Aston Villa & Man City win the transfer window while others click their heels | OneFootball

The winter transfer window is renowned as a difficult time to do meaningful business, but some clubs took that to the extreme this year.

Aston Villa and Manchester City completed the most noteworthy deals, while Arsenal and Liverpool failed to dip their toes in the water.

Several other top clubs also missed the opportunity to strengthen their squads ahead of what promises to be an intriguing end to the season.

Villa & City lay down a marker

Villa completed several shrewd moves during the transfer window, including the big-money sale of Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr.

Adding Marcus Rashford, Donyell Malen, Marco Asensio and Andres Garcia to the squad should boost Villa’s hopes of enjoying a productive campaign.

Man City’s acquisitions of Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov highlight how they have underperformed this season.

However, they could strengthen City’s hopes of winning the Champions League and FA Cup. If they do, the financial outlay will have been justified.

Fans of other top clubs hoping for new arrivals were left pondering what might have been, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United failing to add to their squads.

Man United’s transfer business also left a lot to be desired. They now have fewer attacking options after allowing Rashford and Antony to leave on loan.

They did sign Patrick Dorgu from Lecce. He is viewed as the answer to their prayers at left-wing-back despite spending a fair chunk of this season on the opposite flank.

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What to watch

Standout games are a little thin on the ground this evening. However, Rochdale versus Oldham Athletic in the National League could be tasty.