The winter transfer market officially closed earlier this week—marking an end to the month-long stretch of incoming and outgoing deals.
Each of Europe’s “big five” leagues were active throughout January but unsurprisingly the Premier League’s spending power dramatically overshadowed the business done in Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1. According to Deloitte, Serie A reported the steepest year-on-year decline in gross transfer spend, falling nearly 84% in January 2023. Clubs in Serie A spent €185 million in January 2022 compared to €30 million this past month—the lowest spend by the league since 2006.
Although overall spending was sparse, there’s still plenty to discuss about which teams did or did not improve their odds at moving up the table in the second half of the season.
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So with January in the books, let’s explore some of the winners and losers from last month’s transfer window period.
The Winners
Spezia
No club was more active in January than Spezia, who welcomed eight new additions during the window. Sitting just above the relegation zone, the club’s new ownership group showed their commitment and put their money where their mouth is. Most notable were the acquisitions of Eldor Shomurodov on loan from Roma and highly rated Italian international Salvatore Esposito from SPAL.
Fiorentina
Although underwhelming in the first half of the season, La Viola are undoubtedly among the winners of January in Serie A. The club acquired wide-man Josip Brekalo, who impressed last season at Torino, at a cut-rate ahead of his contract expiration with Wolfsburg. Most importantly, however, they succeeded in warding off some of Europe’s biggest clubs and keeping midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.
Torino
The Granata emerged as victors in the race for highly coveted youngster Ivan Ilić. The Serbian international joined Ivan Juric’s side from Hellas Verona in a surprise move after attracting interest from some of Italy’s biggest clubs, including Roma and Napoli.
The Losers
Juventus
Not only were the Bianconeri hit with a 15-points deduction midway through January, they also didn’t make a single addition during the month. They curiously opted not to replace midfielder Weston McKennie after offloading the American international to Leeds United.
Milan
Struggling in their league title defence, the Rossoneri desperately required new blood to freshen up Stefano Pioli’s squad. However, the only addition the team made during January was backup goalkeeper Devis Vásquez.
Final Thoughts
There’s no doubt Serie A lacked the action you can find at https://gg.bet/en/fifa/ and expect during a transfer window. However, you could argue for what the league lacked in quantity it made up for in quality.
Many of the deals made during the January transfer window went under the radar and didn’t grab many headlines—but that doesn’t mean they won’t make an impact at their new respective clubs.
