The transfer window is closed! Premier League teams now have their squadrons in place until the end of the season.
So where does this leave the teams at the top? Can Arsenal Liverpool challenge the title despite the fact that he has not signed anyone? Is Marcus Rashford's move from Manchester United to Aston Villa the best company of the window – for all three parties?
What about the struggle of Tottenham and United? Can they change their fortune in the second half of the season? Liverpool is not from the forest, with Virgil van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah still from contract in June.
Paul Merson of Sky Sports delivers his statement in January transfer window for the traditional 'Big Six' Plus Aston Villa. Read below for the thoughts of the Magic Man …
Arsenal
“Arsenal still needed a striker. When the game of the man City went 1-1, you thought of Kai Havertz's chance for 2-0. They won the game comfortably, but it could have been the other way.
“A natural goal scorer scores that goal. Of course, Havertz got his goal, which is more difficult than the one he missed.
“But unless they got Ollie Watkins, I didn't see the reason they would get one. They might as well wait for next season.
“If they have him for £ 70 million or £ 80 million for £ 200,000 a week, it is £ 3 million in wages for the next six or seven months.
“If Liverpool wins their game in hand at Everton next week, even if Arsenal Erling Haaland had, they would not win the competition. Nine points are much with the amount of games that remain.”
Aston Villa
“Marcus Rashford has an incredible opportunity, he goes to one of the top teams in the Premier League. Great club, great support.
“It's a huge gamble for Ruben Amorim. But if this doesn't work …
“At Villa one of the players will miss – a Jacob Ramsey or someone. Maybe it will be fine now if Ollie Watkins is injured.
“I just worry that it is a long time ago for Rashford, you can't just put it on a tap. There have been problems.
“I hope he gets it solved for Villa and the boy, because his career will soon end if that is not the case. He got an incredible opportunity at a great club and he has to take it.
“If he starts playing well again, he will return to the English team – 100 percent. He is good for tournament food ball, he can play in multiple positions – in the front, wide and he can come deeper. It makes a difference picking squadrons for one tournament.
“But he has to do it. It's not as easy as the shirt, moves, here we go. It is a long time ago. I hope I am wrong.
“For the UNAI Emery manager, you can look and go from far away,” I can sort it out. “He doesn't have long left, he is 27. I hate to see talent as these waste, he can play.”
Chelsea
“I don't think Chelsea is currently defensive near the Premier League title. They have good young center halves, but they are going to make mistakes every now and then.
“They have to bring in an experienced center of the center and 26-year-old to 29-year-old who will sit next to Levi Colwill. I would be more than satisfied if Marc Guehi drew for Chelsea. But for me, no one will win anything without a top keeper.
“You can go through every team that the Premier League has won, nobody has won it with a good keeper. Liverpool has two of the best, Man City in the past four years the best keeper in the world has had. That would point to this moment my problem.
“I thought it was toxic to Robert Sanchez against Wolves at Stamford Bridge when his mistake made it 1-1. It is a big call.
“I love the keeper, but I don't think he has enough concentration levels for a club like Chelsea where you don't have much to do.
“Every keeper in the Premier League is all good shot stoppers, the difference between the highest level and the others is only concentration.
“David Raya against Man City had nothing to do for 20 minutes, on the other hand he is thinking that the game should be done. Then he saves the header of Josko Gvardiol and it was amazing.
“Sanchez had nothing to do against wolves and then drops the corner. Then the fans are sitting on his back. He is a good shot stopper, but the crowd goes on his back when he makes a mistake.”
Liverpool
“I don't think Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold or Virgil van Dijk residence as Liverpool wins the Premier League this season. I don't see why they have not signed now?
“It is a lot of money and every week that passes – and it has been a lot now – we are talking about millions they lose by not committing now, millions.
“Nobody has signed. Why wouldn't you draw?
“When Liverpool won the competition the last time, they won it in Covid. It was not the same, there was no one there. Everyone there wants Liverpool to win it and again for their fans.
“But if they have won it again, they will all go. I don't know what else they can do in Liverpool. It is the Holy Grail who won at the head. It wasn't the same the last time, it was sad To see.
“If this was Man City in this position now, we would talk about the four -fold. Nobody will talk about it when Liverpool has a chance and they do that.”
