Transfer Deadline Day: Man City, PSG and Aston Villa Go Big in the Winter Window 

Football - Ligue 1 - Brest v Paris St Germain - Stade Francis-Le Ble, Brest, France - February 1, 2025 PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in action. (Reuters)
Football - Ligue 1 - Brest v Paris St Germain - Stade Francis-Le Ble, Brest, France - February 1, 2025 PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in action. (Reuters)
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Transfer Deadline Day: Man City, PSG and Aston Villa Go Big in the Winter Window 

Football - Ligue 1 - Brest v Paris St Germain - Stade Francis-Le Ble, Brest, France - February 1, 2025 PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in action. (Reuters)
Football - Ligue 1 - Brest v Paris St Germain - Stade Francis-Le Ble, Brest, France - February 1, 2025 PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in action. (Reuters)

Manchester City and Aston Villa made big moves just before the midseason transfer window closed on Monday.

Four-time defending Premier League champion City secured a late deal for Porto midfielder Nico Gonzalez for a reported $61.8 million, while three-time Champions League winner Marco Asensio joined Villa on loan to the end of the season.

Uncertainty over Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel finally ended when he completed a loan move to Tottenham with the option of a permanent deal in the summer.

Paris Saint-Germain was one of the most active clubs during the window by signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli and releasing several players.

The Columbus Crew completed the permanent transfer of MLS All-Star forward Juan Camilo “Cucho” Hernández to Real Betis for an undisclosed fee.

Man City goes big to salvage season

City usually makes its moves in the offseason. But in a bid to rescue a campaign that unraveled at the end of last year and was derailed again in a 5-1 loss at Arsenal, City spent big in January on five new signings. Gonazalez took its outlay past $200 million.

City signed Egypt forward Omar Marmoush for $73 million and defenders Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens and Vitor Reis for a combined $77 million. Christian McFarlane, an 18-year-old left back, joined from sister club New York City FC while captain Kyle Walker left for AC Milan.

Gonzalez’s arrival finally gives City a defensive midfielder in the mold of Rodri — the Ballon d’Or holder who was ruled out for the season in September because of an ACL injury.

The Premier League title seems well beyond City, which is 15 points behind leader Liverpool, and a Champions League bid has been made extra difficult after being drawn against holder Real Madrid in the playoffs. But City manager Pep Guardiola will hope the new additions can return the club to the Champions League next season.

PSG re-enters the ‘galactico’ market

Paris Saint-Germain has lost much of its star appeal in recent years following the departures of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. A shift in strategy has seen the Qatar-backed club focus more on younger and French talents rather than superstar names.

But the Kvaratskhelia deal for a reported fee of around $72 million represents another marquee signing.

The Georgia forward isn’t at the level of Messi and Neymar, but he has long been among the most sought-after players in Europe with thrilling, match-winning qualities.

PSG offloaded striker Randal Kolo Muani — a $101 million signing last season — to Juventus on loan, and central defender Milan Skriniar to Fenerbahce, and Asensio.

Villa’s Champions League push

Through to the Champions League last 16, Aston Villa boosted its attacking options in the form of Marcus Rashford and Asensio.

Rashford was one of the big stories of the window after falling out of favor at Manchester United. Despite being linked with clubs across Europe, he secured a loan to Villa for the rest of the season.

If Unai Emery can get the best out of the former England international, he could prove to be an inspired signing in terms of Villa’s Champions League campaign and push for a top four finish. Meanwhile, in former Real Madrid midfielder Asensio, Villa has a player with Champions League-winning knowhow.

Relief for Barcelona

Rather than bringing in new players, Barcelona’s biggest challenge was registering two it already owned.

Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor were registered only after the government sports authority intervened. The Spanish league and the federation had denied Barcelona’s request to re-register the duo because it missed the end-of-year deadline to comply with salary cap rules.

Barcelona accused the league of making unrealistic requests for extra documentation and said payment for VIP seating at the new Camp Nou stadium became available only on Jan. 3. That payment allowed the club to comply with the league’s financial fair play rules.



Real Madrid Trusting New Improvised Defense to Hold on to La Liga Lead

Football - LaL iga - Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - February 8, 2025 Real Madrid's Raul Asencio reacts at the end of the match. (Reuters)
Football - LaL iga - Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - February 8, 2025 Real Madrid's Raul Asencio reacts at the end of the match. (Reuters)
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Real Madrid Trusting New Improvised Defense to Hold on to La Liga Lead

Football - LaL iga - Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - February 8, 2025 Real Madrid's Raul Asencio reacts at the end of the match. (Reuters)
Football - LaL iga - Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - February 8, 2025 Real Madrid's Raul Asencio reacts at the end of the match. (Reuters)

Real Madrid will have to stick to its improvised back line when it tries to hold on to its narrow lead in La Liga this weekend.

Madrid visits Osasuna on Saturday with a one-point lead over Atletico Madrid and a two-point advantage over Barcelona.

Depleted of defenders, coach Carlo Ancelotti fielded a back line that played together for the first time on Tuesday and won at Manchester City 3-2 in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs.

Ferland Mendy, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Raúl Asencio and Federico Valverde are expected to start in defense again this weekend.

Ancelotti doesn't have much choice. Injuries have robbed him of central defenders Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba and right backs Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vázquez.

But the coach was pleasantly surprised by how well this new back line held up at Man City.

Tchouaméni is a midfielder plugged into the central defense and Valverde is also out of position at right back. Like Tchouaméni, Asencio is a B team player, who turned 22 on Thursday.

“The back four had never played together, not even in training,” Ancelotti said this week.

“They were absolutely fantastic. Tchouaméni has come in for a lot of criticism but he was incredible. Asencio’s maturity continues to surprise people and Valverde and Mendy were fantastic. We’ve been able to bring something really positive out of an emergency situation.”

Ancelotti said the whole team has put in the extra effort to help defensively and keep the squad well balanced.

“I always say that defending is about the attitude of the whole team," Ancelotti said. "We defended well as a unit (against City). The team delivered a well-rehearsed defensive display.”

The injuries have prevented Ancelotti from rotating the squad and resting players ahead of the decisive Champions League second leg at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium next week.

“We need Rüdiger and Alaba for the return leg and I think they’ll be available,” Ancelotti said.

Tight at the top In La Liga, Madrid is coming off a 1-1 draw at home against Atletico. Barcelona took advantage of that result to close the gap on the Madrid rivals.

The Catalan club, unbeaten this year with nine wins and two draws, will host sixth-placed Rayo Vallecano on Monday.

Atletico handed Barcelona its last loss in December, and will host mid-table Celta Vigo on Saturday. Diego Simeone's team has only one defeat — 1-0 at Leganes in January — in its last 22 games across all tournaments.

Elsewhere, fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao visits Espanyol, and fifth-placed Villarreal hosts Valencia. Sevilla is at last-placed Valladolid and Real Betis hosts Real Sociedad.