Everything that happened on day seven of the transfer window

There is also a game tonight, of course! It’s Arsenal vs Newcastle Utd at Emirates Stadium in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

The even better news is that we have full live coverage of the game with our team of correspondents, including my esteemed colleague Max Mathews.

You can catch all the build-up right now — and the action later — in our live coverage here.

Let’s bring you a couple of quick Arsenal-themed lines, starting with a former manager.

Charlotte Harpur reports that Jonas Eidevall has taken over as head coach at San Diego Wave.

The latest National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) boss has signed a three-year contract, having been out of football since parting ways with Arsenal in October.

The Wave had been looking for a new permanent head coach since Casey Stoney departed midway through the 2024 season. Paul Buckle and then Landon Donovan were in interim charge. Here’s Eidevall:

💬 “This is a club with a clear vision for success, both on and off the field, and I am grateful for the trust placed in me to lead this talented team.

“San Diego is a city with passionate fans and a vibrant futbol culture, and I’m eager to contribute to building a winning legacy here.”

Eidevall joined Arsenal from Rosengard in 2021, winning the League Cup in 2023 and 2024.

Transfer windows are usually good for a cautionary tale, so how about this.

Guangzhou FC, China’s most successful football club, won’t be allowed to play professionally during the 2025 season — due to financial issues.

The eight-times Chinese Super League (CSL) winners played their part in the league’s pursuit of top talent at inflated prices a decade ago.

Yet the club’s parent company Evergrande has since fallen into severe financial difficulty and 12 months ago, was ordered to liquidate after amassing over $300billion in debt.

Guangzhou have played their last two seasons in the second tier following relegation from the Super League in 2022.

You will find more on this one from Ali Rampling, below.

There is nothing like a transfer window to start focusing owners’ minds on who their head coach is — and whether they want something else.

That conversation is taking place around Everton now, it seems. But Sean Dyche doesn’t mind it. In fact, he thinks it is exactly what the club’s new ownership — The Friedkin Group — should be assessing.

Here is Dyche, speaking at his media conference just now:

💬 “If you’re a club or business of this size, succession planning should be part of their (owners’) due diligence.

“I’ve got no problem with that at all and think that should be ongoing at every club. It’s how it is in normal business life.

“(We have) got to win games. We haven’t done that enough this season…and it comes down to me, without a shadow of a doubt.”

Tottenham host the Premier League leaders tomorrow night, although Liverpool will be visiting in the first leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final.

There will be some big calls for Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou there, especially given this may well be his best route to another piece of second-season silverware — something he highlighted was a recurring theme at the clubs he manages.

Antonin Kinsky is their new goalkeeper signing from Slavia Prague, while Fraser Forster is back in training too. So who will Postecoglou opt for? Here’s what he said today:

💬 “He (Kinsky) arrived on Sunday. He’s had a couple of days training. He is registered and eligible. We still have to do a couple of things with him and then we will see.

“He is one we had earmarked for the summer. We’ve tracked him all season and he is definitely someone we are really excited about.

“Obviously, with our current goalkeeping situation we explored the possibility of bringing him in this January. It wasn’t easy because he was doing very well for his club, his club is doing well, they are in Europe and top of their league.

“The club worked really hard to get the deal done and it is a huge benefit to us; it adds real quality to our goalkeepers.”

This could be one to watch.

There is plenty of interest across a wide range of clubs including Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur in RC Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov.

David Ornstein reports that Lens are looking to do a deal in excess of €40million for Khusanov, who is an Uzbekistan international.

That price could rule some clubs, namely Spurs, out of the battle for Khusanov this month but expect competition for a promising young talent.

Read more on the clubs in the running on The Athletic's Transfer DealSheet.

Ok, so this is not strictly transfer-related but it is too fun not to share.

When Wolves' and Ipswich Town's game in December ended with heated clashes between staff and players from the two sides, Mateus Cunha's involvement saw him handed a two match ban.

The written reasons for the Wolves forward's suspension have now been published after he was spotted elbowing an Ipswich staff member in the head before pulling his glasses from his face.

A report from the independent regulatory commission that handed out the ban and an £80,000 fine to Cunha included a letter of apology and an offer for the Brazilian to pay for replacement glasses for the Ipswich staff member.

For more about the findings of the commission and the fallout from the ugly scenes after Wolves' 2-1 defeat, click the link below.

