Dembele to Arsenal and seven European stars who could leave in January

Carlo Garganese

• 17 Oct 2023 07:05 BST
• 4 min read

There are over two months to go until the January transfer window opens in 2024, but already there are a number of top players across Europe who look increasingly likely to leave their current clubs.

Below we look at five high-profile players who could transfer mid-season when the winter window opens its doors on January 1.

Jadon Sancho (Man Utd)

Jadon Sancho is certain to leave Man Utd in January, at the very least on loan, after a public fall-out with manager Erik ten Hag.

READ MORE: Premier League January transfers 2024: All the Done Deals

Ten Hag left Sancho out of his 18-man squad for the Premier League match against Arsenal in September, and said he wasn’t picked because of his poor performance in training. This prompted an angry reaction from Sancho immediately after on social media as he denied Ten Hag’s accusations and essentially called him a liar.

Sancho has since been frozen out of the first team squad. Former club Borussia Dortmund and some Italian teams have been linked with a move in January.

Donny van de Beek (Man Utd)

Man Utd outcast Donny van de Beek is “very likely” to leave the club in January, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Van de Beek was transfer listed during the summer transfer window but failed to secure a move away, despite strong interest from Real Sociedad.

But the attacking midfielder will almost certainly leave in the January transfer window having been left surplus to requirements.

This season, Van de Beek has played just two minutes of football in the Premier League.

He will find himself a new club in January, also with a view for Euro 2024 next summer.

Ousmane Dembele (PSG)

Dembele only signed for PSG this past summer after the Ligue 1 giants executed his release clause. PSG paid the €50 million fee in his Barcelona contract to take him to the Parc des Princes.

Fichajes reports that PSG have been left disappointed by Dembele since his summer transfer from Barcelona.

The French winger has failed to score this season, contributing only two assists and largely underwhelming in his nine matches.

Arsenal and Chelsea have both been heavily linked with making a move in January.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal have been tipped to try and sign Mohamed Salah in January.

Al-Ittihad had a huge offer of €175m rejected by Liverpool in the closing days of the summer transfer window.

Salah remains the top target for Al-Ittihad in 2024, and are intent on signing him in either January or the summer.

Liverpool would rather keep Salah until the end of the season but will they be able to again turn down such a massive offer if it arrives in January?

Ciro Immobile (Lazio)

Lazio rejected a big-money offer from Saudi Arabia this past summer for Ciro Immobile. They may now be regretting that.

At the age of 33, Immobile is starting to show his age and he has been declining over the last year or so.

This season he has been disappointing and he has been dropped in recent games. There are now reports that a new offer from Saudi Arabia in January could see Lazio decide to offload their all-time record goalscorer.

Samuel Iling-Junior (Juventus)

Samuel Iling-Junior was one of the few positive notes from a disastrous 2022-23 season for Juventus as he burst onto the scene.

However, this campaign he has seen very little game-time. He has dropped to third in the pecking order in the left-wing back position.

He is reportedly considering his future in the new year and the 20-year-old is wanted by a host of mid to lower table Premier League sides.

Ivan Toney - Brentford

Brentford would most likely want to reintegrate Ivan Toney into the starting XI following his betting ban, but the former Peterborough forward has no such plans.

He has stressed his desire to leave the club in January and Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Tottenham have all expressed interest in signing him. A move to Arsenal looks the most likely right now.