Man
“I haven't seen Nico Gonzalez play, so don't know too much about him. But they need players in midfield.
“Many people say it's not only Rodri. But it's just Rodri. Rodri sees danger, Rodri is disciplined, Rodri stays in the middle, he comes ahead and back and protects the backline and he passes the ball very quickly through the line .
“I love Mateo Kovacic, but he and Bernardo Silva have just been ruined in the last 30 minutes in Arsenal.
“The problem is that Gonzalez arrives for £ 50 million, but as soon as Rodri's is fit, it is. I don't think he plays. Unless you play them together and I don't think you should.
“This is the problem with wages and buying players, you forget that this man is sitting on the couch with big money by the start of the following season.
“You then look at James McATee with a brilliant young future and they will have to sell him for the Fair Play rules. It is a domino effect. They have to panic to get into the top four.”
Man utd
“The manager currently has no more ideas. He is struggling badly.
“What he has done with the Rashford situation is amazing. His task is at stake at this pace. If Rashford gets 10 goals in 10 games and Man Utd continues with the way they play, then the board will ask the question : 'What are you doing?'
“I think Rashford might be one of them where the Villa fans and the manager will open their arms for him and he will go: 'I'm going to show that amorim – you are a bad mouth, bewildered by saying that I am would not do that in a 63-year-old keeper coach '.
“It could end up very much for Amorim – he would be under heavy pressure if they continued to play badly and Rashford starts to tear it in villa. He would not be the man UTD manager long!
“Man Utd should get Jean-Philippe Mateta, that's what they need. He is a strong boy in advance, plays at the top of his game, he leads the line, scores goals now. He runs and works his socks faster than anyone knows .
“But they won't do that because he plays for Crystal Palace. Everyone would go:” What do you buy it for? ” But he is 100 times better than someone in the front line.
“Man Utd plays at the front Kobbie Mainoo. If you are one of those two center forks, I would say:” I might as well go on loan and play for Exeter this month “.
“I love Hojlund, he is a young boy. He will come in – but the club is too big for him at the moment. He makes good runs, he is coming in positions, is currently taking. But he is a young child.
“But you are just as good as the people you offer and the people behind him are not good. Erling Haaland is a brilliant scorer, but he doesn't get 60 goals at Rochdale. He has incredible talent behind him, Kevin De Bruyne and that Everything.
“But you can see that Haaland dries up because they are now taking other players – Savinho and Omar Marmoush from Frankfurt. They are more 'dribble' players. He does not have De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva on a sixpence, they play further.
“So I feel that way for Hojlund. But if I was a man Utd, I would get Mateta and get people around him in the coming years.
“I don't think Man Utd 11 players are away from competing again, but you would think that six or seven. Man Utd is immersing on the market and buys people from Lecce [Patrick Dorgu]. It is a head or tail, is it going to work or not?
“These are £ 25 million, £ 30 million, £ 40 million players. Some will be good and they will be lucky, some will be good from their depth at Man Utd and they will flop. But that's the market in which they now are.
“They don't have the money to hit the Bullseye and it's hard to hit the Bullseye. If you pay £ 100 million, you actually have a proven football player.
“Dorgu, no lack of respect for the boy because I haven't seen him play, but he is now playing for Lecce and he is going to play for Man Utd …”
Tottenham
“The Spurs fans will not be happy with Mathys Tel. As soon as they heard that he did not want to participate and those three other clubs did not come in for him and then he ends up in Tottenham, the fans have won that I am not happy with that.
“I didn't think Spurs needed a new attacker anyway.
“That is if Heung -min Son can come back to his best -I don't think he hit the heights of a few years ago. Dejan Kulusevski, I think he is currently in every Premier League team in the country .
'Then you have Dominic Solanke, who is injured. But Tottenham does not have the money to bring people in £ 100,000 a week for six months and when everyone is back, they don't play.
“I think they needed a midfield player. I think they don't dominate that area. Pape Sarr is a young boy, Yves Bissouma is not his potential on the field we thought when he came from Brighton.
“They are flooded in midfield, that's why they are defensive everywhere – there is never a midfield there.
“The attackers take care of themselves, but I think they need a top midfielder who can dominate a football match.”
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