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Santiago Giménez: Feyenoord to Milan
Giménez had interest from Premier League clubs in the summer but decided to stay at Feyenoord. The Mexican has been restricted to just 10 league starts this season due to injury, but he has still managed to score seven goals in the Eredivisie. It’s easy to see why Milan were willing to spend £26.6m on a striker in January. They have only scored 33 goals in 22 league games this season, so will be hoping Giménez stays fit and in form.
Álvaro Morata: Milan to Galatasaray
As one striker arrived in Milan, another departed. Morata left the club to make way for Giménez, joining Galatasaray on loan. The well-travelled Spaniard scored five goals in 16 league games for Milan this season, a decent return, but he was clearly not in Sérgio Conceição’s plans. Demoted to the bench under the Portuguese manager, Morata had to look for a new challenge. The 32-year-old made his debut for the Turkish giants in their 1-0 win at Gaziantep on Monday. Morata has already won trophies in Spain, Italy and England. With Galatasaray unbeaten and six points clear at the top of the Super Lig, he has the chance to do it in Turkey too.
Michy Batshuayi: Galatasaray to Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt had money to burn following Omar Marmoush’s move to Manchester City but they did not break the bank to sign Batshuayi, paying just €3m to bring the Belgian to Germany. Batshuayi was not given many chances at Galatasaray this season – he was only on the field for 392 minutes in the league – but the 31-year-old still scored five goals and set up two more, resulting in a goal involvement every 56 minutes. Batshuayi had a brief foray with Borussia Dortmund in 2018, when he scored seven goals in 10 league games, so should adapt quickly to the Bundesliga.
Milan Skriniar: PSG to Fenerbahce
Having wanted to sign Skriniar during his time as Tottenham manager, José Mourinho finally links up with the centre-back at Fenerbahce. The Slovakia international was solid on his debut over the weekend as Fenerbahce claimed a 3-2 win over Rizespor. After a lack of playing time in the first half of the season with PSG, Skriniar will hope to play a key role as Fener try to overhaul Galatasaray in the Super Lig. The 29-year-old will bring a wealth of European experience to the team’s backline.
Mika Biereth: Sturm Graz to Monaco
Biereth scored 14 goals in the first half of the season for Sturm Graz, including against Girona and Lille in the Champions League. The 21-year-old moved to Monaco a few weeks ago and has quickly established himself as a fan favourite, scoring four goals in three league games, including an eight-minute hat-trick in a 4-2 home win over Auxerre on Saturday. It was his first treble in professional football. Biereth has a cosmopolitan backstory: he was born in London to a Danish-German father and a Bosnian mother. He started his career at Fulham before signing for Arsenal and then going on loan in the Netherlands, Scotland and Austria. He is already Monaco’s joint-second top scorer in Ligue 1 this season, so has quickly found his feet in France.
Ismaël Bennacer: Milan to Marseille
Milan were willing to send the midfielder Bennacer on loan to Marseille following their deadline-day capture of Warren Bondo from Monza. Injuries have not helped Bennacer this season; he has been restricted to just six appearances for Milan and has not completed 90 minutes in any of them. The Algeria international will be hoping to revive his season under Roberto De Zerbi at Marseille. His arrival at the Vélodrome should ease the burden on Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, who has played 1,706 of a possible 1,800 minutes in the league this season.
Victor Nelsson: Galatasaray to Roma
There was a brief period when Nelsson was linked with a move to the Premier League. The Danish centre-back, though, has dropped off radars in recent months and for good reason. He has made just 11 appearances for Galatasaray in the Turkish league this season, nine of which were off the bench. On his day, the 26-year-old is an assertive centre-back so Roma will be hoping he can help their push towards the European places.
Xavi Simons: PSG to RB Leipzig
Arsenal and Liverpool were linked with Simons over Christmas, but the 21-year-old has committed his future to RB Leipzig. PSG sent the Dutch midfielder to Leipzig on loan 18 months ago, and the German club have now paid €50m to make it a permanent move. Simons was excellent for the club last season, scoring eight goals and providing 11 assists in 32 league games. An ankle injury has hampered him this season but his return to the team a few weeks ago was a huge boost for Marco Rose.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia: Napoli to PSG
Kvaratskhelia’s move from Napoli to PSG was the biggest deal not involving a Premier League club. Napoli were reluctant to lose Kvaradona midway through the season – especially as they are fighting to win back the title – but they had little choice when it became clear the mercurial Georgian wished to leave. The 23-year-old has not quite hit the heights of previous seasons, but he remains one of the most dangerous wingers on the continent. PSG already boasted the strongest attack in France; with the €70m addition of Kvaratskhelia, it’s now one of the best in Europe.
Noah Okafor: Milan to Napoli
Napoli’s decision to sell Kvaratskhelia left them short of wide attacking options. They were linked with moves for Alejandro Garnacho and Karim Adeyemi, but ended up signing Okafor from Milan on loan. The 24-year-old Switzerland international, who had been linked with a move to Tottenham, will hope the move south revives his stuttering Serie A campaign, which has been held back by injury.
