5 transfers that should have happened this January
The January transfer window closed with a whimper rather than a bang as many awaited moves failed to materialise. As rumours and speculations kept escalating, the end result hardly lived up to expectations. While there were numerous transfers that did happen, they didn’t capture the imagination of football fans across the globe.
As the bigwigs of Europe restricted themselves from splashing the cash, mid-table and bottom table teams made extensive changes to personnel. Even though the Premier League saw a moderate amount of activity on deadline day, continental Europe was surprisingly quiet.
With the winter window leaving much to be desired, here’s a quick run through of the transfers that should have happened this January:
#1 Asmir Begovic to Bournemouth
Asmir Begovic is clearly still in his prime and, therefore, too good to be a second keeper for league-leaders Chelsea. After moving from Stoke City in 2015, the Bosnian custodian must have thought he was moving up in the world when he made the change to London but he has barely had enough game-time since his arrival.
Competition in the form of Thibaut Courtois has been detrimental to the former Stoke keeper who must be itching to get some regular first-team action.
With a move to Bournemouth on the books with the blessing of Antonio Conte and the rest of the management at Chelsea, Begovic was on the verge of making a £10 million switch to the Cherries but the deal fell through in the final days of the window. Confined to three league cup ties and one FA Cup match, the 29-year-old was finally on the verge of making regular appearances in the Premier League but was disappointed by Chelsea’s failure to find a suitable replacement for him.
Chelsea’s pursuit of Tim Krul, Diego Lopez and Craig Gordon all fell through forcing them to hold on to Begovic, even though it was a move that needed to happen for the Bosnian’s sake.