, most recently played for UAE Pro League club Emirates and had the option to extend his contract until 2025, but has instead decided to hang up his boots.

    The midfielder started his career at Barcelona, joining at the age of 12 before making his senior debut in 2002.

    He went on to make 674 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions, the fourth-most in the history of the club, behind Lionel Messi (778), Xavi (767) and Sergio Busquets (722).

    "Please allow me to be a little emotional today..." a tearful Iniesta said at a press conference on Tuesday.

    "I never thought this day would come. I never imagined it. Yes, all these tears we have shed these days are tears of emotion, of pride. They are not tears of sadness.

    "They are tears of that boy from a small town like Fuentealbilla, who had the dream of being a footballer and we achieved it after a lot of hard work, sacrifice... of never giving up, essential values in my life. I feel very proud of this path, with all the people who have accompanied me." 

    Iniesta scored 35 goals in 442 LaLiga appearances, with Barcelona unbeaten in the 35 league games in which he scored (W33 D2). Only Angel Correa (58 games) has scored in more games without losing in the competition in the 21st century.

    While at Barcelona, he won 29 major honours, including nine LaLiga titles, four Champions League, two UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups.

    Iniesta also made 131 appearances for Spain, the fifth-most in the history of the male national team, and famously scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final as La Roja lifted the trophy for the first time.

    His strike in the 116th minute against the Netherlands (115:54 exactly) is the latest winning goal in the showpiece match in the history of the tournament.

    He was also a part of Spain's European Championship successes in 2008 and 2012, being named the Player of the Tournament at the latter edition.

    Despite playing an integral role in those tournaments, Iniesta failed to score with any of the 34 shots he attempted in his three appearances at the Euros finals (2008, 2012, 2016), a record number of attempts without scoring by any player at the tournament since at least the 1980 edition.

  • Bonmati refuses to rule out WSL move but open to retiring at Barcelona Bonmati refuses to rule out WSL move but open to retiring at Barcelona

    Aitana Bonmati has refused to rule out a move to the Women's Super League in the future, though she is also open to the prospect of ending her career at Barcelona.

    Bonmati, who won the Ballon d'Or last year after helping Spain become world champions for the first time, recently put pen to paper on a new four-year contract with Barca.

    She has been with the club since 2012, winning 23 trophies with the senior side to sit eighth in the all-time ranking for most titles with the Catalan giants.

    Bonmati, who is Barcelona's all-time leading scorer, has won the Champions League on three occasions, netting in last season's final victory over Lyon.

    In an interview with Sky Sports, Bonmati was asked if she could foresee a scenario in which she never leaves Barca, and she is open to the idea. 

    "Yes, that would be nice to be a one-club player," the creative midfielder said.

    "For now, I've been playing for Barcelona since I was 13 years old. It would be nice if I could end my career like this… but you never know.

    "I'd never close the door. You never know what might happen in the future. But for now, I'm here for four more years, so I want to enjoy."

    If Bonmati were to leave Spain, a number of WSL clubs – including Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal – would likely be in the hunt for her signature.

    Bonmati appreciates the growing strength of the WSL, saying the investment in women's football in England compares favourably with that seen in Spain.

    "It's a league that is so nice because England are investing a lot in women's football since the Euros – I cannot say the same about here in Spain," she said.

    "Of course, it's a league that we have to keep watching, to be like them for helping women's football grow."

    Barcelona open their Women's Champions League campaign against City on Wednesday, having been drawn into Group D alongside Hammarby and St Polten.

  • Messi headlines 23-player MLS MVP shortlist Messi headlines 23-player MLS MVP shortlist

    Lionel Messi is one of 23 players to be nominated for the 2024 MLS MVP award, being joined on the shortlist by Inter Miami teammate Luis Suarez.

    Messi is considered the leading candidate to win the league's top individual prize after scoring 17 goals and contributing 10 assists in just 18 regular-season matches this year.

    The Argentina legend has missed large chunks of the campaign through injury, recently sitting out two months with an ankle problem he sustained while representing his country in the Copa America final.

    Yet only four players – D.C. United's Christian Benteke (23), Los Angeles FC's Denis Bouanga, the Columbus Crew's Cucho Hernandez (both 19) and Suarez (18) – have outscored him this term, and he also sits joint-eighth in the assist charts.

    Suarez is the other Miami player to be nominated for the prize, having put himself in Golden Boot contention in his first season in the United States.

    The Uruguayan's 18 league goals have come from chances with a total expected goals (xG) value of 12.04, giving him an overperformance of 5.96.

    Only New York City's Alonso Martinez (6.13, 16 goals from 9.87 xG) and Messi (6.08, 17 from 10.92 xG) have overperformed their underlying figures by a greater margin.

    Suarez is also up for the league's Newcomer of the Year award, alongside players including Hugo Lloris of LAFC and the Galaxy's leading scorer Gabriel Pec.

    Last season's MVP, FC Cincinnati's Luciano Acosta, is in the running for the top prize once more after providing more direct goal involvements (30, 14 goals, 16 assists) than any other player in the league.

    With Miami winning the Supporters' Shield and remaining on course to break the league's single-season points record (73 by the 2021 New England Revolution), head coach Gerardo Martino has been nominated for the Coach of the Year award.

    The Colorado Rapids' Chris Armas, Greg Vanney of the LA Galaxy and the Columbus Crew's Wilfried Nancy are considered among the other leading contenders.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.