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The English Championship doesn’t receive the attention of the Premier League but it’s a brilliant environment for youngsters to develop and gain experience ahead of moves to the top-flight. Gareth Bale, John Stones, James Maddison, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are amongst the biggest names to earn moves to the English Premier League after impressing in the Championship and there’s a plethora of talented youngsters aiming to emulate those stars. Following on from the most recent English Championship market value update, we’ve analysed the top ten most valuable Under 21 players in the division.

The January transfer window officially opens on Monday with clubs across Europe eyeing deals to improve their squads for the second half of the season. While the winter window is considerably quieter than the summer, some major deals have been completed across the last few seasons.

The January transfer window officially opened this week, with Europe’s top clubs able to bring in talent who can push them on for the second half of the season to reach their goals. Some major deals have been completed across the last few January windows, including Chelsea splashing a combined €191 million for Enzo Fernández and Mykhaylo Mudryk last year, and perhaps the most iconic Premier League January signing of recent years in Liverpool’s acquisition of now club captain Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in 2018 for €84.65 million, with the Dutchman going on to lift the Champions League and Premier League with the club within just two years at Anfield. 

Kalvin Phillips seems destined to leave Manchester City this month with his gametime severely limited at the Champions League holders. The 28-year-old has started just twice for City this season and he’s been stuck on the bench in the English Premier League, making just four substitute appearances despite being in the matchday squad for every game. Phillips arrived at City from boyhood club Leeds United for €49 million in 2022 amid high expectations but he’s failed to nail down a starting berth.

The January transfer window has been open for over a week but it’s been relatively quiet in terms of big permanent deals. Clubs across the market are actively trying to improve their squads with new arrivals but it’s notoriously difficult to seal major deals in January compared to the summer market. Ivan Toney’s return from an eight-month ban is pending and the Brentford striker has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal despite Mikel Arteta downplaying reports that he could add a new striker this month. FFP restrictions are limiting several English Premier League clubs’ ability to spend in January and they will need to offload players before reinvesting. Manchester United are scouring the market for a new striker but a loan deal is more realistic, while Chelsea and Liverpool are unlikely to make major additions. Everton’s Amadou Onana is on the radar of top English clubs with a move to Arsenal most feasible and it would require a substantial fee to prise the Belgian away from Goodison Park. We’ve analysed the top ten highest transfer fees paid by clubs in the January with English clubs dominating the list. 

Few European top-flights change as drastically and as often as the English Premier League. Such is the remarkable sums of money that now flow through the league, that players seemingly come and go in the flash of an eye. As such, the market values of the league’s biggest players can rise and fall as quickly as the young stars that are vying for their spot in the limelight. And 2023 was no exception. 

The January transfer window has been open for almost two weeks but English Premier League clubs have been relatively quiet. It was a crazy winter window in 2023 with clubs splurging a record €842.5 million on new players, which was considerably more than the previous record of €568.4m, set in January 2018. FFP restrictions are limiting the spending power of some of England’s biggest clubs with Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool look unlikely to make big signings this month unless they offload players. Manchester City and Arsenal could strengthen their squads while Tottenham Hotspur have already signed Radu Dragusin. Timo Werner on loan.There’s still plenty of time until the window shuts and rumours will intensify as the month progresses and we’ve compiled a list of the biggest potential transfers. 

Owen Beck has been one of the signings of the season in the Scottish Premiership with his form at Dundee attracting interest from Celtic and Rangers. The 21-year-old’s loan move from Liverpool to Dens Park flew under the radar but he quickly gained attention with some standout performances. Beck was a revelation as Dundee enjoyed a successful first half of the season on their return to the Scottish Premiership and the Liverpool loanee was undoubtedly their star player.

When it comes to transfers, Manchester United are linked to players more than any other club as agents aim to generate interest and journalists aim to drive traffic. Despite underperforming massively since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, United remain one of the biggest clubs in the world and they’ve spent inordinate amounts across the last decade. Since the start of the 2013/14 campaign - the season after Ferguson retired after winning the club’s last Premier League title - United have spent €1.8b on new players. Only Chelsea (€2.49b) and Manchester City (€1.92b) have a higher expenditure over that period with United’s net spend of -€1,320b is worse than both rivals due to their terrible record of selling players.

Jordan Henderson has completed a dramatic return to European football, following his confirmed move to Ajax. The England international was one of a number of high-profile players that made the move from Liverpool to the Saudi Pro League in the summer of 2023, when Henderson signed for Al-Ettifaq for a reported €14m. However, just six months later, the 33-year-old star has apparently forced a departure from the club and now completed a free transfer to Ajax, where he has signed a deal until 2026.