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We have finally reached January 2026 and to many football fans this means one thing, the winter transfer window is finally open. That means for the next more or less 31 days, clubs from around the world will be busy doing business to improve their squads to see out the rest of the 2025/2026 season. There are some clubs however who could not wait until January to get their respective deals done as they may feel they need their new signings as soon as the transfer window opens or for some players, they could not wait to move on from their respective clubs and on to their new challenges. Here is a list of deals that were already completed before the 2026 January Window even opened:
Sergio Reguilón to Inter Miami (15th December 2025)
The Spanish Left Back has been without a club since May 2025 when the then 28-year-old’s contract with Tottenham Hotspur expired as Reguilón had become surplus to requirements at the club following the appointment of then manager Ange Postecoglou. In fact, Sergio Reguilón was already out of favour at the club by 2021 when Antonio Conte was appointed as manager in November of that year which saw Reguilón go on multiple loan moves to Atlético Madrid, Manchester United and Brentford. Following the expiration of his contract, Reguilón spent the next few months of 2025 without a football club until October when MLS Club Inter Miami surprisingly approached the experienced fullback with a contract offer. Reguilón reportedly had multiple offers from LA Liga and even from an Iranian club however the Spanish International gave full priority to Inter Miami after negotiations and by December it was announced that Sergio Reguilón would be joining Inter Miami on a deal lasting until December 2027 with an option to extend for another year.
Takehiro Tomiyasu to Ajax (15th December 2025)
The 27-year-old defender not currently being an Arsenal player right now was a huge surprise to many fans as the Japanese defender has been one of Arsenal’s most versatile and reliable defenders. The former Arsenal defender had made 84 appearances in his 4 years at the North London club however the 2024/2025 season was not one to remember for Tomiyasu has it was riddled with injuries which may have played a factor in the club’s decision to move on from the Japanese international. Tomiyasu only made 1 Premier League appearance in the whole of last season and only played a total of 6 minutes in his substitute cameo appearance against Southampton in October 2024. In July 2025 Arsenal announced the departure of Takehiro Tomiyasu and since then Tomiyasu had been without a football club until December 2025 when reports surfaced saying that Dutch club Ajax were interested in signing the former Arsenal man on a short-term deal until June 2026. On December 15th 2025, multiple reports confirmed the finalisation of the deal and on December 16th Ajax officially announced the signing of Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Thiago Silva to FC Porto (20th December 2025)
Thiago Silva returning to Europe was not on many people’s bingo cards as the 41-year-old Brazilian legend was playing at his boyhood club, that introduced him to senior football, Fluminense. Many would think that Silva would see out his professional football career at the Brazilian club and retire there however the former PSG captain had other plans as it seems. Thiago Silva has played at many levels of Europe’s top flight football in his career having spent 3 years in Italy making a name for himself at AC Milan, spent most of his career in Ligue 1 as captain of PSG for 8 years, spent a brief 4 years in England playing for Chelsea and lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy before returning to Fluminense. Everything seemed like a fairytale ending however on December 15th 2025 multiple sources reported that Thiago Silva had ambitions to return to Europe and made himself available as soon as January 2026. Reports claim Silva wanted to move back to Europe to be closer to his family, meaning all other clubs from the Middle East or from the MLS had no chance of signing the Brazilian international. 3 days later, on December 18th it was officially confirmed that Thiago Silva was now a free agent and it did not take long for the announcement to come out 2 days after that Thiago Silva had signed with Portuguese club FC Porto going into 2026. A brand new chapter for the decorated centre back and his return to Europe might be seen a late push for the Brazil national team with the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon.
Virgilio Olaya to Bayern Munich (22nd December 2025)
A signing for the long-term future of Bayern Munich, many may not know who this player is however Bayern Munich are a very much aware of the talented young Ecuadorian Virgilio Olaya. The 17-year-old centre back was virtually an unknown name until December 4th 2025 when reports released stating that German Side Bayern Munich had agreed a deal with Ecuadorian side Sociedad Deportiva Aucas (SD Aucas) for the young talent. By December 22nd 2025 it was confirmed that Virgilio Olaya would be signing for Bayern Munich, normally with these kinds of deals we assume the young player would thrown into the club’s youth academy to develop however Bayern Munich had already made plans to loan out the player as soon the deal got over the line. One can assume now that the German club see Olaya as a talent that is too good to be playing at youth level so the idea would be send the player out on loan to continue their development.
Niclas Füllkrug to AC Milan (22nd December 2025)
A player who was not too long ago was a top striker name in Bundesliga as well as in Europe. Niclas Füllkrug in 2023 made the move to top German side Borussia Dortmund where the then 30-year-old striker had fantastic debut season scoring 15 goals and assisting 11 times in all competitions. That form was enough for Füllkrug to be called up to the German national side for the Euro 2024 where the striker made 5 appearances and scored 2 goals, 1 goal of which was an important stoppage time equaliser against Switzerland. Füllkrug’s form with Dortmund combined with his performances in the Euro 2024 earned the German quite a bit of attention and interest from several clubs in Europe. Niclas Füllkrug decided to join West Ham United in the Premier League and in hindsight, it seems like he made the wrong decision. The German international’s time in the Premier League could be summed up with injuries and only managing 3 goals and 2 assists in his 26 Premier League appearances for the club. During the current 2025/2026 season by November 2025 Füllkrug and West Ham had decided that his time at the football club was over and the now 32-year-old was already looking for other options in Europe. By December 20th it was reported that AC Milan were closing in on a loan deal for Niclas Füllkrug with an option to buy clause included and by December 22nd it was confirmed by sources that Füllkrug would join AC Milan in January 2026.
