5 big-name players who missed out on January transfers | OneFootball

The 2025 winter transfer window has come and gone, with clubs across Europe reshuffling their squads ahead of the toughest half of the campaign.

While PSR concerns hamstrung a number of sides, there was still plenty of excitement across the winter window. Sagas involving some of the game's biggest names kept us entertained, but some amounted to nothing as changes of scenery eluded a glut of prominent players.

Here are five players who missed out on winter transfers.

Nkunku remains on the fringes / Crystal Pix/MB Media/GettyImages

The sight of Marc Guiu coming off the Chelsea bench ahead of him on Monday night against West Ham United spoke volumes of Christopher Nkunku's situation at Stamford Bridge.

The Frenchman is firmly outside Enzo Maresca's thoughts but, despite significant interest from both Bayern Munich and Manchester United, remains in west London after Chelsea's asking price of over £60m scared off all suitors.

Nkunku now has six months to force his way back into the starting lineup at Chelsea, who could do with keeping his value as high as possible ahead of what will almost certainly be a summer departure.

Alejandro Garnacho

Garnacho's exit seemed certain / Michael Regan/GettyImages

It seemed almost certain that Alejandro Garnacho would not be a Manchester United player by the time the window closed.

With countless reports stressing his potential availability, Garnacho was touted as Napoli's favoured replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, whose £59m move to Paris Saint-Germain gave the Serie A side a significant chance of striking a deal. United stood firm, however, demanding closer to £70m to agree to a sale.

Napoli baulked, allowing Chelsea to enter the race. The Blues love spending more money than they should on wingers and this one seemed to get even more likely when reports of a swap deal involving Nkunku emerged. However, the window has closed and both players remain at home.

Oleksandr Zinchenko

Zinchenko is battling for minutes / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages

Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund both wanted to offer Oleksandr Zinchenko the chance to reignite his career away from Arsenal this month.

The Ukraine international's place under Mikel Arteta looked to be slipping away when Riccardo Calafiori joined in the summer, and the emergence of academy midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly as a viable left-back option has only pushed Zinchenko further down the ladder.

Now the third-choice in the position, Zinchenko looks set for a serious struggle for minutes over the remainder of the season, but hey, at least he remains ahead of the soon-to-be-departing Kieran Tierney.

Andreas Christensen

Christensen remains / Pedro Salado/GettyImages

When Barcelona need money, you can guarantee Andreas Christensen will be linked with an exit. That was definitely the case this month as the La Liga side tried to fund an ambitious loan move for Marcus Rashford.

Premier League teams began lining up - Manchester United and Newcastle United were both linked - but nothing ever really materialised and Christensen now finds himself in an immense battle to reclaim a regular starting spot.

Hansi Flick has rejuvenated Inigo Martinez alongside the young Pau Cubarsi, while Ronald Araujo would appear to be first in line for a return to the squad. If Christensen is fourth in the rankings, he could be in for a long season.

Douglas Luiz

Luiz could have returned to the Premier League / Marco Canoniero/GettyImages

Douglas Luiz was one of the most in-demand midfielders in Europe when he left Aston Villa in the summer. Juventus won the race for his signature, parting with over £40m to turn the Brazilian into a rotation option.

With just three Serie A starts to his name this season, Luiz was heavily linked with a return to England. Manchester City wanted him back on loan, as did Chelsea, and there were even speculative links to Man Utd late in the window, but nothing ever materialised.

Expect this one to resurface in the summer, when clubs will have more money and Juventus will be more reasonable with their demands.