Any club interested in Athletic Club’s Nico Williams know his price — his release clause is around €60million.

That figure will fluctuate somewhat with inflation but reflects the potential of one of the most highly-rated young players in European football.

The 22-year-old Spanish international was under consideration by Liverpool in the summer and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta would like to sign him this month.

However, the finances of the deal make that unlikely at this stage.

Read more about Williams’ Bilbao future and potential destinations on The Athletic’s Transfer DealSheet below.

“Football is full of surprises,” says Neymar Jr, which is one way of describing a potential reunion with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Neymar has been speaking to CNN about the possibility of playing with his former Barcelona team mates again, when the trio were dubbed 'MSN' for their goal scoring exploits as a front three between 2014 and 2017.

Though he insists he is happy at current club Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, the Brazilian has floated the idea of getting the band back together.

Messi and Suarez are team mates at Inter Miami in MLS these days so two thirds of the job of reviving MSN is already done.

💬 “They are my friends. We still speak to each other. It would be interesting to revive this trio,” Neymar said.

Mic drop.

As the Premier League becomes ever more transitional, it is easy to see why Randal Kolo Muani is attracting interest from Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Although his minutes at PSG have been limited, Kolo Muani thrived in end-to-end games for former club Eintracht Frankfurt, enjoying his freedom at the top of an expansive team.

Despite standing at 6ft 1in (1.87m), he is quick enough to play across the front line, and caught the eye on the flanks throughout his youth career due to his blend of trickery, pace, and a rangy running style.

His shot map shows a range of finishes across the width of the box, able to both rise high for headers, but also sort out his feet and get good contact on crosses and cutbacks on either side.

Kolo Muani’s best seasons — in terms of outperforming his expected goals (xG) — have come in the campaigns where he has had a consistent run of minutes to build up a scoring rhythm.

Confidence is understandably low at present, but there is potential for the team that can provide Kolo Muani a new home.

We heard from Arne Slot earlier that he’s happy with his Liverpool squad as it stands and there may not be much business done this month at the Premier League leaders.

And that is fine — although I’d recommend the odd conversation about contract renewals…

But maybe the Liverpool boss should be looking to make one recruit during the transfer window: a set-piece coach?

The graphic above is fresh off the press from our senior data analyst Mark Carey, and has Liverpool — arguably the best side in Europe right now — as the WEAKEST team from dead-ball situations across the entire Premier League.

I know. I couldn’t believe it either. Although it means they are also scoring a huge amount of open-play goals.

For more context, give Andy Jones’ recent analysis a read below — and be thankful we got through two successive Liverpool posts without mentioning Trent Alexander-Arno… Oh.

If you’re a football fan — and you love a plethora of other sports too — there is no better place to follow all your favourite teams, leagues and players than on The Athletic.

On this side of the Atlantic, we’ve got the January transfer window covered with regular pieces like the DealSheet. Then over in the U.S. the games are coming thick and fast in the NBA, while the NFL gets ready for the play-offs.

We are covering the lot, so make sure you’re fully informed with access to our full experience.

And you’re in luck — you can subscribe to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here.

Nottingham Forest have started contract talks with defender Murillo, who is enjoying an impressive spell in English football.

The 22-year-old’s current contract runs until 2028 but Forest know a good player when they have one and have added his name to their list set for contract talks.

Ola Aina and Chris Wood, who are both out of contract in the summer, are also in talks with the City Ground club.

If they can tie Murillo down it will be smart business from Forest, with clubs in Spain as well as Tottenham and Chelsea interested in him last summer.

Since signing from Corinthians in Brazil in 2023, Murillo has made 55 appearances in all competitions for Forest and has started all but one league game under Nuno Espirito Santo this season.

Bournemouth have their second signing of the January window and his name is Julio Soler.

The Premier League side has confirmed the arrival of the 19-year-old on a four-year contract from Argentinian side Lanus.

Left-back Soler made 58 first team appearances for Lanus’ senior team after progressing through the academy, and is also an Argentina under-23 international.

He joins centre-back Matai Akinmboni as a new arrival in Andoni Iraola’s squad, with Bournemouth seventh in the Premier League table.

The teenager will have competition in the form of regular starter Milos Kerkez.

Happy with that one, Bournemouth fans?