9 under-the-radar January transfers you might have missed: Phillips, Werner, Insigne… | OneFootball

The Jean Philippe Mateta and Jorgen Strand Larsen transfer sagas have dominated in the headlines in the final days of this January transfer window, but which moves came and went with relatively little fanfare?

Not every deal in January comes with wall-to-wall coverage and deadline-day drama. Look past the biggest talking points, and you’ll find a clutch of interesting deals that barely made a ripple.

We’ve highlighted nine transfers from across world football from the final days of the January window that you might have missed.

Neal Maupay

Be honest, you’d forgotten where the greatest sh*thouse of our times is nowadays, hadn’t you?

That might be because he’s played a grand total of one minute in Ligue 1 for Marseille in 2025-26 so far, after last season’s loan from Everton was turned into a permanent deal.

The French forward was also left out of their Champions League squad by Roberto De Zerbi.

Maupay will spend the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign out on loan at Sevilla. Pure Football Manager. Where’s the imagination?

Kendry Paez

The much-hyped Ecuadorian teenager officially joined Chelsea last summer, two years after the move from Independiente del Valle (the modest club that produced Moises Caicedo, Willian Pacho and Piero Hincapie) was first agreed.

He spent the first half of this season getting acquainted with European football under Liam Rosenior at Strasbourg, but the majority of his appearances were brief substitute cameos.

Rather than return to his parent club and continue working under Rosenior, the 18-year-old winger has returned to South America and joined Argentinian giants River Plate.

A wise move as we approach the World Cup. Ecuador look solid defensively, but getting one of their better forwards playing regularly and back in form prove vital for the dark horses’ chances of going deep.

Kieron Bowie

Another one to watch ahead of the World Cup, Bowie has made a £6million move to Hellas Verona – a club-record sale for Hibernian.

“I’ve had 18 months at Hibs now and I’ve done extremely well there. They’ve done well for me so I think for all parties it’s good,” Bowie said.

“Italy appeals, there’s obviously a lot of people from Scotland who have gone there and have done well.

“It opens a lot of opportunities for myself and my family which is the main thing.”

We’ll be keeping tabs on the 23-year-old forward. Going to Italy didn’t work out badly for fellow Scots Lewis Ferguson, Scott McTominay and Aaron Hickey.

Lorenzo Insigne

Technically not a transfer, this one, as Insigne has spent the last six months not doing much after being released by Toronto.

The former Italy international and Napoli cult hero’s move to the MLS club was a bit of a disaster, but he has a proven track record in Italy.

He’s just returned to Serie B outfit Pescara, where he originally caught the eye as a youngster on loan from Napoli.

Back in 2011-12, he helped fire the Dolphins to promotion with 18 goals, starring in a memorable side alongside Ciro Immobile and Marco Verratti.

Now at the other end of his career, age 34, Immobile will be looking to work his magic again.

Except this time, they’re not chasing promotion, but fighting for their survival – they’re currently rock bottom of the Italian second tier, six points adrift of safety.

Timo Werner

Another once-prolific fan favourite who lost his way, RB Leipzig’s all-time record goalscorer is leaving Germany to take on a new challenge in MLS with San Jose Earthquakes.

It’s funny to think how he added a Europa League winner’s medal to his Champions League winner’s medal at Chelsea, given how distinctly underwhelming the latter half of his career has been.

He’s averaged just four league goals a season since joining Chelsea with a genuinely glittering reputation six years ago. And he’s still not yet 30.

We don’t know why, but we kind of root for Timo. Let’s hope he can find his shooting boots out in California.

Paddy McNair

A player we’ll forever associate with David Moyes-era Manchester United and Sunderland’s tumble down the English football pyramid.

But after some chastening experiences in his early years, McNair went on to establish himself as a decent, dependable Championship footballer over six years at Middlesbrough. He made over 200 appearances for the club.

After a so-so spell out in the United States with San Diego FC, and a totally forgettable loan at West Brom, the experienced Northern Ireland international is now back in the second tier after signing for promotion-chasing upstarts Hull City.

Ciro Immobile

After beating the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the European Golden Shoe in 2019-20 with Lazio, Immobile has once again become something of a journeyman as he winds down his career.

Following a decent year with Besiktas, Immobile returned to Serie A, signing for Bologna, but he’s barely featured this season.

Now he’s on the move again, with a mid-season switch to Ligue 1’s newly-promoted upstarts Paris FC.

The 35-year-old now only needs a stint in the Premier League to follow in the footsteps of Justin Kluivert and Stefan Jovetic in playing in each of Europe’s five major leagues. We can but dream.

Tom Watson

After scoring the goal that sent Sunderland up in last season’s play-off final, the 19-year-old prospect has returned to the Championship.

He struggled for regular minutes following his summer move to Brighton and has now joined Millwall on loan for the remainder of the campaign.

Watson is set to reunite with his old team-mate Anthony Patterson, the ‘keeper who has joined on loan from Sunderland, while second-tier stalwart Barry Bannan has made the switch from beleaguered Sheffield Wednesday.

Alex Neil’s promotion-chasers are assembling something of a Championship all-stars team. They’ll make for interesting viewing in the months ahead.

Kalvin Phillips

Phillips being named England’s Player of the Year after playing a key role in the run to the Euro 2020 final feels like a long time ago, doesn’t it?

It’s been an injury-hit season at Leeds, the most peripheral of roles in Man City’s treble-winning campaign, a freeze-out by Pep Guardiola, a disastrous loan to West Ham and a not-quite-as-disastrous-but-still-distinctly-underwhelming loan at relegation-bound Ipswich since then.

After half a season kicking his feet back at his parent club, another loan awaits.

The midfielder will spend the remainder of the 2025-26 at Sheffield United, where he’ll reunite with old Leeds pals Patrick Bamford, Jamie Shackleton and Leo Hjelde, who also arrived on a deadline day loan.