It’s only been five months since the January 2025 transfer window slammed shut, but quite a few players are already making a name for themselves at their new clubs. Today, we’re looking at four January signings that have instantly impacted their new surroundings.
Amine Gouiri
Progress isn’t always linear; ask Amine Gouiri. He burst onto the scene as one of the most talented teenagers in world football. He finished as top scorer with seven goals during the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship before bagging five goals for France in the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. It seemed only a matter of time before he followed in the footsteps of Karim Benzema and Nabil Fékir and became the next Lyon academy product to excel for the first team.
However, Gouiri never made an impression on the first team due to injuries and heightened competition, and he took his talents to Nice in 2020 for €7 million. Similarly to Jimmy Conrad, it took him a while to convert his world-class potential into consistently impressive displays. While he became the youngest player in 70 years to score 2+ goals on his Nice debut, he never quite made the step up from wonderkid to top-level forward in the Allianz Riviera before eventually making the move to Rennes for a club-record €28 million two years later.
Once again, Gouiri showcased his world-class talent in Ligue 1 on sporadic occasions but never quite managed to deliver that form consistently. And in January 2025, he returned to the south of France and joined Marseille for €22 million. So far, it’s been smooth sailing for Gouiri at the Vélodrome. Having registered 45 goal contributions in 89 appearances for Nice and 43 in 103 appearances for Rennes, the 25-year-old has racked up 10 goals and three assists in his first 14 Marseille appearances. Gouiri, now representing Algeria instead of France, has enjoyed a sensational start to life under Roberto De Zerbi, boasting the technical prowess, unpredictability, and nifty footwork to slice through defences with his superb dribbling skills and incisive passing, and he is capable of catching the opposing goalkeeper off guard with a ferocious effort. Similarly to Flamengo’s Gonzalo Plata, he can change direction immediately and leave his defender in his dust.
He has been the bright spot of a dour run of form that has seen OM lose three of their last four, and he’s even managed to relegate top scorer Mason Greenwood on various occasions, with the Italian manager prioritising his composure and hold-up play in the centre forward position. It’s little wonder why De Zerbi has already stated that, “Amine has everything to be one of the best European centre forwards; he just has to believe in it.”
Emmanuel Agbadou
Wolves were five points away from safety when Vítor Pereira was appointed in December, but they ended up finishing comfortably above the drop thanks to a superb end to the campaign. One player who has proven vital in their steady improvement is Emmanuel Agbadou.
Born in the capital of Abidjan, Agbadou was 22 when he left his native Ivory Coast for the first time, joining Tunisian outfit US Monastir, where he lasted just one year before moving to Belgian club Eupen. Agbadou “came to the Belgian league as a raw talent,” stated ex-German international Andreas Beck, who played alongside Agbadou at Eupen in 2020/21 and 2021/22.
“You could see that he had so much quality and talent, but he wasn’t as technically and tactically skilled as he is today. He needed to go to an intermediate league like Belgium in order to compete, to adjust to the cold winters, and to be moulded by the pressure. Similarly to my former Hoffenheim teammate Roberto Firmino, he needed this first year for his talents to shine through, to play up to his strengths, and to reduce these mistakes. After 1-2 years, I was saying that Agbadou has to go to the Bundesliga,” added Beck.
Agbadou moved to Ligue 1 in 2022, where he excelled in central defence and eventually earned the interest of Wolves, who signed him and his Reims teammate Marshall Munetsi in the January window. Agbadou was fast-tracked into the side but managed to slot into their back three with poise and prowess. Harkening similarities to Fluminense’s Thiago Silva, Agbadou is the complete defensive backline. His speed, tenacity, and physicality have proven vital and enabled them to nick the ball off opponents and maintain a high line, while he’s also helped them reduce costly errors at the back. After Yaya Touré, Didier Drogba, and Samuel Eto’o, he is yet another West African player making a name for himself at the top level of the European game, and he looks set to play a crucial role for Wolves and the Ivory Coast over the coming years.
Mika Biereth
While Gouiri and Agbadou have made their mark at their new clubs, they’re far from the most impressive January signings in world football. That title would go to Mika Biereth, who has established himself as one of the most in-form strikers on the continent since moving to AS Monaco.
Born in London to a Danish-German father and a Bosnian mother, Biereth developed at Fulham’s academy between 2017 and 2021 before moving to Arsenal. Like João Virgínia, Bukayo Saka, and Emile Smith Rowe, he is another Hale End product who is finding success at the top level. He then plied his trade on loan at Belgian side RKC Waalwijk and Scottish club Motherwell before eventually joining Sturm Graz in January 2024. Biereth excelled in Austria and helped Sturm Graz end Red Bull Salzburg’s reign of terror by grabbing six goals and two assists en route to a domestic double. He picked up where he left off with 16 goal contributions in 16 league matches and bagged goals against Lille and Girona in the UEFA Champions League.
These performances drew Monaco’s attention, who paid him €13 million plus €2 million in bonuses. Monaco’s centre forward position was up for grabs following the departure of captain Wissam Ben Yedder in the previous summer, with Breel Embolo, Folarin Balogun, and summer signing George Ilenikhena not quite managing to establish a starting spot under Adi Hütter. It’s left the door open for Biereth to come in and nail down a place with a supersonic run of form.
The 22-year-old striker has already scored a barely believable 13 goals and three assists in 19 appearances. He is a menace with his persistent runs in behind, intelligent decision-making, and ability to pin opposing defenders and create space for his teammates to exploit. Biereth excels at timing his jump to beat his defender to the ball before getting the perfect contact on his headers. If he continues his meteoric progression, it may only be a matter of time before Biereth follows in the footsteps of Kylian Mbappé and Aurélien Tchouaméni and becomes the latest player to depart the principality for a mouthwatering fee.
Abdukadir Khusanov
You can’t always judge a book by its cover, and that’s certainly been the case with Abdukadir Khusanov. Khusanov started his professional career in Belarus with Energetik-BGU in 2022, where he spent 1.5 years before heading for Ligue 1 side Lens. Khusanov would become the first Uzbek player to play in Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France, spending his first season as a backup defender before locking down a starting spot in Lens’ back three in the first half of the 2024/25 season.
It wasn’t long before Premier League clubs began inquiring about his services, with reigning champions Manchester City signing him for an initial fee of €40 million. Rather than gradually easing him into the side, Pep Guardiola threw him into the deep end and gave him the start against Chelsea. It blew up in his face, with Khusanov making a calamitous back pass to allow Noni Madueke to open the scoring and taking an early booking.
Since that horrendous debut, Khusanov has made drastic improvements and shown a maturity that belies his 21 years of age. While he only stands 6’1”, he’s nevertheless injected City’s backline with a desperately needed pace, aggression, and physical prowess. Constantly alert to the danger, Khusanov is skilled at covering ground, catching up to opposing attackers, and making a vital interception.
The Uzbek youngster has been able to slot into right back and centre back and impress not just off the ball, but on it, capable of splitting the lines with an incisive through ball and dribbling out of the press. Moreover, while he has a predilection for a slide tackle, he’s showing far more patience to wait for his rival to make the first move before reacting, rather than going to the ground at a split second and risking getting passed. Khusanov will not just be a vital figure for City’s defence in the long term, but in the short term as well.
