Deadline Day Live: Breaking down all the major transfers and rumors

The January transfer window for many of Europe's top leagues closes at 2 p.m. ET today - La Liga clubs have until 5:59 p.m. to complete their business. Follow along all day as we dissect the biggest deals and rumors.

The Latest 📌

• Liverpool win Jacquet race
• Milan medical for Mateta
• Palace to sign Strand Larsen
• Atletico land Lookman
• Other deals to monitor

Liverpool bolster backline 💪

Liverpool to sign Jeremy Jacquet for £60M

On the surface, this is an obvious win for a Liverpool team dangerously short on center-back options.

Longtime unflappable stalwart Virgil van Dijk, now 34, is showing signs of decline, while Ibrahima Konate, the club's only other fit central defender right now, is an impending free agent. Things get real thin, real fast after that. Securing Jacquet, one of France's most promising and coveted defensive prospects, is a boon, especially since the Merseyside squad reportedly beat out a direct rival in Chelsea for the 20-year-old's signature.

But the young defender isn't expected to arrive at Anfield until the summer, with Liverpool agreeing to let him remain at Rennes for the rest of the season. Future-proofing the backline is great - Jacquet could eventually form a partnership with Italian teenager Giovanni Leoni - but it doesn't address the elephant in the room right now, which could absolutely come back to bite a team that's battling for a Champions League berth.

Liverpool reportedly explored a deal for versatile defender Lutsharel Geertruida, the Dutchman currently on loan at Sunderland from RB Leipzig, but the mechanics of getting all three clubs to agree to terms proved too complicated with time running out. That would've been precisely what Slot needed on deadline day; Geertruida can provide solid cover at both right- and center-back, where Liverpool's needs are most glaring. Alas.

Milan waiting on Mateta ⏳

AC Milan working to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta

The winter's most protracted saga is coming to an end. Apparently. Maybe.

Jean-Philippe Mateta continues to undergo medical tests after Crystal Palace and AC Milan reportedly agreed to terms on a deal worth over €30 million for the French striker. Mateta was seemingly close to joining Nottingham Forest earlier in the window, had a brief flirtation with Juventus, and has now landed on AC Milan as his preferred destination.

The Rossoneri have been searching - and failing - to find a suitable No. 9 for a few years now since the departure of Olivier Giroud, and Mateta looks like the best fit yet. The 28-year-old is a well-rounded striker who thrives on getting into dangerous scoring areas and connecting with passes into the penalty box from creative wide players. With Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic more than capable of providing precisely that kind of service, Mateta could be an immediate hit at the San Siro.

Milan look like the only team truly capable of challenging bitter city rivals Inter for the Scudetto this season. Mateta, if he settles quickly, can help keep Massimiliano Allegri's team in the hunt.

Palace's big overpay 🤦

Crystal Palace to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen for £48M

The winter window has been a nightmare for Crystal Palace. In addition to the exhausting ordeal outlined above involving their leading scorer, captain Marc Guehi left for Manchester City and manager Oliver Glasner announced that he's taking off at season's end. Woof.

And now, after all that, it seems like they're going to respond to the expected departure of Mateta by signing a player who has exactly one Premier League goal so far this season. And they're going to spend £48 million on him. What are we doing here, Eagles?

Sure, there are some mitigating factors at play. Wolves are, by some distance, the worst team in England's top flight; they're still in danger of setting an unwanted record for fewest points in a single Premier League campaign. So I'm not going to hold Strand Larsen solely responsible for his pitiful numbers on the campaign considering the situation he's been in.

But this feels like a huge overpay for an old-fashioned target man who, despite providing another big physical presence up front, is a much different striker to the one he's replacing. The Norwegian, 25, offers good holdup play and takes almost all of his shots from inside the penalty area, but he lacks the mobility of Mateta and ability to make the kind of runs behind defenders that can stretch the opposition and open up space for teammates.

Lookman finally leaves 👋

Atletico Madrid sign Ademola Lookman for €40M

Lookman's career has been a wild ride ever since his spectacular hat-trick in the 2024 Europa League final.

He clashed with Atalanta over apparent broken transfer promises, spent time on the outskirts of the team, came back and immediately looked like the squad's best player, and then endured a mediocre start to the current campaign that has seen him score only two Serie A goals in 2025-26.

Finally getting the type of marquee move he's long wanted, will he be reinvigorated and return to the kind of form that made him one of the game's more devastating wingers?

Atletico sure hope so.

Diego Simeone's squad lacks a winger who can consistently bamboozle defenders with one-one-one dribbling and create chances for teammates or finish on his own. At his best, Lookman offers all of that. With Julian Alvarez in a rut - the Argentine hasn't scored a league goal since November - Atleti need Lookman to provide an injection of electricity into a stagnant attack.

Other deals to watch 👀

There is plenty of unfinished business and just hours remaining in the window. Here are the other notable links we're following closely:

Have your say on the transfer window in the comments!

• Best move of the window so far?
• Who should your club sign today?
• Which deals will age the worst?