As we head into the final hours of the January transfer window, clubs have their last opportunity to strengthen ahead of the rest of the season.
Teams at the top will be desperate to add that extra firepower to help them in their quest for titles and European qualification, while those at the bottom will hope a potential new addition can steer them away from relegation trouble.
It has been a surprisingly quiet transfer window, amid various FFP concerns, with both Everton and Nottingham Forest charged with breaching the top flight’s financial rules this month.
This follows Everton already being handed a 10-point deduction for the same offence in November, and highlights the balancing act clubs must play as they aim to weigh up immediate success with financial stability.
However, there are still many deals in the offing that will run right up until the 11PM deadline on Thursday, with several players facing uncertain futures.
In light of that, Mail Sport takes a look at 10 deals that could happen on Transfer Deadline Day.
Kalvin Phillips’ move from Man City to West Ham has been one of the few January transfers
Clubs are balancing transfer needs with FFP concerns after both Everton and Nottingham Forest were charged for breaching the Premier league’s financial rules this month
Armando Broja – Chelsea to Fulham
Chelsea striker Armando Broja has struggled to nail down a regular place this season, scoring just two goals in 19 appearances in all competitions, and clubs are keen to offer the Albanian more opportunities.
Fulham and Wolves were both in for Broja – whose sale would help Chelsea meet FFP considerations given he is an academy graduate – but Gary O’Neil’s side withdrew from the race last week, amid their own financial concerns.
Chelsea value Broja at £50m and although it unclear if Marco Silva’s side will offer that price, they are likely to make a bid, expected to be nearer to £30m, as they look to strike some sort of deal.
Fulham’s top league scorer this season is Raul Jimenez with five goals, and the Cottagers have lacked firepower on occasions. They will hope Broja – who shone for Southampton on loan in 2021-22 – will provide that.
Meanwhile, Blues youngster Andrey Santos is expected to join Strasbourg on loan for the rest of the season.
The Ligue 1 side – who are also owned by Chelsea’s owners BlueCo and managed by Patrick Vieira – will offer Santos regular football after he played just seven minutes during a temporary spell with Nottingham Forest in the first half of the season.
Fulham are likely to make some sort of offer on deadline day for Chelsea striker Armando Broja
Blues youngster Andrey Santos is set to head on loan to Strasbourg for rest of the season
Trevoh Chalobah – Chelsea to Nottingham Forest
Another Chelsea academy graduate that could be on the move is Trevoh Chalobah.
The defender – who is yet to make an appearance this season due to injury – attracted interest in the summer from the likes of Nottingham Forest and Bayern Munich, but a move never materialised.
In fact, Forest submitted a bid worth £25m for Chalobah shortly before the end of the summer transfer window and they are now back in for the 24-year-old, with Fulham and Crystal Palace similarly credited with an interest.
Meanwhile, Forest had been exploring a loan move for West Ham attacker Maxwel Cornet ahead of the transfer deadline, although that looks to have been parked after they prioritised a move for Gio Reyna, with Crystal Palace making a tentative enquiry for the Ivorian.
Cornet, 27, is on the peripheries of the Hammers’ squad, making just two Premier League appearances so far this season – though he did score in the club’s previous top-flight outing – the 2-2 draw versus Sheffield United.
Forest are similarly still looking for a keeper amid the ongoing struggles of Matt Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos, and they like former Leicester stopper Kasper Schmeichel.
Trevoh Chalobah has several potential suitors, with Nottingham Forest keen on the defender
Forest are also eyeing-up a keeper, and former Leicester man Kasper Schmeichel is well-liked
Said Benrahma – West Ham to Lyon
West Ham have agreed a deal worth £15million plus add-ons with Lyon for Said Benrahma, though there is work still to be done before the deal is finalised.
Benrahma – who was sent off on his most recent Hammers appearance against Bristol City – has yet to decide if he wants to leave for the Ligue 1 strugglers.
The 28-year-old has struggled for form this season, failing to score and adding just one assist in 22 games across competitions.
West Ham also still want cover for the Algerian and talks with Al-Ittihad’s former Celtic winger Jota have hit a hitch over tax issues.
Nordsjælland’s Ibrahim Osman, a previous target, could come back into play, although he has interest from other Premier League sides.
West Ham have agreed a £15m plus add-ons deal with Lyon for Said Benrahma, though there is work still to be done before the move is finalised
Jhon Duran – Aston Villa to Chelsea
Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran remains an option for Chelsea despite the Colombian being out for ten weeks with a hamstring injury.
Mail Sport reported earlier this January that Unai Emery’s side were open to offers for the 20-year-old centre-forward, who signed for Villa in an £18m deal from Chicago Fire last January, but wanted to ensure they had cover in forward areas.
Villa have already rebuffed an enquiry from West Ham for Duran this month but Mail Sport reported how if they were successful in their chase of Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough – a deal that is edging closer – they would be open to offers for Duran.
This season, Duran has made 23 appearances, starting in just seven of those matches, while returning four goals.
The 20-year-old remains extremely highly-rated, although he has struggled to usurp Ollie Watkins as Villa’s first choice striker.
Chelsea remain keen on Aston Villa back-up striker Jhon Duran despite his recent injury
Morgan Rogers – Middlesbrough to Aston Villa
Unai Emery’s side finally agreed a £15m deal with Middlesbrough for Morgan Rogers on Tuesday at the fourth time of asking.
