A few hours before the closing of the January market, set for Tuesday at 11:00 p.m. in Ligue 1, time is running out for PSG, mired in a worrying spiral and eager to attract one or two recruits, in attack as in defense, before finding the Champions League in mid-February.

And the clock is also ticking for OM, which has already strengthened its team but is still waiting for a licensed scorer after having notably missed Terem Moffi (Lorient), expected in Nice.

In Ligue 1, the clubs experienced this period of change at several speeds: PSG, constrained by financial fair play, did the bare minimum, when Lyon proved to be omnipresent and OM recorded two striking arrivals, attracting the Ukrainian Ruslan Malinovskyi and the Moroccan revelation Azzedine Ounahi.

Two weeks before its crucial round of 16 first leg of the Champions League against Bayern Munich (February 14), will Paris manage to save its transfer window?

So far, the L1 leader has only sold the Spaniard Pablo Sarabia to Wolverhampton … But in terms of arrivals, it's nothing.

With its football adviser Luis Campos, PSG inquired about the promise of Lyon Rayan Cherki (19), but OL did not follow up.

In defense, Milan Skriniar, the Slovak from Inter Milan, is targeted, like last summer.

Free at the end of the season or for a paid transfer on Tuesday?

"We want reinforcements," says Galtier

"The club is working on the arrival of at least one player. There are significant constraints with financial fair play. We want reinforcements," said coach Christophe Galtier on Sunday after the draw against Reims (1- 1).

Costa Rican goalkeeper Paris SG Keylor Navas during a training session on January 18, 2023 in Doha © Mahmoud HEFNAWY / AFP/Archives

Another hot issue in Paris, the hypothesis of a departure of goalkeeper N.2 Keylor Navas, courted by Nottingham Forest, in the Premier League.

In Marseille, the supporters recorded with the arrival on loan with option to buy Malinovskyi (Atalanta Bergamo) and Moroccan Azzedine Ounahi (22), who dazzled the followers of the World Cup-2022.

But the eternal quest for the "great striker", a sea serpent of recent seasons, suffered a new setback, with the probable failure of negotiations to bring in Moffi (12 goals this season in L1), who gave his preference in Nice.

In addition to the departure of the Nigerian, estimated at around 25 million euros according to the press, Lorient made another nice capital gain by sending their winger Dango Ouattara to Bournemouth for more than 20 million euros.

Moroccan international Azzedine Ounahi during the match for 3rd place in the 2022 World Cup against Croatia, December 17, 2022 in Doha © Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP/Archives

The other hot spot of the hexagonal transfer window is located in Lyon, sad 9th in Ligue 1 which seeks to reshape its workforce.

Dejan Lovren, a former home, reinforced the defense, and the young Swede Amin Sarr came to garnish the attack.

OL are still awaiting the arrival on loan of a Brazilian winger, Jeffinho.

The Chelsea Frenzy

But the club of Jean-Michel Aulas has especially degreased.

Winger Tetê left for Leicester, Karl Toko Ekambi joined Rennes, Romain Faivre was loaned to Lorient, Jeff Reine-Adélaïde to Troyes and promising full-back Malo Gusto agreed to Chelsea for 35 million euros.

The latter remains on loan in the Rhône until the end of the season.

But the most expensive transfer of the winter is to the credit of Monaco, which recovered nearly 40 million euros from Chelsea for the defender of Monaco and the Blues Benoit Badiashile.

Chelsea's French defender Benoit Badiashile (L) battles for the ball with Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah during a Premier League match on January 21, 2023 in Liverpool © Paul ELLIS / AFP/ Archives

It is the symbol of the spending frenzy of the London club, a major animator of this January transfer window with more than 200 M EUR spent, in particular to steal Ukrainian striker Mykhailo Mudryk under the nose and beard of Arsenal (100 M EUR ).

And the last day could still be lively for the Blues, who covet Argentinian midfielder Enzo Fernandez (Benfica), while the rest of the big European clubs were parsimonious in January, like Manchester City, Real Madrid or Manchester United, which has not replaced its superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, left for a golden exile in the Saudi club of Al-Nassr.

© 2023 AFP