Seven Players Who Desperately Need January Transfers

There are plenty of big names likely to be on the move over the winter period.

Man Utd could allow players to leave in January. / Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

The January transfer window can’t come quick enough for an array of high-profile names across Europe.

While colossal fees were splashed and record sums spent during the summer, not everyone was able to begin a new chapter. Many failed to secure much-wanted departures as they sought to further careers in dire need of reinvigoration.

For others, the landscape has changed in recent months, prompting a rethink over their long-term future. A lack of game time is a recurring issue among those on the periphery of the continent’s big-hitters, with the winter market potentially offering a necessary reprieve.

Here are seven players in desperate need of a January transfer.

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Gabriel Jesus

Gabriel Jesus is fighting with some elite attacking options at Arsenal. / Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Gabriel Jesus recently returned from an injury that sidelined him for almost a year, but it could well be too late for the Brazilian at Arsenal. The versatile striker has slid down the pecking order since tearing his ACL courtesy of the summer arrival of Viktor Gyökeres, the emergence of Mikel Merino as a stellar makeshift No. 9 and the presence of Kai Havertz—the latter currently sidelined through injury.

While Arsenal’s bid to triumph on multiple fronts this season requires squad depth, Jesus certainly appears a luxury option. The 28-year-old, whose contract expires in 2027, is not the clinical centre forward that the Gunners hoped they were signing when picking up Gyökeres, nor does he offer something distinctly different to Havertz.

In order to protect his value and recoup some of the £45 million spent on Jesus, a winter sale could suit Arsenal, and it may well prove the perfect next step for the player, too. In a World Cup year, the ex-Manchester City star will be eager to earn regular game time and once again reassert himself as a valuable option for the national team.

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Ronald Araujo

Ronald Araújo has taken a break from Barça. / Robin Jones/Getty Images

Despite signing a new contract with Barcelona last January, Ronald Araújo’s future was uncertain heading into the summer. The Uruguayan was linked with an exit but was determined to continue in Catalonia, opting against pursuing a Premier League move despite significant interest.

However, the situation remains unclear for Araújo heading into the winter window. His rash red card in a Champions League defeat to Chelsea resulted in a fiery backlash from Barça supporters, prompting Araújo to take a break from football for the sake of his mental health.

While there is certainly no guarantee that Araújo will leave in January, it could certainly benefit the defender to make a fresh start elsewhere. He will have plenty of suitors if he decides to depart.

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Raheem Sterling

Raheem Sterling hasn’t played for Chelsea since May 2024. / James Gill-Danehouse/Getty Images

Raheem Sterling has been in limbo for months. Expected to leave Chelsea once and for all over the summer, the winger’s mammoth wages made it difficult for the Blues to find a viable buyer, ultimately resulting in an exit failing to materialise.

The England international was exiled by Enzo Maresca and forced to train with the club’s U21s, meaning he’s not played for Chelsea since May 2024 after a dismal loan spell with Arsenal last season. At just 31, Sterling still has time to enjoy the twilight years of his career.

But that’s only possible if he can find a new employer and a significant wage cut might be required to make that a reality. Chelsea will certainly be desperate to get the forward off their books and will ideally want to shift him before his contract expires in 2027.

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Axel Disasi

Axel Disasi has been exiled at Chelsea. / Harry Murphy - Danehouse/Getty Images

Another who has been training with Chelsea’s U21s is Axel Disasi. Much like Sterling, he was unable to engineer an exit over the summer despite fleeting interest from Bournemouth and former club Monaco, with Aston Villa, who had him on loan for the second half of last term, uninterested in a permanent switch.

At just 27 years old, it’s proven a frustrating period for Disasi. While he has recently returned to first-team training after being frozen out entirely, there is no future for the French centre back at Stamford Bridge and he will be desperate for an escape in January.

Lyon have been linked with him as they seek emergency defensive cover and his more modest wages will allow for a simpler exit than that of his English teammate.

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Kalvin Phillips

Kalvin Phillips is desperate for a fresh start. / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

You would be forgiven for forgetting that Kalvin Phillips is still technically a Manchester City player. The defensive midfielder’s move from Leeds United to the Etihad, as well as subsequent loan spells at West Ham United and Ipswich Town, were at best underwhelming and at worst simply disastrous.

There was a time in which the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ was an England regular and one of the country’s most promising midfield options, but those days are long gone. His next move will be downwards and it remains to be seen just how low he’s willing to go.

Phillips, perhaps more than anyone else, desperately requires a permanent change of scenery.

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Kobbie Mainoo

Kobbie Mainoo needs regular minutes. / Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

Kobbie Mainoo’s future has dominated headlines since it became clear he was eager to leave Manchester United on loan over the summer. The midfielder’s request was denied and he’s since been glued to the Old Trafford bench, featuring sparingly and struggling to make any notable impact on Ruben Amorim.

It appears that Mainoo will once again push for a temporary departure over the winter period, preferably making a move abroad, but whether or not Man Utd will grant him an exit is another question. The Red Devils are not blessed with an abundance of options in midfield.

From Mainoo’s perspective, however, a transfer is a no-brainer. The Englishman’s potential is being wasted as he desperately scrambles for a place in Thomas Tuchel’s 2026 World Cup squad, with the academy graduate deserving of more opportunities to impress for both club and country. He remains a special talent.

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Joshua Zirkzee

Joshua Zirkzee’s spell at Old Trafford is yet to kick into life. / James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

Joshua Zirkzee was linked with a transfer over the summer and speculation has been revived ahead of the January transfer window. The Dutchman has failed to live up to his price tag or potential since making the move to Man Utd and has unsurprisingly fallen down the hierarchy, with Roma among the sides supposedly keen on offering him an escape route.

Zirkzee, who has shared Mainoo’s struggle for game time, appears determined to fight for his place in the Man Utd squad, but the signings of Benjamin Šeško, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have limited his impact this term, with a lack of European football and an early Carabao Cup exit further eating away at potential minutes.

While the 24-year-old is understandably motivated to prove his naysayers wrong at Old Trafford, he could well be fighting a losing battle. Perhaps for both his and Man Utd’s sake, a return to Italy would be the ideal solution.

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