La Liga

LaLiga transfers – Every club’s winter window assessed

By Admin / February 4, 2025

la liga transfers - 2025 January window

The winter window has shut for the 2024/25 season in Spain and most of Europe’s major leagues. It was a quiet month in terms of LaLiga transfers at the top of the table, with none of the three title contenders adding any new players to their squads.

Just over €26m was spent by LaLiga clubs on transfer fees this window. That works out at only around 6% of the reported January transfer spend in the Premier League, and the €13m signing of Cucho Hernandez by Real Betis accounted for nearly half of LaLiga’s total.

However, this was not a window that saw many Spanish clubs lose key players. The biggest departures in monetary terms were both deals involving ambitious Serie A outfit Como. They signed Celta Vigo’s back-up forward Tasos Douvikas for €13m, as well as young Betis winger Assane Diao in a €12m deal. 

No other player departed LaLiga for more than €6m, with all fees according to transfermarkt.

LaLiga transfers – Every arrival in the winter window

Date Player To From Fee
03/02/2025 BORNA BARISIC Leganes Trabzonspor Loan
03/02/2025 DUK Leganes Aberdeen €700k
03/02/2025 CUCHO HERNANDEZ Real Betis Columbus Crew €13m
03/02/2025 FLORIAN GRILLITSCH Real Valladolid Hoffenheim Loan
03/02/2025 RAMON TERRATS Getafe Villarreal Loan
03/02/2025 ANTONIO CANDELA Real Valladolid Venezia Loan
03/02/2025 JUAN BERNAT Getafe Villarreal Free
03/02/2025 IVAN JAIME Valencia Porto Loan
03/02/2025 CARLES ALEÑA Alaves Getafe Loan
03/02/2025 STEFAN BAJCETIC Las Palmas Liverpool Loan
03/02/2025 ARTHUR Girona Juventus Loan
03/02/2025 TAJON BUCHANAN Villarreal Inter €1m Loan
02/02/2025 MAROAN SANNADI Athletic Club Alaves €3m
01/02/2025 PAU CABANES Alaves Villarreal B Loan
31/01/2025 TAMAS NIKITSCHER Real Valladolid Kecskemeti €1m
31/01/2025 JUANMI Getafe Real Betis Loan
31/01/2025 JOSEPH AIDOO Real Valladolid Celta Vigo Loan
31/01/2025 IKER LOSADA Celta Vigo Real Betis Loan
31/01/2025 AKOR ADAMS Sevilla Montpellier €5.5m
31/01/2025 ANTONY Real Betis Man Utd Loan
25/01/2025 URKO GONZALEZ DE ZARATE Espanyol Real Sociedad Loan
24/01/2025 ANDY PELMARD Las Palmas Clermont Loan
17/01/2025 ROBERTO FERNANDEZ Espanyol Braga Loan
16/01/2025 MAX AARONS Valencia Bournemouth Loan
10/01/2025 PABLO RAMON Espanyol Real Madrid Castilla Free
10/01/2025 RUBEN VARGAS Sevilla Augsburg €2.5m
10/01/2025 FACUNDO GARCES Alaves Colon Free
07/01/2025 UMAR SADIQ Valencia Real Sociedad Loan

Every club’s window assessed

Real Madrid

The current leaders didn’t do any January business, in keeping with their policy in recent years of not being active in the winter. Despite some significant injuries, they resisted the urge to spend last January and still ended up winning LaLiga and the Champions League.

However, it feels like a much bigger gamble this year, and their reluctance to just bite the bullet and bring in a centre-back or a right-back, or perhaps even both, is a decision they may live to regret with a busy second half of the season ahead.

Atletico Madrid

With a squad that is already perhaps the deepest in Spain, and few injuries, there was little need for Atleti to spend and there were no arrivals or departures. Diego Simeone will be happy to keep going with the players he has.

Barcelona

January started with the furore around Dani Olmo and Pau Victor who were both unregistered and unavailable for selection at the start of the month. Barcelona pursued their legal options, and were ultimately able to register both. Assuming there are no twists in that tale before the summer, that alone made it a good January for Barca who didn’t make any changes to their squad, although Alex Valle did move on loan to Como.

Athletic Club

Athletic Club did make one move, with striker Maroan Sannadi arriving from neighbours Alaves to provide cover for Gorka Guruzeta. Los Leones paid €3m for his services, which feels like a lot for a 24-year-old who was playing third-tier football for nearby Barakaldo in the first half of this season.

