Premier League clubs scrambling for reinforcements
Here's what January in the Premier League looks like: panic buying, inflated prices, and clubs convinced that one signing will fix months of structural problems. West Ham and Fulham are both knee-deep in the transfer market right now, and their targets tell you everything about where English football thinks the value lies.
Let's start with West Ham, currently sitting in 18th place and staring relegation square in the face. According to The Guardian, Nuno Espírito Santo's side has zeroed in on Charlie Cresswell, the 23-year-old English center-back currently plying his trade at Toulouse in Ligue 1. The Hammers have already wrapped up deals for Pablo Felipe and are close to finalizing Taty Castellanos up front, but the defense remains a gaping wound that needs stitching.
Why Cresswell makes sense for West Ham
Cresswell isn't a flashy name, and that's precisely why this move could work. The Leeds academy product has been quietly impressive in France, demonstrating the kind of defensive positioning and aerial presence that West Ham desperately lack. At 23, he's past the raw prospect stage but still has his best years ahead. More importantly, he's English, which helps with homegrown quotas—a detail that matters more than fans realize when you're rebuilding a squad mid-season.
The problem? West Ham's recruitment over the past 18 months has been genuinely atrocious. They've spent money, sure, but on players who don't fit any coherent system. Adding Cresswell to a defense that's been shipping goals because of poor collective organization isn't a magic fix. Nuno needs bodies, but he also needs time to implement actual defensive structure. Whether he gets that time is another question entirely.
West Ham are also clearing house, moving on Luis Guilherme and other peripheral figures. It's the kind of squad trimming that should have happened in the summer, but here we are in January, scrambling.
Fulham's €20M play for Arthur Atta
Over at Craven Cottage, Marco Silva has identified his target: Arthur Atta, the 22-year-old French midfielder who's been a revelation at Udinese. According to Fabrizio Romano, Fulham have already submitted a €20 million bid, which Udinese promptly rejected. The Italian club has zero intention of selling mid-season, and honestly, can you blame them?
Atta came through the Rennes and Metz academies before landing in Italy, where he's established himself as a legitimate Serie A starter. This season, he's racked up 13 appearances with a goal and two assists before a December injury slowed him down. His numbers don't scream superstar, but watch him play and you see a midfielder who understands spacing, wins second balls, and doesn't panic in possession. Exactly what Fulham need.
The €20 million valuation is fair—probably even slightly below market rate given the Premier League tax. But Udinese know they hold the cards here. Selling Atta now would leave them exposed for the second half of the season with no time to find a replacement. Expect Fulham to come back with a higher offer, and expect Udinese to keep saying no until summer.
The bigger picture
What we're seeing is Premier League clubs finally recognizing that Ligue 1 and Serie A are genuine talent pools, not just retirement leagues or stepping stones. Cresswell and Atta represent different profiles—one a defender who needed a move abroad to get minutes, the other a creative midfielder who developed outside the English system entirely—but both prove the same point: there's quality outside the usual suspects.
Will these deals happen? Cresswell to West Ham feels more likely, given the Hammers' urgent need and Toulouse's general willingness to sell at the right price. Atta to Fulham probably waits until summer unless Silva convinces ownership to break the bank.
Either way, January continues to deliver exactly what it always does: hope dressed up as transfer activity.
