10 La Liga players who could move in January
Martin Macdonald
- Updated: 10 Jan 2022 09:57 GMT
- 6 min read
Within the last few years, La Liga has suffered from an exodus of superstars.
It started with the departure of Neymar from Barcelona, and from there, Real Madrid lost Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus, while Lionel Messi left the Blaugrana for the first time in his career for the riches of Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.
The likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid may not be the European forces they were even four or five years ago, but there are still excellent players to be found.
Whether players are excelling so much that they are wanted by other clubs, or whether players are simply not wanted at their current clubs, there could be plenty of departures from the Spanish Primera Division in January.
Over the past week, Philippe Coutinho has left Barcelona for Aston Villa on loan, while Kieran Trippier has joined Newcastle.
TRENDING
Ousmane Dembele - Barcelona
Ousmane Dembele's contract at Barcelona out in the summer of 2022 and the club are keen for him to renew as soon as possible in order to eliminate the risk of losing him on a free transfer.
The Frenchman has missed the majority of the season so far after picking up an injury in the summer, but has returned to feature in Barcelona for new head coach Xavi.
At the moment, negotiations are ongoing between Dembele's representatives and Barcelona, but past reports from Spain suggest the player's agent Moussa Sissoko was campaigning for his client to move on to pastures new.
The latest news with Dembele is that he is unhappy about the purchase of Ferran Torres, which could lead to the likes of Newcastle, Paris Saint-Germain or Liverpool making a January offer.
Luuk de Jong - Barcelona
The financial state of Barcelona made any big-money acquisitions impossible this past summer, but bringing in Luuk de Jong has still proved underwhelming.
The best season of De Jong's career came in 2018/19 when he scored 28 goals in the Eredivisie and it was that kind of form that earned him a move to Sevilla.
However, he has struggled with the step up in quality to Spanish football and is certainly nowhere near good enough to be on Barca's radar in normal times.
A return to the Netherlands is the most likely destination.
Samuel Umtiti - Barcelona
Barcelona have been desperate to get rid of Samuel Umtiti for some time and even attempted to release him as a free agent in the summer, only for the player to refuse.
The Frenchman remains a high earner at Camp Nou which is the main reason for his desired departure, but he has not been a key player for the club for years due to a variety of injury problems.
Even if it is on loan with Barca paying some of his wages, the club want him gone.
Sergino Dest - Barcelona
The Catalan giants signed Dest from Ajax for a fee believed to be in the region of €21m plus €5m in add-ons two summers ago.
The club are still yet to find a true replacement for Dani Alves, with the likes of Aleix Vidal, Sergi Roberto and Nelson Semedo all featuring at right-back to varying degrees of success.
Dest doesn't appear to be greatly valued by Xavi as the Barca coach has recently brought back 38-year-old Dani Alves back to the club to provide competition at right-back.
The fact that Alves usurping Dest to right-back is even being mentioned is embarrassing for the American, who could yet be allowed to move to Bayern or Chelsea or January.
Jules Kounde - Sevilla
Chelsea were locked in negotiations with Sevilla in the summer over the transfer of Jules Kounde, and the club believed that it was only a matter of time before a deal was agreed upon.
The Blues and Sevilla had agreed on a fee of €50m for Kounde, though Sevilla then looked for a higher price of around €65 which led to talks breaking down.
However, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva ALL having contracts that expire in 2022, Chelsea need to address defensive recruitment immediately which could lead to a Kounde arrival in January.
Manchester United are also reportedly interested in the Frenchman.
Eden Hazard - Real Madrid
Eden Hazard became one of the most expensive footballers in history when Real Madrid purchased him in 2019, with Los Blancos potentially paying as much as €146.1 million for his services.
He has struggled to find the form that saw him become a Premier League star with Chelsea, however, while has been injured fr the majority of his time at Santiago Bernabeu.
Even with the huge outlay in 2019, Real Madrid would reportedly be willing to let Hazard leave if a decent offer came in, with newly rich Newcastle United one of the latest teams to be linked with the Belgian.
A return to Lille has also been mentioned, but any departure for Hazard will depend on whether he lowers his wage demands.
Arnaut Danjuma
Arnaut Danjuma struggled in the Premier League back in 2019/20, making just 14 appearances in his only season in the English top flight to date with Bournemouth.
But since then, Danjuma has been immense. A tremendous Championship campaign saw him rack up 17 goals and seven assists, which earned him a move to Villarreal last summer.
His form has continued in Spain, with five goals and two assists in La Liga, as well as six goal contributions in the Champions League group stages.
Villarreal will be unwilling to let him go, especially given he only joined last summer, but Liverpool are believed to be interested and could pry the Dutchman back to England.
Alexander Isak - Real Sociedad
Although Alexander Isak may not be as widely tipped for success as Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland, the young Swede is still one of European football’s most exciting prospects.
The Real Sociedad striker has quickly turned his career around in Spain after a tricky start at Borussia Dortmund and is now attracting interest from some of the continent’s biggest clubs.
During the summer, he was linked with Barcelona after being one of the best young players in La Liga in 2020/21, though the Blaugrana were not in a financial position to make any significant bids.
He was mentioned as an alternative to Haaland when Chelsea were looking for a new forward, but they sought Romelu Lukaku instead.
Now, it appears Arsenal are leading the way for his signature as a potential replacement for Alexandre Lacazette for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Youssef En-Nesyri - Sevilla
Sevilla signed Youssef En-Nesyri in January of 2020 to come in as a replacement for departing forwards Javier Hernandez and Munas Dabbur.
Arsenal and West Ham are the two clubs most heavily linked with En-Nesyri.
The Hammers reportedly bid around £32 million for the Moroccan striker in January of 2021, but the transfer didn't materialise, as the club opted to bring in Jesse Lingard on loan for six months.
Now that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been ousted from the Arsenal squad and stripped of the captaincy, their need for a striker has become more immediate, with En-Nesyri emerging as a target for January.
Guido Rodriguez - Real Betis
Guido Rodriguez could be set for a sensational move to the Premier League this summer after excelling in La Liga with Real Betis.
He may be viewed as somewhat of a late bloomer as it has taken him to his mid-twenties to make the big move to Europe, but the Argentine has already made a huge impression.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Betis have been transformed since his arrival.
Liverpool are the club most linked with Rodriguez and were interested in a deal in the summer as they viewed him as a potential replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum.
