The summer window barely closed before the January storylines started writing themselves. David Ornstein has laid out the deals that came closest to happening — and why several of them aren't dead, just delayed.
His pick for the most active club come January? Everton. David Moyes is in the final year of his contract, the squad needs depth, and the manager will want ammunition. That combination rarely stays quiet for long.
Camara, Kone, and what Liverpool actually did
The Lamine Camara situation is worth unpicking. Chelsea got agonisingly close — the deal collapsed specifically because of the Folarin Balogun complication, not because of any outside interference. Reports that Liverpool deliberately derailed Chelsea's move? Ornstein is flat: nobody involved in the deal — not Monaco, not Chelsea, not Liverpool — has raised it with him. He's not buying it.
What is real: Liverpool do have genuine interest in Camara. It was contingent interest — they'd only move if Alexis Mac Allister left — but the interest existed. Manu Kone from Roma is another name on their radar. He came within a whisker of joining Chelsea before they pivoted to Camara, and Manchester United were looking at him heavily too. If Roma are fighting for European spots come January, their willingness to sell a key midfielder becomes a lot more complicated. If they're not, the picture changes fast.
Yankuba Minteh won't be fit until October or November. Liverpool pushed for him. Brighton, being Brighton, were apparently open at the right price. That one could resurface. Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr seemed to want out — Galatasaray first, then Liverpool caught his eye — and Jean-Philippe Mateta's relationship with Palace has looked strained for a while. Neither situation feels resolved.
Bournemouth's plan is hiding in plain sight
Marco Rose effectively confirmed the roadmap on TV before the Newcastle game: everyone stays this season, Bournemouth chase Europe, then the trading begins. They're not even pretending otherwise.
The players to watch:
- Alex Scott — Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United all looked this summer. Bournemouth said no to all of them. He's under contract until 2028, and they're banking on his value rising further. A release clause on a new deal could be the mechanism that finally moves him.
- Rayan — a £130m release clause activates next summer. Bournemouth aren't expecting to sell him for under £100m. Full stop.
- Junior Kroupi — another one flagged as a future exit, less discussed than the others.
- Adrien Truffert — this is the name Ornstein says nobody's talking about yet. He's 25 in November, plays left-back, and fits a profile several top clubs haven't filled. Manchester United looked at left-back options all summer. Chelsea bought Pep Chavarria. But Truffert at around £60m next summer is a deal Ornstein thinks is genuinely in the offing.
Liverpool already sorted their left-back issue by taking Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth last summer, so they're out of that race. But the rest of the top flight should be paying attention — Bournemouth have built a machine that sells players at peak value and keeps getting better. The exits haven't hurt them yet. There's no reason to think the next wave will either.
Financial compliance is a quiet pressure point underneath all of this. Bournemouth are currently just about meeting Premier League requirements, with UEFA obligations potentially tighter. The summer sales aren't just good business — they're probably necessary to stay on the right side of the rules. Which means the £100m+ exits are coming. The only question is who blinks first.
