Kolo Muani for Nkunku? Zirkzee for Luiz? Transfer swaps we’d like to see

The January transfer window is open and almost every club on the planet is in need of something. The problem? No one can afford to make any deals, seemingly.

Barcelona? So strapped for cash they’re embroiled in a legal battle to register their existing players. Manchester United? They’re operating on a shoestring budget, with manager Ruben Amorim effectively told to make do with what he’s got. Chelsea? Real Madrid? Aston Villa? All reported to be under their own financial pressure.

In all but Barcelona’s case, the woes are likely being overstated; it’s a ploy for market position. For example, Newcastle United are, reportedly, simultaneously under severe pressure to comply with Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) but also had £60 million to offer Crystal Palace for Marc Guéhi at the end of last summer. Still, now more than ever is the right time to get creative with transfer work, and one of the savviest things you can do is engineer swap deals.

Historically they’ve been incredibly difficult to pull off, with very few examples across the years, but in the last 18 months have risen to prominence as clubs try and meet financial targets.

Here, we’ve thought hard about five genuinely realistic swap deals that would make sense for all parties this month, allowing clubs and players to refresh their circumstances without straying over the line.

Kolo Muani has been very publicly placed on the transfer list at PSG despite the fact that just 18 months ago, they spent an entire summer trying to sign him and ended up paying an eye-watering €80m to do so.

Admittedly, things haven’t gone to plan for the striker in the French capital, but he remains an excellent player and one that many other striker-needy clubs should be delighted to acquire. His fee may prove a stumbling block, so perhaps a swap is the way to get the deal done with PSG here.

Enter: Chelsea. And enter: Nkunku. The PSG academy product (whom they would no doubt be delighted to welcome back, based on their recent focus on a Paris born-and-bred identity) barely plays for the Blues and rarely gets onto the pitch for any significant moments. It’s a role that does not befit his talent.

Stylistically, Kolo Muani and Nicolas Jackson are much closer than Nkunku and Jackson, so in this swap Chelsea would acquire a player who suits Enzo Maresca’s squad a lot better and could step into the system more easily.

This one has actually been mooted by the parties in question, and it makes our list because it does actually make sense (a lot of mooted swap deals really, really, really do not.)

Frattesi has been a solid squad player for Inter Milan since joining in 2023 — solid, but never crucial. By the looks of things, that has led to some frustrations on his part. Pellegrini has been the epitome of crucial to Roma for a long time but his status has recently diminished in the team and he is no doubt just as frustrated as the fanbase with the club’s decline, given he is a Romanisti through and through himself. Perhaps his goal in the Derby della Capitale will be a springboard for the rest of the season, or perhaps it’s the perfect goodbye?

Could a swap reignite the careers of these two Italy internationals? Pellegrini could challenge for titles with Inter and slot into Simone Inzaghi’s shape neatly; Frattesi could become a key man for one of football’s traditional giants, helping them to brighter prospects.

Both players made high-profile summer moves, and both have had disastrous opening months at their new clubs.

Zirkzee was booed off at Old Trafford when he was substituted after 33 minutes with Manchester United 2-0 down to Newcastle last month, capping a miserable opening stint in the Premier League. Luiz hasn’t fared any better in Turin, making just two league starts and giving away more penalties than he has provided goal contributions.

Of course, there is time for both to turn things around, but they’d also be the perfect makeweight for each other: Luiz proved at Aston Villa that he’s an excellent deep-lying midfielder who could drastically improve United in that position, while Zirkzee could return to a happy hunting ground in Serie A and perhaps help the Old Lady score goals.

Real Madrid have been patching up their defensive line for well over a year due to injuries: centre-back. David Alaba is about to return but he’s been out for 13 months so it might be wise to take it easy with him, while Éder Militão has sustained the second ACL injury of his career.

All that has led to a revolving door next to Antonio Rüdiger at centre-back, with midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni deputising at times and 21-year-old academy star Raúl Asencio rising to the call too. It has thrown everything off, and if Madrid are to achieve their aims in the second half of the season, they need to find a solution.

Škriniar, a hugely experienced centre-back who has won titles with Inter Milan and PSG, is perfect. The 29-year-old is well down the pecking order in Paris and is the sort of player who wouldn’t be fazed by the pressure of playing for Los Blancos.

In return, Madrid could offer Ceballos. Try as he might, he has not been able to imprint himself on the Madrid midfield but would thrive under Luis Enrique at PSG and give them the depth and flexibility to move on Fabián Ruiz, as has often been suggested since he starred at Euro 2024.

We’ve saved our most outlandish for last.

Despite playing for a poor, embattled side, Aït-Nouri has been a standout at left wing-back for Wolves for a long time. He is exactly the type of marauding, energetic, attacking presence that Amorim is crying out for at Man United, as for now he’s largely making do with Diogo Dalot playing on the wrong side.

You might think Wolves would be mad to let go of such a key player in the midst of a relegation dogfight, but then again, there’s been no stop to the talent drain out of the club over the last 18 months; from Rúben Neves and Matheus Nunes to Max Kilman and Pedro Neto, they’ve moved on most of their top talent, leading fans to call for new ownership who are willing to invest in the squad.

United likely can’t afford to sign Aït-Nouri outright (at around £60m) but could lower the fee by offering players in exchange. Malacia, who had a torrid time with injury in 2024 and could use a full reset, would slot straight in on the left and ensure Wolves aren’t left short in that area.