Ten players to watch in the January transfer window: Mainoo to move? What now for Bobb? Neves future?
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
Likelihood of moving? Potential destinations? Incentives to stay put? A look at the state of play around the key men in this month's window
Welcome to the January transfer window. The market opened on January 1 and closes on February 2 for clubs in England, Germany and France and it opens today and closes on February 2 in Spain and Italy.
Traditionally, the winter window is quieter than the summer, but in January 2025 Premier League clubs alone spent £370million ($497m). Manchester City accounted for £180m of that, as they enacted their winter rebuild, but overall it represented a £100m increase on the year before.
And with plenty of clubs having needs to address in 2026, there’s every reason to believe that trend will continue.
So, here are 10 players to keep an eye on over the next month.
Antoine Semenyo, Bournemouth
This should be one of the first deals done in January. It could also prove one of the largest.
The clause allowing Semenyo to leave Bournemouth for £65m ($87.5m) is only valid for the first 10 days of the month, and Manchester City are expected to activate it shortly, well before that deadline approaches.
Tottenham Hotspur were interested in Semenyo last summer and Manchester United held discussions with the forward before Christmas, but the 25-year-old Ghana international — who has played in all four professional divisions in England — has indicated his preference to join City instead and will likely play his last game for Bournemouth this weekend.
Bournemouth’s Semenyo (Harry Murphy/Getty Images)
Ruben Neves, Al Hilal
Former Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Neves left the Premier League in 2023, joining Al Hilal of the Saudi Pro League.
The Portuguese, 28, is out of contract in the summer and has so far been reluctant to sign an extension, making a move back to Europe a possible outcome. It creates a unusual situation, given that players of his calibre are rarely available in the winter and ordinarily reluctant to move.
While Neves has not been playing at the highest level, he is still in his prime, remains a Portugal international, and would strengthen most of the midfields in the Premier League. Al Hilal are still optimistic about convincing him to prolong his stay in Saudi Arabia, so that should not be discounted, but Neves will be an important figure this month.
Oscar Bobb, Manchester City
Bobb started the season well and was given a run of starts by Pep Guardiola. Ultimately, he fell out of favour, and then suffered a hamstring injury in the Carabao Cup win over Brentford in December, from which he is yet to recover.
Loan options exist and Borussia Dortmund are interested, but there have been no advanced negotiations yet, with the German club exploring a deal rather than advancing with one.
It’s an interesting moment for Bobb. He’s now 22 and would benefit from more regular football, but he will be part of Norway’s World Cup squad in the summer and will have to weigh any move against its potential disruption at one of the biggest moments of his career.
Kobbie Mainoo, Manchester United
Mainoo’s departure has seemed inevitable for some time and having not made a single Premier League start this season, January is an obvious departure point for a player who made such a profound impression before Ruben Amorim’s arrival.
Antonio Conte’s Napoli have been keenly monitoring Mainoo and have had prior successes in signing and rejuvenating Manchester United players, following Scott McTominay’s success in Serie A. Napoli are currently limited by Serie A’s financial regulations, meaning that a permanent deal would be difficult, but they are certainly an option on loan.
There have been flickers of Premier League interest in the past, too, and if Mainoo, 20, were to leave Old Trafford, then it’s easy to imagine him having plenty of domestic options.
Kees Smit, AZ
Smit is a 19-year-old Dutch midfielder from AZ. A creative, skilful, and dynamic ball-carrier, he has been attracting interest across Europe for some time. Newcastle United made an enquiry in the summer, but were told that Smit was not for sale.
At the moment, it’s unclear whether that position has changed. AZ are not having a good year in the Eredivisie, currently finding themselves in sixth, having not won in the league since early November. That run of form does not seem to have dampened interest in Smit, though, for whom there is still a competitive market. Newcastle remain keen. So are Real Madrid.
Smit playing for AZ last month (Ed van de Pol/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Tyrique George, Chelsea
George, 19, came very close to leaving on loan last summer, before a move to Fulham collapsed on the last day of the transfer window. A couple of starts in the Champions League aside, he remains a peripheral figure at Stamford Bridge, competing for wing positions that are well-stocked and extremely competitive.
Other than Fulham, George was wanted by RB Leipzig last summer — albeit before they completed other deals in his position — and he is expected to attract plenty of suitors again over the next few weeks, as he looks for more time on the pitch.
Nico Schlotterbeck, Borussia Dortmund
Schlotterbeck’s future has been unclear for some time. Now 26, he is entering the final 18 months of his contract at Borussia Dortmund, meaning that from the club’s perspective he either needs to sign a renewal or be sold. Dortmund cannot allow their most gifted centre-back to leave free of charge in the summer of 2027.
The chances of a move during this window are remote, but his is still a situation to pay attention to. Barcelona’s interest has been the most solid, even if a deal seems financially improbable, but Bayern Munich are fans, too, and Schlotterbeck has expressed a desire to win a league title in Germany.
So, there will be no transfer this month, but there should be a further indication of where he intends to spend his future.
Sacha Boey, Bayern Munich
Boey, 25, joined Bayern Munich in January 2024, but has fallen well out of favour. Konrad Laimer is now the club’s first-choice right-back and while Boey has occasionally played on the left, Alphonso Davies and Josip Stanisic are well ahead of him on that side in the pecking order, too. As a result, he has played fewer than 500 minutes in the Bundesliga all season.
Bayern spent €30m (£26.2m; $35.2m) on Boey two years ago, but are now happy for him to leave in order to play more regularly.
Six months out from the World Cup — and at 33 this could be his last — Ter Stegen has a problem. If he stays at Barcelona, he will remain second choice for the rest of the season behind Joan Garcia, making it very difficult for him to displace Oliver Baumann as Germany’s starter next summer.
Ter Stegen has suffered two serious injuries. The patella rupture in September 2024, then the recurring back issue that required surgery in July 2025. He needs to play to convince Julian Nagelsmann that he has properly recovered from those issues. And to do that, he will need a move.
The difficulty is in knowing where he might land. There are no obvious openings at the major English clubs and a return to Germany seems improbable financially. Ter Stegen has indicated his willingness to stay and fight for his position, but Hansi Flick has been clear about Garcia’s place in the side; Ter Stegen needs minutes and, barring injury, he’s not going to get them in Barcelona.
Yan Diomande, RB Leipzig
Diomande only joined RB Leipzig in the summer, moving for €20m from Leganes, but the wide forward has continued to make startling progress and has been one of the standout young players in the Bundesliga this season, scoring six goals from his first 10 starts.
Leipzig’s Diomande (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
As the 19-year-old’s reputation has grown, so inevitably has interest from the Premier League and beyond. Leipzig’s position has been consistent, though. They say that the player is not for sale in January and deem him crucial to their chances of returning to the Champions League next season. After that, they want any conversation about Diomande leaving to begin at €100m. Whether they are offered that kind of fee straight away is another issue, but Leipzig see Diomande as one of their most talented prospects in years and are confident someone will meet their asking price.
In January, it would take something extraordinary. Diomande is contracted to Leipzig until 2030 and has no release clause.
