LONDON/MADRID/TURIN/BERLIN, Feb 1: It was a mix of good news and bad news for Barcelona at the end of the winter transfer window.
The Catalan club was close to making official the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after reaching a deal with the Arsenal striker just before the deadline, but it couldn’t get disgruntled forward Ousmane Dembélé to leave.
It was about half-past midnight in Barcelona when president Joan Laporta left the club’s offices giving a thumbs-up sign and raising his right fist into the air after reportedly closing the deal with Aubameyang. The striker left moments later, sporting a broad smile and giving a thumbs-up sign.
Barcelona told Dembélé he had to find a new team after his agents rejected several offers to renew his contract over the last six months.
Dembélé said he would not give in to blackmail and left open the possibility of staying at Barcelona, which reportedly set a 20-million-euro ($22.3-million-euro) fee for the 24-year-old forward, who can leave for free when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Atlético Madrid, the defending Spanish league champion, acquired Mozambican left back Reinildo Mandava from French club Lille on a contract until 2025.
Financial details of the deal were not immediately available.
Valencia reached an agreement for the loan of young Spain international Bryan Gil from Tottenham until the end of the season. He previously played for Sevilla, Eibar and Leganés in Spain.
Villarreal reached a deal for the loan of Argentina midfielder Giovani Lo Celso from Tottenham until the end of the season, while Mallorca brought in Kosovo striker Vedat Muriqi on a loan from Lazio, also until the end of the season.
As expected, Real Madrid did not make any major moves on the final day of the transfer window.
English Transfers
Eriksen captured the spotlight after signing with Brentford until the end of the season to secure a return to England. The 29-year-old is being reunited with Thomas Frank, the Brentford manager who coached him when playing for Denmark Under-17s.
Manchester City has another Argentine striker on its books. Julian Alvarez has signed a 5 1/2-year deal from River Plate, where he will remain on loan at least until July.
For Tottenham, there were two additions from Juventus with Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur joining on a contract until 2026 and Sweden winger Dejan Kulusevksi on an 18-month loan deal.
Four players were offloaded, with Dele Alli leaving for Everton after seven years at Tottenham. Tanguy Ndombele, who has been a disappointment since joining Tottenham from Lyon in 2019 for a club-record 60 million euros ($67 million), returned to the French club.
Lyon has paid 1.42 million euros ($1.59 million) to get him on loan with an option to sign him on a permanent move in June.
While Arsenal was busy trying to release striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona, the north London club completed a deal to sign Auston Trusty from the Colorado Rapids.
Everton brought in Donny van de Beek on loan from Manchester United.
Newcastle signed defender Dan Burn from Brighton and fullback Matt Targett on loan from Aston Villa for the rest of the season. It means five players moved to St. James’ Park in January at a cost of over $120 million. (AP)
Most expensive transfers
1. Dusan Vlahovic – $90 million from Fiorentina to Juventus (June 2026)
2. Ferran Torres – $60.5 million from Man City to FC Barcelona (June 2027)
3. Luis Diaz – $49.5 million from Porto to Liverpool (June 2027)
4. Bruno Guimaraes – $46.31 million from Lyon to Newcastle (June 2026)
5. Lucas Digne – $33 million from Everton to Aston Villa (June 2026)
6. Chris Wood – $33 million from Burnley to Newcastle (June 2024)
7. Vitaliy Mykolenko – $25.85 million from Dynamo Kyiv to Everton (June 2026)
8. Yuri Alberto – $22 million from Internacional to FC Zenit (June 2027)
9. Rodrigo Betancur – $20.9 million from Juventus to Tottenham (June 2026)
10. Julian Alvarez – $18.7 million from River Plate to Man City (June 2027)