They’ve also allowed veteran midfielder Ander Herrera to join Boca Juniors, while youngsters Nico Serrano, Alex Padilla and Javi Marton have departed on loan.

Villarreal

With no cup distractions, Villarreal only have 16 games left to play this season, and they’ve trimmed their squad slightly with Juan Bernat and Ramon Terrats moving to Getafe.

Tajon Buchanan is the only new arrival, following on from a much busier summer at the Estadi Ceramica. The Canadian feels like a solid loan addition on the right flank, to fill the void that was created by an ACL injury for Ilias Akhomach. Holding on to Juan Foyth, despite Premier League interest, was also a positive.

Rayo Vallecano

Currently riding high in 6th, Rayo are making a surprise European push under Iñigo Perez. The only activity in Vallecas this month was the departure of James Rodriguez who joined Mexican side Club Leon on a free transfer. The Colombian never looked like breaking into Perez’s team, so it’s not an exit that should have any impact on the remainder of the campaign.

Their problems up front remain though, with Raul De Tomas still at the club but not playing, and Sergio Camello still struggling for goals. A more ambitious club might have looked to sign a striker.

Girona

Out of the Champions League and out of the Copa del Rey, Girona now have quite a large squad for the number of matches they have left.

However, it has just been a case of one in and one out at Montilivi, with back-up keeper Pau Lopez departing, while former Barcelona midfielder Arthur Melo is an eye-catching addition on loan from Juventus. He once changed hands for €80m, and while that was a vastly inflated figure for the now 28-year-old, he could be a good fit for Michel’s team.

la liga transfers - 2025 January window
Arthur playing for Juventus | Photo credit: depositphotos.com

Osasuna

Also in the conversation when it comes to possible European qualification, Osasuna opted against adding any new players. Vicente Moreno has a fully fit squad and quite a settled XI, that has just been boosted by the return to fitness of Bayern Munich loanee Bryan Zaragoza. They have let a few fringe players depart, but nothing that should significantly weaken the Pamplona-based side.

Mallorca

Three straight defeats have seen Mallorca slip down to mid-table. They’ll have a fresh defensive option in the second half of the season, with 21-year-old David Lopez returning from a loan at Burgos. They have let fellow centre-back Siebe Van der Heyden depart on loan to St. Pauli, while youngsters Javi Llabres and Daniel Luna have also moved to Segunda Division teams on loan.

In terms of Mallorca’s best XI, little has changed though, so Jagoba Arrasate will be hoping his existing players can rediscover that winning feeling.

Real Betis

It was another busy window at the Benito Villamarin and Betis fans may be left with mixed feelings again. The departure of first choice keeper Rui Silva, and the failure to land long-term target Alvaro Valles in January, feels like a mistake for a team that will also be targeting Conference League glory in the second half of the campaign.

There’ll also be some frustration at losing another promising youngster, although the money was good for 19-year-old Assane Diao. They have at least significantly bolstered the attack, although it’s hard to know exactly what to expect from Antony after a miserable spell in Manchester. The same could be said of their new €13m striker Cucho Hernandez who was prolific in MLS, but less so during his previous spells in LaLiga.

Real Sociedad

There were no new additions at the Reale Arena, but crucially, La Real did hold onto Martin Zubimendi, with fresh speculation linking the midfielder with a Premier League move. The 26-year-old may still leave in the summer, potentially to Real Madrid rather than England, but for now at least, Imanol can focus on trying to get this current team moving in the right direction with the same tools to work with.

With their current form poor and two cup competitions to target, the Basques could perhaps have done with one or two new faces just to lift the mood slightly, during what may be the rockiest period in the long reign of the Real Sociedad boss.

Sevilla

One of the more active clubs in Spain during the 2025 winter window, Sevilla have bolstered their attacking options with the signings of forward Akor Adams from Montpellier, and winger Ruben Vargas from Augsburg. The latter has already slotted straight into the team, making four appearances, while Adams will provide the main competition for Isaac Romero up top, with Kelechi Iheanacho having moved on loan to Middlesbrough.

Overall, Sevilla will be pretty content with their January business, with €4.5m raised by the sale of Gonzalo Montiel to River Plate. There’ll be a big hole in the dressing room though, following the retirement of club legend Jesus Navas.

