January
transfers
Jamie Evans rounds up the most eye-catching
deals from the January transfer window
After head coach Gian Piero
Gasperini, “Papu” is probably
the most important figure
in Atalanta’s recent success.
Last season, their captain and
playmaker assisted more goals
than anybody else in Serie A,
but more importantly made
the team tick as the No.10 in
Gasperini’s 3-4-1-2 formation.
The fact that he has just
turned 33 explains his modest
transfer fee of€6m, but
Sevilla are undoubtedly
getting a fine player with
plenty to offer La Liga.
At the time of his arrival,
Sevilla lay fourth in the table
with the second-best defence,
but were the lowest scorers in
the top six. Gomez’s creative
spark could well add another
dimension toJulen Lopetegui’s
well-organised side.
Moussa DEMBELE
LYON TO ATLETICO MADRIDGlancing athisrecent numbers,
it is reasonable to ask whether
Dembele is a significant upgrade
on Diego Costa: before sealing his
loan move to Atletico Madrid, the
French striker had only scored one
Ligue1 goal this season.
However, in both of his previous
campaigns for Lyon, he reached
the 20-goal milestone in all
competitions, having earned his
move to France off the back ofAlejandro GOMEZ
ATALANTA TO SEVILLAmore than 50 goals in three years
at Celtic.
If the explosive centre-forward
gets back to his best form at Atleti,
La Liga’s front-runners will have a
formidable and varied attack, with
Luis Suarez andJoao Felix
alongside him.
The Spanish club have paid
an initial fee of€1.5 million for
the loan, with the option to make
Photo: @Atleti Twitter it permanent for€33.5m.1
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