2015 January Transfer Window: 25 Biggest Storylines so Far

Here are the 25 biggest storylines of the 2015 January transfer window.

What constitutes a storyline?

A completed transfer (loan or permanent) and a transfer rumour, which creates discussion.

These 25 footballers will be ranked via a combination of:

• Hype.
• Newsworthiness.
• Transfer value.
• Teams involved in the transfer or rumoured deal.

25. Zhang Xizhe

Wolfsburg, the second-best team in the Bundesliga, signing Chinese central/left attacking midfielder Zhang Xizhe, 23, from Beijing Guoan was an eye-opener. 

Xizhe is a technically flawless footballer, who can swivel on a dime, is a two-footed player and can open up the field with his incisive passing. 

What will hold Xizhe back is that he has that Willian syndrome where, despite looking like a star, generally there is a goose egg in the goal and/or assist column. 

It was bizarre watching Xizhe in the Asian Champions League where he could glide past opposing players, yet either shanked his shot or overplayed a pass when it mattered most.

The worry with Xizhe is that he lacks the productivity to thrive on a Bundesliga-contending team.

People want to bring up the comparison with Shinji Kagawa, but he scored a combined 34 goals in his last 55 league games for Cerezo Osaka.

Whereas, Xizhe has scored 24 league goals in his career for Beijing Guoan.

24. Ricardo Goulart

Friedemann Vogel/Getty Images

Brazilian central attacking midfielder Ricardo Goulart, 23, has back-to-back campaigns with 10 league goals or more for Cruzeiro.

The Bola de Ouro recipient, an award given to the Brasileiro's best player, you expected Goulart to test himself and move to Europe.

Instead, he has signed on to play at Guangzhou Evergrande in a €15/£11.7 million deal.

Remember, Guangzhou Evergrande made Dario Conca one of the highest-paid players in the world in 2011.

Therefore, you presume Goulart is locked in to a big-money deal, which will set him up financially post-football while also substantially improving the quality of life for his family.

You can't begrudge him that.

23. Carles Gil

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

Spanish right/central/left attacking midfielder Carles Gil, 22, is a notable pickup for struggling Aston Villa, a side devoid of creativity.

Signed from Valencia for €4.1/£3.2 million, Gil is expected to spark life into Aston Villa's attack.

Aston Villa have scored one goal in their last six Premier League games.

22. Ravel Morrison

Ben Hoskins/Getty Images

English central attacking midfielder Ravel Morrison, 21, has world-class ability but has a tendency to harm his own career.

Upset about being fined by West Ham United, he has asked the Professional Footballers' Association to look into his case, which creates another sideshow.

Essentially, he is forcing West Ham United to offload him.

Sure, there will be clubs intrigued with Morrison, a rough diamond, but if he doesn't mature and does not perform consistently on the field, he will playing in an obscure league in several years' time.

21. Hatem Ben Arfa

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

French central/right/left attacking midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa, 27, is stuck in limbo.

Having played for Newcastle United and Hull City, Ben Arfa's move to Nice has been made redundant, due to a technicality which stops footballers playing for multiple clubs in a season. 

Ben Arfa is waiting for FIFA to make a decision, per Lee Ryder at the Evening Chronicle.

20. Yaya Sanogo

Clive Rose/Getty Images

Arsenal have loaned French centre-forward Yaya Sanogo, 21, to Crystal Palace.

Sanogo has had good moments, like a four-goal haul in a friendly against Benfica and a goal against Borussia Dortmund.

However, he is raw and at times his attacking positioning is odd.

He will only improve with regular playing time, hence the loan to Crystal Palace.

19. Lucas Leiva

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Liverpool's Brazilian defensive midfielder Lucas Leiva, 28, prolongs his "Am I leaving? Oh, I'm staying. No, I'm leaving" saga.

Lucas has been decent when he plays for Liverpool, but the Reds need to upgrade his position, preferably signing a younger midfielder with more dynamism. 

In the hypothetical situation of Lucas moving to the Serie A, it would be a good move for him, because the playing style is slower and he will find it easier.

