Johan Lange discusses the January transfer window | OneFootball

Technical Director Johan Lange sits down with presenter Ben Haines to reflect on the January transfer window…

Ben: Johan, thank you for sitting down with us so quickly after the window closed. I think it's so good to be able to have this dialogue with fans and actually be able to let them in a little bit into the transfer window. I think their understanding is that the summer is where the bulk of deals get done and January is a very, very different window. With that in mind, could you give us a little bit of insight and your summary of how we got on over the course of the last month?

Johan: “Yes, firstly, this is always an issue I enjoy doing because I think this gives me and us a great opportunity to communicate directly with the fans around the transfer periods. I saw this window here as one of the quieter January windows across not only the Premier League, but across football in general. I think there were, including free transfers, 33 transfers across the Premier League. That is a result of especially the new format in Europe. Now we have clubs competing in either Champions League or Europa League during December and of course during the last part of January as well - 48 teams progressing further in the European competitions after the window. I think we saw that a little bit last year and I think we saw even more this year that have changed the dynamic a little bit of the January transfer window, with just less business is being done. Of course, a knock-on effect of the increased fixture schedule is also that not only us, but a number of clubs would say that they have too many injuries. That meant that there were simply not many available players across the whole marketplace during January.”

Ben: As you mentioned, there were a lot of injuries in January and we're definitely a club suffering with those at the moment. Can you give me an insight into how that affects your planning and how that changes things? I'm sure there'll be a number of fans that would have been hoping to see something potentially in light of the fact that we have so many players out.

Johan: “Yeah, of course, when we go into January, we didn't anticipate that we'll have seven injuries during the month of January. So, that of course changes things during the course of the window. It's very important, even though that is highly frustrating with all the injuries, to remain disciplined because, A, the players are coming back and, B, if you then, can you say, go in and make a stress purchase of any football players, then yes, the immediate feeling gives you is nice, but there's no point in signing players that have not helped us in the short term, in the medium term, or even in the long term. So, even though that is highly frustrating with all the injuries, the majority of the players will return this season here, hopefully a few very soon. It is important as a club to remain disciplined and make sure to do our best, our ability only to sign players that can generally help the team now or in the future.”

Ben: It's really interesting, even in the face of what we're going through at the moment with injuries, that you still have to maintain that discipline…

Johan: “Again, it's for a number of reasons. First, a lot of our injured players, they will return in this season here, hopefully a number of them quite shortly. There are also some limitations to how many players you can have in a squad to register them, but even though that our financial situation under the rules are better than most clubs, and we have owners who are very willing to invest, it is important that we are under those rules. So, it is important that we sign the right players. I think also Thomas has been quite clear on two players we wanted to bring in, but it wasn't a lack of willingness for the club to make the investment to support the team.”

Ben: Is it a case of perhaps there are not that many players of that level of quality available in this window, or is it a case of wanting to ensure that it's a long-term strategy?

Johan: “It's a bit of both, because we were very clear before the window that if there were players available that we were able to sign in this window that could help the team now, but of course also in the future, then we were ready to go. But when during the window you can see that some doors remain open, like, for instance, with Conor, some other doors close, then it's very important that you don't, can you say, force yourself in to make a stress purchases, because that normally doesn't end well for anyone.”

Ben: Can we talk a little bit about Conor? He is the epitome of what you mentioned, right? Ready now, comes straight into the team, has already had an impact. You can see that he's a great cultural fit too. What did you like about him? Can you tell us a little bit about his profile as well?

Johan: “Conor is a player that we have followed for a number of years. Obviously, he comes with a fantastic pedigree, his experience both with the Premier League, his period in La Liga have definitely also helped him to grow as a human being, as a player. Of course, he has played a number of times for England as well. So, he's a player that, of course, can come in and help us on the first day - his energy, his quality in midfield, his work rate, the way he can drive a team forward is something that I'm sure will help us. We've already seen that from day one. Then, of course, as a character, he's a fantastic human being. He's a leader. He has been captain earlier in his career and he's somebody that really will be an important voice in the dressing room this season and in many seasons to come."

Ben: Let's talk a little bit about Souza as well, and I want to broaden this out because it's been a part of the philosophy and part of the plan for a long time for you now to make sure that we're bringing in some of the best young players from around the world. Can you just tell us a little bit about Souza and what the plan is for him?

Johan: “Souza is a player we've followed for quite a long time in Brazil, in Santos, for the Brazilian youth national team. So, he's a player with a very high ceiling. Of course, it will take a period for him to adapt to English football, as it does for most players coming here, but again, a player with a very high potential and a player we're looking forward to develop in the years to come.”

Ben: I always think it's so interesting hearing about that pipeline and the way that we're managing talent. Can you tell us a little bit about the squad profile at the moment? Are you happy with the current profile of the squad and what we have at Thomas' disposal?

Johan: “Yeah, there's no hiding away, we have too many injuries at the moment. We have, you can say, over the last period here, brought in players who are more ready from day one. Obviously, Palhinha, big Premier League experience, Kudos, big Premier League experience, Kolo Muani experience for the highest level, Xavi, great experience for Champions League with Leipzig and now Conor coming in. So, we have, can you say, recruited players who can make an immediate impact in the team. Then we need to find the right balance because we also need to have players in the pipeline as well, and that is what you see in every club. It's a combination of buying players who are ready here now is buying those, can you say, younger players and then, of course, your own Academy players as well. If you take some of the first team starters now, Udogie came in and was on loan and Pape Sarr came in and was on loan and Lucas came in from Sweden… so it's something that we do at our club and it's something that all clubs do across the Premier League.”

Ben: Just finally, Johan, I'd love to get into the summer, because fans want to know what the strategy is, what we're potentially looking at in terms of the summer window and the types of players that you're looking for this summer...

Johan: “The summer market is where eight or nine out of 10 players, they move clubs, so we will go into the summer window with big ambitions of strengthening the team. We know there'll be more movements, we know there'll be more opportunities, so the plans are already, can you see, drawn up. We have a clear picture of which position and also which profiles. Could we have brought one or two more in this January window? We would have been delighted to do so. but that was not a possibility. So, we are looking forward to the summer, now we focus on the rest of the season and that is very, very important as well because we have big objectives. We're still in the Champions League. We want to, of course, be higher in the Premier League and then myself and others will have our eyes already now directed towards the summer transfer window.”