Tottenham Hotspur, who are enjoying the beginning of a new era under Antonio Conte, have shaken things upin the final day of the winter transfer market. However, they were not the only ones to get into business. Barcelona took all the spotlight by landingPierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Arsenal in a last-minutesigning.

Frank Lampard hasalso had a pretty busy first day at work at the Goodison Park. Everton not only have hired their new manager but they also made big moves before the transfer window was over. Here, check out the best signings of the winter transfer deadline day.

Julian Alvarez – River Plate to Manchester City ($19 million)

Manchester City have acquired the services of Argentinian sensation Julian Alvarez. The 22-year-old forward has had a fantastic breakthrough at River Plate and seemedready to take his game to Europe. The Premier League champions have signed him for a reported fee of $19 million in a five-and-a-half year deal that will see Alvarez stay at least for another six months on loan at River before moving to England. ‘The Spider’ has 36 goals in 96 appearances for El Millonario, while he already has five caps with Argentina and was part of the 2021 Copa America winning roster.

Christian Eriksen – Brentford (FreeTransfer)

Great news for world soccer as Christian Eriksen will return to play professional soccer for Brentford in the Premier League seven months after he suffered acardiac arrest during Denmark‘s game against Finland in the Euros. Eriksen had previously rescinded his contract with Inter Milan as he was not allowed to play in the Serie A with a cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device.

Tanguy Ndombele – Tottenham to Olympique Lyon (Loan with option to sign)

Two and a half years after becoming Tottenham Hotspur’srecord signing for $66 million, Tanguy Ndombele has returned to Olympique Lyon on loan for the remainder of the season. The Ligue 1 club has an option to make the move permanent for $73 million.

Dejan Kulusevski – Juventus to Tottenham (Loan with obligation to sign)

Tottenham, meanwhile, have completed the signing of Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus on loan until the end of the season. The English side will also have an obligation to sign the Swedish winger in the summer for a reported$39 million. Kulusevski, 21, has two goals and three assists in 27 appearances across all competitions for the Old Lady this term.

Rodrigo Bentancur – Juventus to Tottenham ($20.90million)

Tottenham have also signed Uruguay international Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus in a permanent move for a reported $20.90 million- to be payable over the next three years – plus another $7m in add-ons. Bentancur, 24, has spent four and a half years in Turin since he made a $23m move from Boca Juniors in 2017. He has 46 caps for Uruguay.

Giovani Lo Celso – Tottenham to Villarreal (Loan)

Tottenham have also been involved in the Deadline Day by sending Argentina international Giovani Lo Celso on loan to Villarreal until the end of the season. The 25-year-old has had a loan spell in La Liga with Betis in the 2018-19 season, where he enjoyed a lot of playing time and played at a great level. Unai Emery was reportedly keen on having him at the Yellow Submarine.

Donny van de Beek – Manchester United to Everton (Loan)

Perhaps one of the most shocking moves ofDeadline Day. Manchester United outcast Donny van de Beek has joined Everton on loan for the remainder of the season hoping to find the playing minutes he’s been lacking at Old Trafford since his $43 million move from Ajax in the summer of 2020.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Arsenal to Barcelona (Free transfer, Gunnerssavewage)

Nothing has been the same forPierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Arsenal after he signed a new contract in the summer of 2020. The Gabonese star’s performances went downhill and this season he hit rock bottom, being stripped of the captaincy andseparated from the squad. Barcelona seized on his situation to upgrade their attack without spending too much, hoping that Aubameyang can get back to his best under Xavi Hernandez.

Dele Alli – Tottenham to Everton(Undisclosed fee)

Another name that Frank Lampard can erase from his wishlist as Everton have granted the new manager his desire to bring in Tottenham outcastDele Alli. The English midfielder use to be one of the most promising players in the league back in the day but he slowly began to lose his place in the Spurs’ lineup. Will he turn his career around with the Toffees?

Other Deadline Day signings:

• Denis Zakaria – Borussia Monchengladbach to Juventus ($5.6 million, $3.37m in add-ons)
• Wout Weghorst – Wolfsburg to Burnley ($16.85 million)
• George Bello – Atlanta United to Arminia Bielefeld (Undisclosed fee)
• Matt Targett – Aston Villa to Newcastle United (Loan)
• Bryan Gil – Tottenham to Valencia (Loan)
• Auston Trusty – Colorado Rapids to Arsenal (Undisclosed fee)
• Aaron Ramsey– Juventus to Rangers (Loan)
• Dan Burn– Brighton to Newcastle ($16.85 million)
• Todd Cantwell– Norwich to Bournemouth (Loan)

Having to face a terrible financial situation, the only way Los Cules can bring in new faces is either by targeting out-of-contract players (like they already did in the summer) or attempting loan deals. And they’d try to implement the latter option in winter.

Barcahave struggled at the beginning of the season both inLa Liga and theUEFA Champions League, making it quite clear they need to boost the current roster in order to get results. And a Manchester United player could be their first signing in January.

Barcelona reportedly considering loan move for Manchester United player

According to Sport, Barcelona want to upgrade the middle of the park by landing a midfielder who’s capable of getting on the scoresheet, something they’re lacking at the moment. And they could find the solution by shopping in the Premier League.

The Spanish outlet claims that Barca would go after Donny van de Beek come January. The Dutchman has failed to impress at Old Trafford following a sensational move in the summer of 2020 and it seems like his future won’t be at Manchester United for longer.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer barely gives him playing time, something that seems to have upset van de Beek, who is believed to want out as soon as the transfer market reopens. It’s not the first time he’s linked with Barca, but last summer a deal failed to materialize.

