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The new Omicron strain of Covid may significantly alter clubs transfer plans.
Normally there would be significant outward movement from big clubs as they look to get high earners who are not getting regular game time of their books, or as they look to give talented youngsters the opportunity to play first team football somewhere on loan in the second part of the season.
However, faced with the prospect of losing key members of their squads for several weeks at a time at a critical juncture of the season, clubs may instead choose to keep players, “hoarding” them just in case they are needed to fill unexpected gaps in the squad.
It may make January one of the quietest transfer windows on record, with one glaring exception. Newcastle United are likely to start flashing their new found cash around, having hired Nick Hammond as a temporary consultant to help with their recruitment process.
They are targeting, as a minimum, a new centre back, full back, and central midfield player.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.