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24.04.2015 Sports News

Five late deals that could have lighted up the January transfer window

24.04.2015 LISTEN
By ghanasoccernet.com

Weeks after the January transfer window closed and it hasn’t been one to remember in all honesty. The most eye-catching piece of business on the continent has without doubt been

Manchester City’s £25 million purchase of Wilfried Bony from Swansea City.

Admittedly, there aren’t many clubs that can match the financial muscle-power of City, but there’s plenty of quality out there on the market, and with this year’s Premier League campaign looking as if it could yet again go all the way, the stakes are high and teams are surely likely to have their chequebooks at the ready for any last-minute deals.

Let’s have a retrospective look at some of the big talking points in January on names who potentially could have switched clubs:

Mats Hummels
It’s fair to say that top-class centre-halves are seemingly at a premium in this day and age, and that makes Borussia Dortmund captain and World Cup-winner Mats Hummels a prize asset for Jürgen Klopp, whose side are still languishing near the foot of the Bundesliga standings. Hummels would theoretically be an ideal signing for City’s neighbours Manchester United and the perfect candidate to form the base of Louis Van Gaal’s favoured 3-5-2 formation. Barcelona are another club who have long been linked to Hummels while Bayern Munich haven’t exactly been reluctant to poach Dortmund’s star names in recent years.

Juan Cuadrado
He put himself in the global spotlight with some impressive performances for Colombia during last year’s World Cup and now might be the time that Fiorentina’s Juan Cuadrado gets the move of his dreams. Chelsea are reported to be in talks with the winger’s current employers but any move will require the London club triggering the release clause in Cuadrado’s contract, estimated to be worth £26.8 million.

At this stage, the chances of Cuadrado being part of Jose Mourinho’s squad for the second-half of the season are in the balance, and the transfer may eventually come down to whether or not the Blues can offload either Mohammed Salah or Andre Schürrle. Don’t rule out a late bid from Manchester United for the player too.

Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling has carried Liverpool along by himself at times this season, but England's starlet could be on the brink of a shock move to old foes Chelsea after supposedly turning down the Reds' most recent contract offer . Having contributed with 4 goals and 5 assist so far this term, Sterling has rapidly risen as one of the brightest prospects on the European scene and would fit nicely into any of the three positions behind Chelsea's main striker, Diego Costa. Rumours have been circling for a while regarding Sterling's Anfield future and he may just be the signing to get Jose Mourinho's men over the finish line in the race for this year's title, but is likely to cost in excess of £40 million.

Sergio Ramos
There have been recent rumours coming from Spain about how club captain Sergio Ramos has reportedly turned down an offer of a two-year extension on his current contract with the reigning European champions. With three La Liga titles already to his name, along with a 2013-14 Champions League winners medal, Ramos may feel like a new challenge, and his technical ability and physical attributes would suit the Premier League well. Arsene Wenger is openly on the lookout for central defenders to solidify his creaky back-four. Other potential suitors include Chelsea and Manchester United.

Jackson Martinez
Despite Harry Kane having a sublime campaign for Tottenham Hotspur, Spurs are rumoured to be closing in on Porto’s highly sought-after striker Jackson Martinez. The Colombian boasts a stunning record of 81 goals in 118 appearances in all competitions for the Portuguese club and is considered to be a world-class out-and-out goalscorer. Martinez has a buy-out clause of £27.5 million which would probably require Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino to offload both Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor to fund the move.

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