18. Manolo Gabbiadini

Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images

Starting the Serie A season with seven goals from 13 games for Sampdoria, Italian centre-forward Manolo Gabbiadini, 23, was signed for €13/£10.2 million by Napoli.

Having co-owned Gabbiadini, Juventus announced they are set to receive €6.25/£4.89 million over four years from Napoli as part of the transfer.

Gabbiadini is either a backup or a precautionary signing in the hypothetical scenario that Napoli sell Gonzalo Higuain.

17. Alessio Cerci

Luca Bruno/Associated Press

Italian deep-lying forward Alessio Cerci, 27, didn't make the grade at Roma, so it is not a surprise he failed to cut it at Atletico Madrid.

Only playing 114 minutes over six La Liga games suggested he was not one of Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone's signings.

Now on loan at AC Milan, Cerci has a chance to revive his career at a club in a rebuilding phase.

16. Kevin Kampl

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Stuck in a relegation battle, Borussia Dortmund spent €12/£9.4 million to sign Slovenian right attacking midfielder Kevin Kampl, 24, from Red Bull Salzburg.

Kampl's four goals and four assists in six UEFA Europa League games have been inflated by facing Astra Giurgiu twice.

It is a calculated risk for Borussia Dortmund because Kampl needs to adjust to the standards of the Bundesliga immediately.

Yes, his pace, his shooting and dribbling immediately stand out, but his work rate is impressive.

15. Matija Nastasic

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Manchester City's Serbian centre-back Matija Nastasic, 21, went from being one of the best defensive prospects to a bench warmer.

The loan to Schalke is not great news for Manchester City fans who hope to see Nastasic play at Eastlands.

Schalke have the option to extend Nastasic's loan into a permanent deal for €12.8/£10 million.

It is not a good deal from Manchester City because what if Nastasic performs better than his €12.8/£10 million valuation? 

14. Xherdan Shaqiri

Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

Swiss central/right/left attacking midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, 23, was finally granted his wish of leaving Bayern Munich, albeit on loan to Inter Milan.

At the end of the season, Inter Milan will sign him for €15/£11.7 million.

Despite being immensely talented, Shaqiri never started 20 Bundesliga games in a season for Bayern Munich and was treated as a luxury substitute.

13. Ilkay Gundogan

Lars Baron/Getty Images

German central/central attacking midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, 24, is being pressured by Borussia Dortmund to sign a long-term contract extension, per Kicker (h/t Stephan Uersfeld at ESPN FC).

Not only does it lock Gundogan down for the future, it gives Borussia Dortmund leverage to negotiate a substantial transfer fee should prospective suitors be willing to play ball.

Should the standoff continue, Borussia Dortmund could be open to selling Gundogan.

12. Enzo Perez

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

Valencia owner Peter Lim, a Singaporean billionaire investor, continues to strengthen Los Che's bid to contend for La Liga.

Signing Argentine central midfielder Enzo Perez, 28, for €25/£19.7 million further validates Valencia management's intentions of targeting footballers from Benfica.

Perez is the fourth Benfica player Valencia have signed in the last 12 months.

• Andre Gomes (2014).
• Joao Cancelo (2014).
• Rodrigo Moreno (2014).

Valencia is to Benfica what Liverpool is to Southampton.

11. Andre Schurrle

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

German right attacking midfielder Andre Schurrle, 24, is struggling with his form, scoring twice in 419 minutes of Premier League play for Chelsea.

Invariably, Chelsea are open to selling him, putting his value at €29.4/£23 million, per Alex Harris at the Daily Star.

Sure, he is inconsistent, but he provides a directness Chelsea need if they want to win the Premier League.

He is the type of player who will dribble into an opposing player and lose the ball, yet, a minute later, go on a long run and create the winning goal. 

Unless a substantial bid is lodged for Schurrle, Chelsea should keep him.

10. David De Gea

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Manchester United's Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea, 24, is seen as a viable successor to Iker Casillas at Real Madrid, per Manu Sainz at AS.

Wouldn't Casillas' replacement be Keylor Navas?

De Gea averages 2.8 saves per game for Manchester United.

9. Mario Balotelli

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Liverpool's Italian centre-forward Mario Balotelli, 24, is one of the worst players in the Premier League, having signed from AC Milan for €20.5/£16 million.

