JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW

JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW: Reviewing Last Years Winter deals and Previewing this year's.

The transfer window re-opened on Wednesday 1st January and will close again on 31st January, a Friday transfer deadline day. With the title race becoming tighter in all European major leagues, fight for European football on, and the battle to survive relegation waters gets fiercer; many managers will be looking to make one or two signings that will help them achieve their set goals for this season whatever that is!

Many managers will make you believe their is no need for the winter window. Others ain't as direct in dismissing the need for the window, but still they complain about the realistic chance of landing their targets during the window!

David Moyes of United have admitted they need to sign two or three players to save their season that seems to be going down the rail, but do not fail each time to point out to the difficulty of landing such targets.

Great deals are hard to come by in January winter window if you don't look well. The reasons for this ain't far fetched.

*No team wants to sell its best players mid way into the season

*Players who are playing for a good team on a good run finds it difficult to suddenly switch midway in the season to a new team while success seems imminent with their present team

*For the club selling, how do you readily get a replacement?

All these factors makes the January transfer window a difficult one to
cut great deals and land your desired targets.

Having said that you will be suprised to discover that statistically lot of movements and deals do get done in January! Reyes, Arshavin, Torres, Ballotelli were at one point signed during the January transfer windows by their respective teams at that time!

As we look to the January 2014 to produce good deals, one has already been sealed in Lewandowski signing for Bayern, we reviewed the activities of last year's January transfer window activities.

* TOTAL DEALS DONE ACROSS ALL EUROPE: 331 Transfers

*TOTAL DEALS DONE IN EUROPE TOP 5 MAJOR LEAGUES: 242 Transfers. Accounting for 73% of all the transfers done!

*DEALS/TRANSFERS BREAKDOWN, COUNTRY BY COUNTRY ANALYSIS

°UKRAINE  6

°TURKEY 16

°SWITZERLAND 1

°SPAIN 40

°SCOTLAND 17

°RUSSIA 14

°PORTUGAL 14

°ITALY 67

°HOLLAND 4

°GREECE 1

°GERMANY 40

°FRANCE 44

°ENGLAND 51

°CZECH 1

°BULGARIA 2

°BELGIUM 13

* MAJOR MOVES/DEALS DONE - 20+ involving move of Drogba and Sneijder to Galatasary, Diego Lopez to Real Madrid, Balotelli to Milan, Sturridge to Liverpool, Llorente to Juventus and many others.

Will this winter transfer window produce as much deal as 2013 window? JANUARY will tell!

What are your thoughts, think any major move will be sealed this January? Who do you see moving? Let us know your thoughts.