Danny Welbeck to solve Manchester United’s striker crisis, anyone? Here are five stars who could return to their former Premier League clubs in January…
Douglas Luiz to Aston Villa
One of the summer’s more surprising deals saw Luiz leave Aston Villa as part of a cash-plus-player swap deal with Serie A giants Juventus.
The Brazil international’s value soared last season as he was one of the Premier League’s standout midfielders, though his exit was a necessary evil that enabled Aston Villa to – at the very last minute – avoid a points deduction for breaching Profit and Sustainability rules. In this case, the grass has not been greener for club or player.
Much is being made of Man City’s ongoing crisis, but Aston Villa are also going through a rough patch and are below even Manchester United in the calendar year table.
As for Luiz, Juventus are proving to be the right club at the wrong time as he’s made just two Serie A starts and been out of action for a month with a muscle injury.
A shock move to Man Utd has been mooted to save him from his nightmare spell at Juventus, but Villa president Monchi has opened the door to re-signing the 26-year-old: “After his farewell, we invested well, but I would always take Douglas back, for any club. He’s very strong.”
READ: Ten Premier League players who desperately need a January transfer
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Leicester City
Of the six Premier League stars regretting their summer transfer, Dewsbury-Hall is surely rueing his deal the hardest as he’s proved to be an entirely pointless signing for Chelsea.
The signing made sense on paper as Dewsbury-Hall was reuniting with former Leicester boss Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge, but he is clearly not an upgrade on England international Conor Gallagher, who is benefiting from working with Diego Simeone in a match made in gritty heaven.
After shining under Maresca to guide Leicester to the Championship title last season, Dewsbury-Hall has been reduced to being a Conference player for Chelsea and has only been on the pitch for 44 minutes in the Premier League.
There’s no doubting Dewsbury-Hall’s ability, but he would have been better off accepting Brighton instead of snubbing the Seagulls for Chelsea.
With this ideal transfer presumably off the table for now, Dewsbury-Hall could do worse than return to Leicester City on loan to earn some much-needed Premier League game time.
Chris Wood to Newcastle United
One of the pleasantly surprising elements of this curious season has been the emergence of unexpected names in the chasing pack for Erling Haaland’s Golden Boot crown, which will inevitably still be won by the Man City superstar.
One such contender is Nottingham Forest’s N0.11 as Wood is a beneficiary of Nuno Espirito Santo’s feel-good comeback story.
After netting 14 goals in his first full season at Forest, Wood has been freakishly clinical at the start of this campaign, scoring eight goals in his 12 matches.
Newcastle felt it necessary to offload Wood during the 2023 January transfer window after he slipped behind Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson in the pecking order, but circumstances have changed.
While Newcastle will be pleased that Isak has overcome a sluggish start to the 2024/25 campaign, the constant reports linking him with Arsenal will be concerning.
In an ideal world, Eddie Howe’s side would retain the Sweden international and build their team around the forward, but Wood would be a very able deputy.
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Liam Delap to Manchester City
Nothing has come close to topping Man City’s foolish decision to offload Cole Palmer; at least they were wise enough to include a buy-back clause in their deal with Ipswich Town for Delap.
Though this says a lot about Thomas Tuchel’s lack of options, 21-year-old Delap has rapidly emerged as England’s most obvious replacement for Harry Kane for Ipswich this season.
His impressive tally of six goals in 12 Premier League games tells its own story. But he’s proven there are more strings to his bow as an all-around striker and has already given Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa a torrid time.
Delap has fared better as an ever-present for Ipswich rather than playing second fiddle to Erling Haaland, but Man City are reportedly ‘plotting a sensational move’ to re-sign the Englishman as Guardiola is ‘demanding’ signings to halt their ongoing crisis.
READ: Five reasons Man City are absolutely rotten this season (and it’s not just Rodri)
Pedro Porro to Manchester City
While Man City have Haaland (which may not be for much longer if Barcelona gets their way), their transfer priorities lie away from the striking department.
Given the prolonged absence of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, it is not surprising to hear that the signing of a Liverpool target is the ‘absolute priority’. Still, a move to replace a past-it Kyle Walker should be another of Hugo Viana’s first missions as sporting director.
Walker has been on the decline for way over a year and matters were made worse at the weekend as Tottenham winger Timo Werner outthought and outpaced the speedy full-back with alarming ease for his side’s fourth goal at the Etihad.
Guardiola already has 20-year-old Rico Lewis, but it remains to be seen where the versatile youngster will land when he matures into a specialised position. Alternatively, Man City could repeat the Walker trick and raid Tottenham for Porro, who progressed through the ranks at the Etihad.
The Portugal international has elbowed Trent Alexander-Arnold out of our Premier League team of the season so far and Spurs could face a fight to keep him amid potential interest from Man City and further afield.
Danny Welbeck to Manchester United
Gary Neville doesn’t think Man Utd should have let Welbeck leave and the 34-year-old’s recent form suggests The Overlap supremo may be right.
United have been dire across the pitch for much of this season, but their biggest issues are in the striking department. Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have just four goals between them and Ruben Amorim’s side are nearly in the relegation zone for goals from open play this term.
Meanwhile, Welbeck is flourishing under Fabian Hurzeler (he’s 31, by the way) and has six goals in 12 Premier League appearances.
The veteran forward’s output has increased substantially this season, but he has consistently outperformed United’s current forwards since leaving the club.
While INEOS would likely be lambasted for re-signing Welbeck, this kind of short-term fix could be perfect for Amorim’s United as the pressure can be taken off their misfiring forwards before a big-name upgrade potentially arrives in the summer.
