da gbg bet： Plenty of players, coaches and agents are feeling the effects of an incredibly quiet month right now – but who has reason to smile?

da cassino： So, there you have it, the 2024 January transfer window is done and dusted – and, truth be told, it wasn't a particularly engaging month for those fans that go mad for the market. There were no real shock sales or surprise signings. Indeed, football's deadline day was completely overshadowed by the big news in Formula 1, with Lewis Hamilton sensationally agreeing to join Ferrari from Mercedes.

However, that doesn't mean that the winter window didn't produce plenty of winners and losers. For starters, some players will be raging right now that they didn't get the move they craved, and just as many managers will be bitterly frustrated by a lack of reinforcements.

It wasn't all doom and gloom, either. As GOAL outlines below, some clubs are looking forward to the remainder of the season with renewed confidence after some intelligent wheeling and dealing during the past few weeks…

Getty ImagesWINNER: Profit & Sustainability Rules

Premier League clubs spent a record-breaking £815 million ($1 billion) during the 2023 January transfer window. This year, the total outlay was justover £100m ($128m), not including loan fees. So, why the dramatic dip? Well, the Premier League's desperation to prove that it is capable of governing itself has been a massive factor.

With the United Kingdom looking at introducing an independent regulator for football to bring a semblance of order to a transfer market that has spiralled completely out of control, the English top-flight has embarked on quite the clampdown over the past 12 months. Just after last year's winter window closed, Manchester City were charged with 115 breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations (although they have yet to be charged). In November, Everton were dramatically docked 10 points for breaking profit and sustainability rules. The Toffees have since been accused of a second breach and been joined in the dock by Nottingham Forest, meaning three of the Premier League's 20 clubs have the threat of sanctions – or further sanctions in the case of Everton – hanging over them.

It's hardly surprising, then, that even the likes of title-challenging Arsenal and state-sponsored Newcastle were reluctant to spend big in January. The risk, it seems, is no longer worth the reward.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Saudi Pro League

Saudi Pro League (SPL) director of football Michael Emenalo stated all the way back in November that the winter window would not be a particularly busy one for the emerging power in the transfer market. However, while more "additions of the highest level" weren't anticipated after last summer's spending spree, the SPL didn't expect to end up trying to limit the loss of high-profile players.

If Jordan Henderson's decision to move to Saudi Arabia last July was a "slap in the face" for the LGBTQ+ in England, his defection to Amsterdam after just six months represented a serious blow to the SPL's credibility.

Worse was to follow, though, as it emerged that Karim Benzema wasn't happy at Al-Ittihad. The Frenchman forward has been convinced to stay put – for now at least – but the mere fact that he wanted out does not bode well for Saudi Arabia's hopes of creating one of the game's strongest leagues.

Money is clearly no object for the nation's Public Invest Fund (PIF), but while the Pro League captured the attention of the football world last year, holding onto it is clearly going to prove quite difficult.

GettyWINNER: Manchester City

Manchester City certainly haven't splashed the cash in the same manner as past windows, but they have done a couple of deals that could pay off big time in the long run.

Claudio Echeverri is one of the most promising players Argentina has produced in years (he's rather inevitably being labelled 'The new Lionel Messi' even though he plays more like Pablo Aimar) and was wanted by nearly all of Europe's elite – and yet City have managed to snap him up for just £12.5m ($16m). That is an absolute snip for a player that showcased his incredible potential at the Under-17 World Cup.

City have also wisely allowed him to spend another season developing at River Plate, which will allow him to continue to grow and learn away from the spotlight at the Etihad – in much the same way that Endrick has done at Palmeiras before his move to Real Madrid.

Then there's Kalvin Phillips, a player that Pep Guardiola could never really find any room for in his starting line-up. City have sent him to West Ham for the rest of the season – but without an option to buy, so while there's an obvious fear that their Catalan coach could be left short on defensive midfielders, the club clearly felt it was a risk worth taking.

After all, if Phillips does manage to recapture the form that made him such a key part of England's team at Euro 2020, the Premier League champions can either try again to integrate them into their team or sell him for a decent fee this summer.

Say what you will about City's finances, but their work in the transfer market is nearly always astute.

GettyLOSER: Paris Saint-Germain

So, here we go again, then? 'Tic, tac, tic, tac' – the Kylian Mbappe countdown clock is ticking once more, with the Paris Saint-Germain forward able to join Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer. It didn't happen in 2022, but surely this year Mbappe will swap Parc des Princes for the Bernabeu?

Of course, it's always hard to know what's going on in Mbappe's mind. He's long been proven to erratic and impulsive behaviour. There could yet be another twist in this tiresome tale, one more unexpected change of heart.

But what is already clear is that PSG have been put in a terrible position. Club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said all the way back in the summer of 2021 that Mbappe would never leave on a free transfer and repeated that claim only last July. And yet here we are again, with PSG facing up to the previously considered "impossible" scenario of Mbappe leaving the club for absolutely nothing.

That's not just a terrifying prospect from a financial perspective, it would also be a nightmare for their brand and a seriously ominous development for the entire Qatari-backed project. Without Mbappe, PSG will struggle to remain relevant.