He has failed to score or create a goal in 760 minutes spread over 12 Premier League games. 

Either Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers starts trusting Balotelli or he will leave.

8. Lukas Podolski

Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

German left attacking midfielder Lukas Podolski, 29, revealed he had a problem with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Despite warming the benches and being a willing super sub, Podolski claimed Wenger did not offer any commiserations when the loan to Inter Milan was announced, per Charlie Wyett at The Sun (subscription required).

Like at Bayern Munich, Podolski struggles when he is not deified, hence why he is a big fish in a small pond footballer.

7. Fernando Torres

Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Chelsea offloaded Spanish centre-forward Fernando Torres, 30, to AC Milan and the Serie A club symbolically loaned him back to boyhood club Atletico Madrid.

Torres scored five goals in 28 Premier League games during his last season at Chelsea. He was less potent at AC Milan, scoring once from 10 Serie A games.

Given that Torres is useless up front, why not change his position?

6. Wilfried Bony

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Barring a last-minute transfer collapse, Ivorian centre-forward Wilfried Bony, 26, will move from Swansea City to Manchester City for €35.8/£28 million. 

The move will cover injury-prone Sergio Aguero, but the fee is overpriced, especially when Bony is at the Africa Cup of Nations.

What if Bony suffers a long-term injury or plays the worst tournament of his life? 

Bony's transfer emphasises how desperate Manchester City are to win the Premier League title.

5. Radamel Falcao

Michael Steele/Getty Images

The way Colombian centre-forward Radamel Falcao, 28, has been treated suggests Manchester United are hesitant in extending his loan from Monaco into a permanent deal. 

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal stubbornly stuck to his views when asked if he regretted dropping Falcao.

This opens the possibility of Falcao looking elsewhere for a long-term future.

4. Steven Gerrard

Michael Regan/Getty Images

If English central attacking midfielder/central midfielder Steven Gerrard, 34, was three years younger, he would probably join Los Angeles Football Club rather than the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The Los Angeles Galaxy are based in Carson, whereas you presume Los Angeles Football Club will be based in Los Angeles.

It is a moot point because by 2017, the year Los Angeles Football Club becomes active, Gerrard may have retired.

Gerrard giving back to the game by attempting to grow football, a minority sport in the United States, is a great deed.

He is going to be a valuable member of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

3. Frank Lampard

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Major League Soccer expansion team New York City FC deceived their fans about English central attacking midfielder Frank Lampard, 36, being one of their franchise players.

No franchise player sits out four months of the season—at least Brett Favre only skipped training camp.

New York City FC sporting director Claudio Reyna skirted around the issue of Lampard being beholden to Premier League contenders Manchester City, the main team of the City Football Group.

"I understand the anger of the fans," Reyna said, per David Waldstein at the New York Times. "It was never the intention for him to stay at [Manchester] City, but circumstances changed. We're really looking forward to him coming to join us in July."

2. Martin Odegaard

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Norwegian central attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard, 16, is probably the most hyped-up teenager footballer in recent memory.

His tour of Europe's elite clubs has been over-exposed, and you wonder if his handlers are just prolonging the process to keep him in the news. 

Real Madrid set the benchmark in terms of wining and dining Odegaard, per Jose Felix Diaz and Ruben Jimenez at Marca:

• FIFA World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane was Odegaard's tour guide. 
• Odegaard had a meet-and-greet with FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
• Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti allowed Odegaard to train with the first team.
• Odegaard socialised with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.

1. Lionel Messi

Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Argentine deep-lying forward Lionel Messi, 27, went on the record and denied rumours of him wanting out of Barcelona.

"I've heard stories I've spoken to Chelsea or [Manchester] City, that's all lies," Messi said, per Barca TV (h/t Sky Sports).

"It hurts me because [the rumours] comes from here, from Barcelona, from people that love the club, or say they do. It doesn't come from Madrid like it has in the past."

You presume the Barcelona press, Mundo Deportivo and Sport, are generating stories based on anonymous sources, so leaks coming from Barcelona's playing and/or coaching group. 

+allanjiang.

When not specified, statistics via WhoScored.com.