Winter 24/26 transfer window - the verdict

[andyh]

Only 7 transfers completed across the Premier League on deadline day.

Sky must be absolutely fucking apoplectic.

[brontebilly]

With our financial straightjacket this was always going to be a very difficult window. Focus was addressing the mistakes of the previous one and even the January before then. Unable to move Elliot on and if we could find a way to rip up Sancho's loan I'm sure we would too. The Gallagher move was disappointing it didn't happen but I wanted Luiz last summer so delighted he is back.

I think Bailey has already shown more in glimpses than Guessand ever could. Tammy was ok on his debut and Luiz was very good. If Watkins, Onana and Barkley are available to play then our squad v Bournemouth already looks much stronger. Bailey and Luiz start for me.

Big worry for me is at right back if anything happened Cash. We have finished strongly ever season under Emery so McGinn and Tielemans back for the final push will hopefully do the business.

[Dave]

F365's Transfer Window losers section, alongside Palace, Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and West Ham:

Aston Villa

It’s not that they’ve brought in bad players, because they haven’t. It’s just the fact it’s been an irritating month in which patchy on-field results and the struggle to bring in precisely who they wanted have served as a reminder that nearly challenging for the title is as high as Villa will be allowed to fly.

We can all argue about where Villa might best target their frustrations over this point, and we would still contend that a great deal more of it should be ‘inward’ given the ongoing flirting with PSR catastrophe, but those frustrations are very real indeed.

[algy]

The Grauniad

Aston Villa

Twelve months ago Unai Emery had pushed through deals for Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio but this time there were no late high-profile arrivals. It is hard to discern whether Villa finish the window in a stronger position than when it opened after allowing Donyell Malen and Evann Guessand to depart, but the return of Tammy Abraham, on a permanent deal, provides Villa with another bona fide striker, and Douglas Luiz, another player back for a second spell, eases their midfield injuries. Alberto Benito, Emery’s chief scout, tracked Alysson, a £10.5m buy from Grêmio and the club could look back on the £10m deal for Brian Madjo as smart business; there is plenty of excitement around the Enfield-born 17-year-old, who became Metz’s youngest debutant aged 16 last year. Finley Munroe was sold to Middlesbrough, to the surprise of Ian Holloway, who managed the 20-year-old left-back – a cousin of Declan Rice – during his impressive loan spell at Swindon. “I don’t think I’ve had as good a full-back potentially in my lifetime,” Holloway said. Ben Fisher

Key ins: Tammy Abraham (Besiktas, £18.3m), Brian Madjo (Metz, £10m), Alysson (Grêmio, £8.7m), Douglas Luiz (Juventus, loan)

Key outs: Evann Guessand (Crystal Palace, loan), Donyell Malen (Roma, loan)