The 21-year-old only joined Boro in the summer for £1.5m after leaving Man City, who hold a 25 per cent sell-on clause.
Rogers has shone at the Riverside, and is the current top scorer in this season’s Carabao Cup with five strikes in six games.
Rogers, a former West Brom youngster, was set to undergo his Villa medical on Wednesday after details of his pending transfer were finalised.
Emery’s outfit outlined their desire to add the 21-year-old, with Boro rejecting three initial bids to finally settle on a £15m deal that will be worth around £8m up-front, plus a further £7m in add-ons.
The final touches are expected to be put to the transfer on deadline day.
Aston Villa look to have finally struck a deal for Middlesbrough’s Morgan Rogers for £15m
Cedric Soares – Arsenal to Besiktas
Arsenal defender Cedric Soares is attracting serious interest from several Turkish clubs including Besiktas.
Mail Sport reported earlier in January how talks over a move for the Portuguese right-back, who is surplus to requirements at the Emirates Stadium, to join the Turkish side are underway.
The finer details of the potential move are still to be decided with Soares into the final six months of his deal at Arsenal.
It is unclear whether Soares would join immediately this month or as a Bosman at the end of the season. One scenario could see Soares joining on loan before signing permanently in the summer.
Soares has made 61 appearances for the Gunners since arriving in 2020, but his only action this season has come in a Champions League dead-rubber against PSV, along with a late substitute appearance in the Carabao Cup against Brentford.
Arsenal outcast Cedric Soares could finally be on his way out, with several Turkish clubs keen
Bryan Gil – Tottenham to Brighton
Brighton opened talks with Tottenham over a move for out of favour attacker Bryan Gil on Tuesday, with the Spaniard able to leave Spurs ahead of the deadline.
It is understood Roberto De Zerbi’s side are looking to secure an initial loan for the attacking midfielder – who is also attracting interest from Nottingham Forest and Fiorentina.
Gil has hardly played since Ange Postecoglou’s appointment in the summer – making just two Premier League starts.
After arriving from Sevilla for £21m in 2021, he has made four starts in the league in total for Spurs. Gil has been sent out on loan to Valencia and back to Sevilla in that period.
Gil has also failed to score and has registered just two assists across three seasons in north London.
Meanwhile, Conor Gallagher is expected to stay at Chelsea, with Spurs not having any recent contact with the Blues over the England midfielder.
Tottenham’s attacking midfielder Bryan Gil could be on the way out, with Brighton keen on him
Carlos Forbs – Ajax to Burnley/Nottingham Forest
Carlos Forbs – previously known as Carlos Borges – could have already been shining for six months in the Premier League.
However, just as the final details were being put together on a £14m move from Man City to West Ham in the summer, Ajax successfully hijacked the deal to sign the youngster for £17m.
Forbs has added two goals and four assists in 26 appearances in Amsterdam, but he could be returning to England sooner than planned.
Burnley are rivalling Nottingham Forest for the 19-year-old as the top flight strugglers look to boost their attack during the second half of the season.
Forbs enjoyed a prolific campaign in the Premier League 2 competition last year – netting 21 goals in 24 games, as well as providing a further 11 assists as City’s youngsters finished 13 points clear at the top of the table – and he would add some much-needed attacking quality for both teams.
Ex-Man City prodigy Carlos Forbs could return to the Premier League, with Burnley and Nottingham Forest keen – six months after Ajax hijacked West Ham’s move for the youngster
Orel Mangala – Nottingham Forest to Lyon
Lyon are closing in on a £30m move for Nottingham Forest midfielder Orel Mangala.
The move is thought to be triggered by Forest’s financial concerns, putting the club under pressure to sell players.
The fee is almost triple what Forest had originally paid for the player when he moved to the Premier League side from VfB Stuttgart in 2022.
Mangala – who has played in 20 of Forest’s 22 Premier League games this season – has also been linked with Napoli, Juventus and Galatasaray.
Another player who could depart the City Ground is club captain Joe Worrall. The defender and academy graduate has interest from Sheffield United and Leeds.
Despite racking up more than 200 appearances for the club, the 27-year-old has fallen out of favour this season and Mail Sport revealed how Worrall was training away from the first team when Steve Cooper was in charge.
Sheffield United are also keeping an eye on Leicester defender Harry Souttar.
Nottingham Forest’s Orel Mangala is closing in a £30m move to Lyon on Transfer Deadline Day
Danny Ings – West Ham to Wolves
Wolves boss Gary O’Neil outlined his desire earlier this month to bring in at least one forward after sanctioning the temporary departures of Sasa Kalajdzic and Fabio Silva.
However, he is yet to do that and while Matheus Cunha has been excellent this term, scoring eight goals, the Brazilian is not a natural No 9.
One of the players Wolves like is Danny Ings, who only joined West Ham last January, and it remains a possible option.
However, Ings – who has also been linked to Celtic – has started West Ham’s past two games and impressed in their 2-2 draw with Sheffield United last time out.
It remains a difficult deal to do, with the Hammers’ attacking line depleted, while David Moyes insisted the 31-year-old does have a future in east London.
Wolves are one club who are keen on West Ham striker Danny Ings, but any move will be tough