Celta Vigo

Celta will feel as though they’ve done great business by bringing in €13m for Tasos Douvikas, a player who only made 13 starts in LaLiga during his 18 months at the club. They also sold MLS-bound Jonathan Bamba for €3.5m, while Luca de la Torre and Joseph Aidoo have been allowed to leave on loan.

Fans of the Galician club might have liked to have seen a bit more business on the arrivals side, with Betis forward Iker Losada the only addition on loan. On the surface, their squad is weaker now than it was at the end of 2024, but their balance sheet will certainly be in better shape.

Getafe

Three came in and only one departed at Getafe, with Carles Aleña making the loan switch to relegation rivals Alaves. Pepe Bordalas will be happy to have a few more bodies to work with though. Juanmi and Juan Bernat bring plenty of experience, while Ramon Terrats is a useful addition in midfield. Overall, Getafe look in better shape now than at the start of the season, when there were some significant holes in their squad.

Las Palmas

After a brilliant start under Diego Martinez, Las Palmas have hit the wall again, with just one point from their last four games reigniting relegation fears. They’ve not lost anyone they’d have desperately wanted to keep, and have made a couple of signings in what feels like a pretty good window for the Canarians.

Andy Pelmard will provide competition for Viti Rozada at right-back, while the loan signing of Stefan Bajcetic from Liverpool is an intriguing one. The Vigo-born 20-year-old is clearly a talent and he’s set for his first taste of life in the Spanish top flight.

Leganes

After an unsuccessful loan spell, Leganes allowed Sebastien Haller to return to Borussia Dortmund. While not an outright replacement, the capture of Duk from Aberdeen is the main attacking addition. He scored 16 goals in the 2022/23 Scottish Premiership, but Leganes fans might be alarmed to note that he hasn’t netted in the league since then.

Left-back Borna Barisic has also arrived on loan from Trabzonspor, but it hasn’t been a transformational window for the South Madrid club.

Espanyol

As was the case in the summer, Espanyol have been forced to rely largely on the loan market, but they do look to have upgraded their attacking options by bringing Roberto Fernandez in from Braga, while Irvin Cardona’s loan has ended.

Roberto has already made one big contribution, netting the winner in the key relegation six-pointer against Real Valladolid. Urko Gonzalez de Zarate and Pablo Roman have also arrived from Real Sociedad and Real Madrid respectively. The former looks capable of competing for a midfield role, so overall it has been a positive window for the Catalans who stunned Los Blancos at the weekend in LaLiga.

Alaves

Following the appointment of Chacho Coudet late last year, Alaves have only managed to win one match, and they were one of the clubs in need of some fresh blood. Carles Aleña is the most notable new face at the Estadio de Mendizorroza, although he struggled to make much impact at parent club Getafe. They’ve also added young forward Pau Cabanes on loan from Villarreal, while Facundo Garces is a fresh option at centre-back having moved from Colon.

Those all feel like squad players, as opposed to season-altering signings though, and Alaves fans may wonder why the €5.5m raised by the sales of Stoichkov and Maroan Sannadi has not been reinvested in a team that now sits in the relegation zone.

Valencia

Another struggling club under new management is Valencia. They’ve not made any permanent signings, but the loan additions of Umar Sadiq, Max Aarons and Ivan Jaime are certainly welcome ones. All three could potentially compete for a starting role, and overall Carlos Corberan’s squad looks in better shape than it did at the start of the month. Back-to-back home wins have also improved the move slightly at Mestalla, but Los Che remain in deep trouble.

Real Valladolid

In terms of the number of players coming and going, bottom club Real Valladolid have been the most active in LaLiga over the past month. They’ve added three new defenders with Adam Aznou, Antonio Candela and Joseph Aidoo joining on loan. In midfield, Florian Grillitsch and Tamas Nikitscher are fresh options.

However, any excitement over the new additions, and in truth there isn’t much, is tempered by the loss of promising young centre-back Juma Bah who enraged the club by paying his own buyout clause to join Man City. Kike Perez has also departed for Venezia, while reports suggest regular left-back Lucas Rosa is on the brink of completing a move to Ajax, with the Dutch window still open.

Real Valladolid looked to be heading for relegation heading into the window, and they look pretty much doomed to their fate after an unimpressive month on and off the pitch.

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