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Who nailed it and who failed it? 5 Winners and losers of the 2025 winter transfer window

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Who nailed it and who failed it? 5 Winners and losers of the 2025 winter transfer window
Who nailed it and who failed it? 5 Winners and losers of the 2025 winter transfer window

New Delhi: The 2024/25 winter transfer window has officially slammed shut, bringing an end to weeks of speculation, negotiations, and last-minute drama. For clubs across Europe’s top leagues, the opportunity to strengthen their squads has passed, with the transfer window slamming shut in the late hours of last night. While Turkey and the Netherlands still have their windows open, the likelihood of any major moves remains slim.

Now, it’s time for reflection. Clubs, players, managers, and agents will all be evaluating the deals done and even more closely, the the ones that slipped away. Some teams made the most of their opportunities, while others are left regretting missed targets or last-minute setbacks. With the dust settling, we break down the biggest winners and losers of the winter window, analyzing the clubs and individuals who thrived, struggled, or simply failed to make an impact. Let’s dive in!

10) Loser: Mathys Tel

Starting off with one of the big moves of this transfer window, Bayern Munich youngster Mathys Tel joined Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur in the final hours of the window. The 19-year-old had a host of clubs behind him after he decided to leave the Bavarian club having grown frustrated with chances but decided to join a struggling Tottenham side on loan. To make matters even more confusing, it came after he had already rejected the club a few days earlier in the window, indicating he only moved to the club to get away from Bayern and doesn’t really have any inclination towards playing for the North London side.

9) Winner: Marcus Rashford

Manchester United’s once golden boy, Marcus Rashford finally completed a move away from Old Trafford towards the fag end of the transfer window. After being frozen out by new manager Ruben Amorim, Rashford spent the entire January window trying to land a move away from the club. His agent spoke to a lot of clubs abroad but his hefty salary was a stumbling block which ultimately opened doors for a move to an exciting Aston Villa squad where he can showcase his talents once again and also compete in the UEFA Champions League, something he wasn’t doing with Manchester United.

8) Loser: Arsenal

Arsenal had a lot of glaring issues heading into the window, none more than being their squad depth and striking issues. Arsenal have lacked a credible goal scoring striker since the club sold Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and that has arguably costed them in the title race in the past seasons. Even in the current campaign, the club don’t have a prolific number nine and have lost Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus to injury for a lengthy period of time. Signing an attacker was of top priority for the club but they didn’t bring a single player in, with their only major activity being a late bid for Ollie Watkins which was swiftly reject by the midlands club.

7) Winner: AC Milan

The Italian giants quietly had a great transfer window and that isn’t being spoken about enough. The Rossoneri were one of the most active teams in Italy and backed new manager Sergio Conceicao with a host of new signings in his first window with the club. AC Milan brought in veteran defender Kyle Walker in on loan from Manchester City, Italian winger Riccardo Sottil arrived on loan from Fiorentina and they left their best additions for the deadline day. Milan completed a double swoop of attackers Joao Felix and Santiago Gimenez on the final day, bringing the former in on loan from Chelsea and the latter on a permanent deal from Feyenoord. Gimenez becomes a perfect replacement for Alvaro Morata, who departed for Galatasaray amongst other names that weren’t a part of the club’s plans.

6) Loser: Juventus

From one Italian club that had a great winter window to one that didn’t have that good of a window. While they have always been heavyweights of Italian football, Juventus have been struggling for form this season. They lost star defender Bremmer to an ACL injury earlier in the season and spent all window trying to find a replacement but ultimately settled for loan deals for Renato Veiga and Llyod Kelly, none of whom are very inspiring choices. They even added misfiring PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani on loan as well but he is only back up to Dusan Vlahovic, who himself isn’t having that great of a season, making this a very underwhelming window for the Old Lady. They added Porto right back Alberto Costa as well as their only permanent signing but he is also a an unproven signing as of now and remains to be seen how he fits in at Turin.

5) Winner: Jhon Duran

Colombian forward Jhon Duran became a Premier League sensation in the first half of the season as he had the best goals to minute ratio in the league. The 21-year-old had many clubs gunning for his signature since the last two windows but his form saw more wide spread interest which saw him seal a big money switch to Saudi side Al Nassr. In a span of six months, Duran went from an Aston Villa benchwarmer to a Premier League star and is now teammates with Cristiano Ronaldo. To top it off, he went from earning £75,000 a week at Villa to a mouth watering £320,000 a week, making him one of the highest paid players in the world. He may be getting flack from some part of the fans but Duran certainly won this window.

4) Loser: Napoli

After being left in the dust in the previous season, Antonio Conte transformed Napoli and made them title contenders once again. The Partenopei are involved in an intense title race in Serie A with Inter Milan breathing down their necks but the club sold one of their best players in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to PSG. While they couldn’t help with that deal since the player wanted to leave, what makes it bad is that they failed to replace such an important player. They failed to convince both Karim Adeyemi and Alejandro Garnacho to join and their only major attacking acquisition being that of AC Milan’s Noah Okafor, who isn’t the right replacement for ‘Kvaradona’.

3) Winner: Manchester City

Manchester City had a great window on paper but it still remains to be seen whether it’ll prove to be a great one in the future. Talking about potential, City had a brilliant window but in terms of improving the squad currently, it could go either way. They brought in two highly rated young defenders in Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis and added Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush as well. They even sealed a deadline day deal for Porto’s Nico González, finding their replacement for Rodri ensuring that they covered all bases that they didn’t in the summer.

2) Loser: Chelsea

Quite possibly the biggest losers of the winter window were Premier League side Chelsea. The club have arguably weakened their squad in the window heading into an intense top four fight. The club sold Cesare Casadei and sealed loan exits of Renato Veiga, Joao Felix, Carney Chukwuemenka, Axel Disasi and Ben Chilwell. Off loading Veiga, Felix, Chukwuemenka and Disasi without bringing in any replacement leaves the squad without any depth in their ranks. They didn’t make any attacking acquisitions nor did they improve the defense. The deadline day signing of St. Etienne’s 19-year-old midfielder Mathis Amougou was the only incoming in the window and he is yet another virtual unknown the club have signed.

1) Winner: Aston Villa

Aston Villa quite possibly had the best window out of all the clubs this January. Unai Emery strengthened his squad massively for the upcoming UCL knockout stages and has bolstered his squad well for a push for another top four finish this season. Villa raked in huge money by selling Jhon Duran, who was more or less a benchwarmer for the club and got rid of players who weren’t part of the plans like Diego Carlos, Jaden Philogene and Emi Buendía. They added exciting wingers Doyell Malen, Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio to their ranks, all of whom are capable of playing in multiple positions and bring a wealth of Champions League experience. In addition to them, they even signed Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea, adding more depth in their defense.

 Now that the squads are set for the remainder of the 2024/25 season as the winter transfer window slammed shut last night, let’s take a look at who utilized the window the best and who failed to make it count!  Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today

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