Mercifully, the January transfer window has closed, putting an end to yet another hectic month of wheeling and dealing across Europe. Though a number of sides did sensible business, the transfer period – as always seems to be the case – was highlighted by an onslaught of hilariously absurd rumors. Below, we highlight five of the most ridiculous January storylines.
Manchester United’s striker search
The granddaddy of January hilarity was undoubtedly Manchester United‘s desperate search for attacking reinforcements. The Red Devils pulled off one of the winter’s more impressive deals when they inked versatile Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes from Sporting CP, but their inability to add a marquee striker could be the death knell in their Champions League chase.
Leading scorer Marcus Rashford, sidelined long term with a back injury, needed an interim replacement. It’s that simple. The likes of Mario Mandzukic, Edinson Cavani, and Krzysztof Piatek were all rumored to be options before things took a wild turn in the final 24 hours of the window. Having missed on the aforementioned trio, a deadline day scramble saw Salomon Rondon, Joshua …read more