The EFL January transfer window has now closed and the Welsh clubs in the football league have had a busy window. I’ll be rating and summarising the business conducted by the four Welsh sides.
With the window shut clubs can now concentrate on the rest of their seasons which Cardiff City and Swansea City will want to do as they aim to move away from the Championship drop-zone. Newport County will also want to push on so they are in no danger of relegation to the National League. As for Wrexham, they’ll be hoping their window can help them gain automatic promotion to the Championship.
Let’s have a look at the incomings and outgoings from the Welsh clubs in the EFL.
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Cardiff City
Starting with the Bluebirds, they came into the window needing to move players on as they already had a 25 man squad. Cardiff sent Japanese defender Ryotaro Tsunoda out on loan to Belgian Pro League side KV Kortrijk and Kion Etete to Bolton Wanderers until the end of the season, though the forward did sign a two-year contract extension before leaving.
Wilfried Kanga returned to Hertha Berlin after his unsuccessful loan spell was cut short. During the Ivorian’s time at the club Cardiff boss Omer Riza said he “needed to see more” from the forward who went on to play 16 times, scoring no goals. Since leaving, he has now signed for Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb. Roko Simic was also recalled from his loan at KV Kortrijk. A deadline day move for youngster Michael Reindorf saw him move across the River Severn and join Bristol Rovers until the end of the season.
Cardiff did make some permanent sales as youngster Malachi Fagan-Walcott joined York City and Greek International Manolis Siopsis left the club and returned to his homeland, signing for Panathinaikos.
Moving on from departures, the Bluebirds were busy with incomings. The first signing was striker Yousef Salech who joined from Swedish side IK Sirius for a reported £3.5 million, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal. He has featured four times since joining and has already opened his account for Cardiff when he scored a last minute equaliser away at Millwall. Cardiff also announced the loan signing of Ajax midfielder Sivert Mannsverk who joins until the end of the season.
They had time to bring in one more player as Leicester City midfielder Will Alves joined the club on deadline day. The 19 year-old will be on loan at Cardiff for the remainder of the season.
Looking at Cardiff’s window as a whole, they have done well to bring in players who provide quality. They are players the new manager clearly wanted and they moved on players that potentially didn’t suit Riza and his playing style. However I do think they should have brought in a few more to add depth as they have struggled with injuries this season.
Rating: 6
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Swansea City
Now moving on to the Swans and the January window was a tough one for them as they lost club captain Matt Grimes to fellow Championship side Coventry City. Having been at Swansea for 10 years, featuring 333 times during that period it came as a surprise when he departed. It was reported that the club received a fee of around £4 million for the midfielder.
Swansea also sold Azeem Abdulai to League One side Leyton Orient. Nelson Abbey returned to Greek side Olympiacos after his loan was terminated and Nathan Broome, Josh Thomas and Andy Fisher all left the club on loan in search of game time.
The Swans did managed to bring in a few players. Hannes Delcroix joined on loan from Burnley and Melker Widell joined on a permanent deal but has returned to Aalborg BK on loan for the rest of the season. There was a deadline day signing as they brought in Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien for the remainder of the season. The club were linked with many players in the lead up to deadline day with the likes of Manchester City’s Jacob Wright and RB Salzburg’s Bobby Clark tipped to join on loan, however neither of those deals materialised.
With the loss of Grimes, it could be a tough end to the season for Luke Williams’s side. If they had brought in the likes of Wright and Clark then it would have been a better window, but with only bringing in three players and loaning one of them back out, the business they did was underwhelming.
Rating: 3
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Wrexham A.F.C
The January window was a key one for the north Wales side as they needed to bring in players to help with their promotion push. Before going onto incomings lets focus on the players who left the club in the winter window.
Billy Waters went on a free transfer, joining Oldham Athletic. Both James Jones and Jón Daði Böðvarsson joined fellow League One side Burton Albion and 18 year-old Callum Edwards joined Cymru Premier side Bala Town on loan until the end of the season. Deadline day saw multiple players leave the club. James Rainbird joined Cymru Premier side Newtown on loan and Aaron James left the club to join Warrington Town for the remainder of the season. The last departure was Anthony Forde who left the club by mutual consent.
Now moving onto arrivals and it was a very ambitious window from the Red Dragons. Hull City winger Ryan Longman joined permanently. There was a need to bring in forward players and that’s exactly what they did. Reading striker Sam Smith signed for a reported £2 million. Smith has already scored 11 goals this season in League One.
The biggest signing of the window for Wrexham was a very ambitious one as they brought in the very experienced forward, Jay Rodríguez. The 35 year-old has played for the likes of Southampton and West Bromwich Albion, as well as previously playing in the Premier League.
It was a very good window for the Red Dragons, they brought players in at the top end of the pitch which was a necessity and they’ll be hoping they can push on and gain their third successive promotion.
Rating: 7
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Newport County
It was also a very important window for Newport but for very different reasons. The Exiles currently sit 19th in League Two being only seven points above the relegation zone. There were lots of departures from the club so lets have a look at who left.
Bryn Morris joined fellow League Two side Harrogate Town permanently. Hamzad Kargbo joined National League South side Chippenham Town until the end of the season. Cymru Premier side Briton Ferry Llansawel managed to bring 18 year-old Nelson Sanca from Newport. 19 year-old Kiban Rai joined Merthyr Town for the remainder of the season and Josh Seberry moved to National League South side Weston-Super-Mare on loan until the end of the campaign. Also, Newcastle United midfielder Jamie Miley was recalled by the Premier League side ending his loan at the Exiles.
It was busy in the arrival area as eight players came in during the January window. Free agent goalkeeper Lewis Webb joined, Peterborough winger David Ajiboye was loaned in and will remain until the end of the season. Cardiff City defender Tom Davies made the switch on a permanent deal, but he has been ruled out until the end of the season through injury.
Josh Martin signed from Notts County and Jaden Warner moved from Norwich City. Both were permanent deals. There was a deadline day signing as Barry Town midfielder Keenan Patten joined the League Two side. It wasn’t a signing but an important player in Kyle Hudlin saw his loan deal at the Exiles extended until the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
As mentioned, it was a key window for Newport and I think they have done well to strengthen in all areas and Head Coach Nelson Jardim felt the same as he spoke on their business before the deadline, saying: “We are quite happy with everything we’ve done. We’ve got different solutions for different positions.” However it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to avoid relegation to the National League.
Rating: 6
Overall, it was a busy window for the Welsh sides. Cardiff recruited well in their first transfer window under Omer Riza and will want to move away from the relegation zone. Wrexham brought in some experienced players and will be hoping to find themselves in the automatic promotion spots come May. Newport will need their signings to make an impact so they steer clear of the drop and I think out of the four teams, Swansea had the most disappointing window as they lost their captain and could have a nervy end to the season.