Winter could be the right timing for Barca to land the Netherlands international as long as Manchester United are willing to let him leave on loan. Otherwise, it would be almost impossible for the Catalans. But their idea would be to include an option to buy in that deal to have the possibility of making the move permanent in the future. It doesn’t look easy, but it would make no sense for United to keep on having a player who’s unhappy and sitting on the bench most of the time.

However, their start to the campaignleft a lot to be desired. United dropped points early in the tournament and they didn’t get off to a great start to the UEFA Champions League either. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has beenin the eye of the storm, although he still has the support of the board.

But that won’t last longif his side doesn’t turn things around soon, of course. Because, at the end of the day, all they care about is results. And the club has made a huge investment to get back to the top this season. So, Solskjaer might make tough decisions in order to do what’s best for the team and keep his job.

Five Manchester United players who Solskjaer would let leave

Solskjaer knew this season would be crucial for his future at Manchester United as he failed to bring silverware in the past two campaigns. Now, United really look like a title-contending team – so he must prove if he can live up to the expectations.

As he is under pressure to get results, the Swedish manager is reportedly considering letting five players leave come January. According to The Sun, these are the five names who could see the way out in winter: Donny Van de Beek, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Victor Lindelof, and Phil Jones.

The list makes sense as none of them are regular starters for Ole and some of them have been heavily linked with a move away in the near future. Van de Beek has failed to impress after a sensational move from Ajax, while Martial lost his place with Ronaldo’s arrival, and Lingard is also understood to be looking for a transfer.

Ronald Koeman has been under heavy fire during his first year at the helm of the Cules, where he even was on the verge of the sack as his team struggled in the Spanish top-flight and the Champions League. This time, he will try to make a better job to get Barca back on track.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will now face a crucial campaign in charge of the Red Devils following another trophyless season at Old Trafford. Both teams are looking to get back to glory days, and reports from Spain state they couldmake a deal thatbenefits both parties.

Manchester United player ‘offered’ to Barcelona

According to Mundo Deportivo, Donny van de Beek has been offered to Barcelona. The Dutchman arrived at Manchester last summer as one of the biggest signings of the transfer window, yet he couldn’t live up to expectations so far.

van de Beek, 24, struggled to earn a place in the starting eleven as he faced fierce competition in his position with Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes,and Fred frequently ahead of him. Solskjaer, however, has constantly expressed that van de Beek was on his plans.

Nonetheless, the Spanish outlet reportedthat he was made available for the Cules. After Georginio Wijnaldum suddenly turned down their offer to join PSG, Barca are stillwaiting to strengthen that position. Butthey do not have the money to afford van de Beek and they could have only two ways to make the deal come true: either agreeing on a loan move or offering a player in exchange.

What Barcelona would offer for van de Beek

Barcelona’s delicate financial situation would prevent them from moving forward with any signing. Their only ways to sign players seem to be either landing free agents- such asSergio Aguero, Eric Garcia, and Memphis Depay – or reaching other kinds of agreements such as loan moves or trades.

Therefore, it’s no surprise to hear the rumors of Antoine Griezmann‘s return to Atleticoin exchange for Saul, but now that the negotiations seem to be stalled, van de Beek has emerged as another option to boost the midfield. Mundo Deportivo stated that Barca would consider including Samuel Umtiti in the deal, yet it seems unlikely that the Red Devils accept it.

Raphael Varane is understood to be United’s priority target to upgrade the defense, and even though they might consider sending van de Beek to Barca,they’ll probably study other options rather than receiving Umtiti.

The Manchester United board room have already begun to think about improving the squad for next season and they will try to make a splash this summer with a big name signing.

In order to complete this big name move, the club has turned their attention to Borussia Dortmund and have focused their efforts on signing Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho, or Manuel Akanji in the summer. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, spending big may be out of the question, so the United board may shop Donny van de Beek as a wild card to add on to any potential deal.

Why shop Donny van de Beek?

According to the Mirror, Van de Beek is willing to leave Manchester United in the next transfer window due to his lack of playing time this season. The van de Beek wild card would only apply to one of these three signings, most likely the two attacking options: Haaland or Sancho.

Both Haaland and Sancho have been priorities for ManU for a while now and given the team’s almost certain second place finish and Champions League birth, the timing might be right to bring in one of these two big names.

Status of Haaland, Sancho and Akanji

Erling Haaland is one of the world’s best strikers and is having a career year scoring 33 goals in 31 games and is on the short list of being the World’s best soccer player once Messi and Ronaldo retire. Haaland would command a 100 million Euro transfer, at least, for him to leave Dortmund.

Jadon Sancho has been on Solskjær’s short list for at least 1 year now. Sancho has played over 100 games for Dortmund and is one of the faces of the English National Team. While he might not cost as much as Haaland, Sancho would still command a huge transfer which United would want to buy down using van de Beek.

Manuel Akanji is also a target to help United in an area that needs adjustment, which is defense. Using van de Beek to buy down a defender looks unlikely, so out of the three players, Akanji would most likely leave for 100% of his transfer fee.

Donny van de Beek at Manchester United

Donny van de Beek moved to ManU from Ajax this season and the Netherlands striker has only played 13 games and scored 1 goal in the Premier League. Most of his appearances have been as a substitute for Bruno Fernandes,who is the team’s first choice option up top.

van de Beek’s career began in Ajax where he played 118 games and scored 28 goals and won three titles with the Netherlands giants. van de Beek also has 17 caps and 2 goals for the Orange Machine and is only 23 years old.