Endrick to Olympique Lyon (23rd December 2025)
The story of Endrick is of a player dealing with being a victim of circumstance as when the Brazilian teenage sensation signed with Real Madrid, it was seen as massive signing for the future of the club as Endrick was seen as having a bright future that Real Madrid wanted to capitalise on early. Endrick however was given a tough obstacle as at the same time he arrived, Kylian Mbappé had joined Real Madrid on a free from PSG and was expected to play as a striker for the club. You cannot really expect many minutes trying to compete with one of the best players in the world for a starting position at one of the biggest clubs in the world however Real Madrid and their newly appointed manager Xabi Alonso assured Endrick that he was important to the team for this current 2025/2026 season and even went as far as to award the young striker with the number 9 jersey. Things have not panned out as promised however as Endrick has only made 3 appearances for Real Madrid all season in all competitions and has yet to manage a single goal contribution this season. This is where Olympique Lyon come to the rescue as the French club came immediately knocking at Real Madrid’s door for the possibility to take Endrick on loan for the rest of the season. As soon as Real Madrid became open to the idea around October 2025, Lyon started negotiations and Endrick gave full priority to the French club and by December 23rd it was already confirmed by multiple sources that Endrick would be on loan at Olympique Lyon for the rest of this season with no buy clause.
Claudio Echeverri to Girona (23rd December 2025)
Claudio Echeverri’s loan to Girona is quite an interesting one considering how this season started for the young Manchester City attacking midfielder. In August 2025 Echeverri was announced as a loan signing for Bayer Leverkusen and was set to play under then manager at the time Erik Ten Hag however after an underwhelming start to life in Germany, Ten Hag was sacked after 3 games in charge and Claudio Echeverri did not receive much game time for the majority of his loan move. Following the lack of minutes, despite having Champions League football, Manchester City recalled Claudio Echeverri from his loan move in December 2025 and then opted to arrange a deal for Echeverri to go on loan to Man City’s sister club Girona. The young Argentine going from Germany to England to Spain in matter of days before the January transfer window even opened is quite the story.
Alysson to Aston Villa (31st December 2025)
Aston Villa is a club in recent times associated with financial constraints due to PSR rules so making signings has become a difficult topic for the Villains. However, it seems the club as now aimed to sign younger long-term solutions for fair fees, the first being Brazilian forward Alysson from Grêmio FBPA. The 19-year-old talent costed Villa around €12m and he seems to be a player to whom the club could not wait to get their hands on as this deal was quietly completed in December 2025 as early as the 10th as reported by journalists. It took nearly the whole month of December to get through all formalities before the deal became official in the 31st December and the club announcing the transfer on New Years Day.
Manor Solomon to Fiorentina (31st December 2025)
Similarly to the previously mentioned Manchester City youngster Claudio Echeverri, Tottenham Hotspur Player Manor Solomon fell into a similar situation where his initial loan move was cut short and the player had to find an alternative loan move for the rest of the season. On transfer deadline day Spanish club Villareal made a last-minute effort to sign the Israeli winger on loan before the Summer Transfer Window closed. The deal was completed in time and Solomon became a Villareal player for the 2025/2026 season however similarly to Claudio Echeverri, Solomon was not getting as much playing time as expected even though the winger has 5 G/A in 11 appearances for the club so Tottenham naturally cut the loan move short and looked for other alternative for the former Shakhtar Donetsk man. On December 31st 2025 it was reported that Solomon would be making the switch from Villareal to Italian side Fiorentina for the remainder of the current season. The 26-year-old had completed his medical on New Years Day and then was officially announced on the 2nd January 2026.
Pascal Groß to Brighton & Hove Albion (31st December 2025)
In July 2024 Pascal Groß made the move to the Bundesliga by joining Borussia Dortmund, this was somewhat of a homecoming for the German midfielder as he spent the early part of his career playing in Germany before making the move to the English Premier League by joining Brighton & Hove Albion back in 2017. Groß had an incredible run at Brighton scoring 32 goals and assisting 53 in 263 appearances for the club and the then 33-year-old was surely hoping to translate that form back to the Bundesliga when he made the move to Borussia Dortmund official. After 1 season at Dortmund, Pascal Groß contributed 15 goals and assists in 45 appearances for the club which is not a terrible return which is also why it so surprising that midway through the 2025/2026 season it was reported on the 31st December that the now 34-year-old midfielder would be making a return to the Premier League and reuniting with Brighton. There was no real drama or anything behind this move, it was just a seemingly random homecoming move for the Seagulls as their talisman midfielder returns to the club on deal that is valid until June 2027.
