da realsbet： There wasn't masses of recruitment activity to get excited about this month, but there were at least some interesting moves that went under the radar

da brwin： The 2024 January transfer window will not live long in the memory. Across Europe, tumbleweeds blew pretty much all month. The majority of Premier League clubs were unwilling to fire the starting klaxon over fears of breaching Profit and Sustainability rules, so the rest of the continent were feeding off scraps for most of January.

And over in Saudi Arabia, most Pro League sides had no foreign-player spots to fill, ruling out another big-paying destination. In the end, the headline transfer was probably 33-year-old Jordan Henderson's move to Ajax – and that only attracted column inches for off-field reasons.

That's not to say that there was to get excited about in January, though. Although there was a lack of truly internet-breaking transfers, there were more than a few interesting, lower-profile signings that might have evaded your attention.

Getty ImagesMarcos Leonardo – Santos to Benfica

It was always a matter of when, not if, Leonardo would leave Santos. And this January, following the Brazilian side's shock relegation, he finally sealed a move to Europe. Arsenal are understood to have held a long-standing interest in the centre-forward, but he has instead linked up with Portuguese giants Benfica for a fee around the £15 million ($19m) mark.

If he fulfils his potential, this could prove to be an inspired piece of business. Benfica have made some insane profit in the transfer market recently, flogging Enzo Fernandez, Ruben Dias and Darwin Nunez to Premier League clubs over the past few windows.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesRunar Alex Runarsson – Arsenal to FC Copenhagen

Runarsson's arrival at Arsenal from French side Dijon always seemed a slightly odd transfer. After reportedly receiving a glowing reference from goalkeeping coachInaki Cana, the Iceland international was drafted in to fill the void left by Emiliano Martinez's departure to Aston Villa in 2020.

But it soon became clear he wasn't going to be playing much football, with fans not convinced he was ever good enough for the Gunners. A series of loan spells followed, most recently at Cardiff City, where he failed to impress, and on deadline day Arsenal confirmed he had been released. He signed for FC Copenhagen shortly after and will go down as one of Mikel Arteta's strangest signings.

Getty ImagesGoncalo Guedes – Wolves to Villarreal

Guedes has experienced a meandering career in recent seasons. Once labelled one of the most exciting young wingers in world football, a 2017 move to Paris Saint-Germain failed to work out, though he did rebuild his reputation at Valencia after departing Parc de Princes a year later.

In 2022, he became the latest Jorge Mendes client to join Wolves, failing to set the world alight before joining Benfica on loan in January – a temporary stay that was extended by a year in the summer. However, last month Wolves announced that deal had been cut short, with Guedes instead set to finish the campaign at Villarreal. He's already scored for his new club and provided an assist as, not for the first time in his career, he looks to rediscover his best form.

Getty ImagesHamed Traore – Bournemouth to Napoli

Traore's loan switch to Napoli last month came out of leftfield. It's been a seriously testing season for the forward and brother of Man Utd sensation Amad, with the frustrations of limited playing time being compounded by him contracting malaria on international duty.

"We know he is good. We know he has the level," Andoni Iraola said in midweek. "He has, especially lately, had some health issues that makes it worse for his chances.

"But it is true also that we also haven’t given him the chance to have a run of games, starting and improving and making the mistakes the other players have been allowed to make. “But these are decisions you have to take and you can’t give the minutes to everyone."

Traore built his reputation in Serie A with Sassuolo, so joining Napoli does make sense, but it remains to be seen how long we will have to wait to see him action for the Serie A holders with his recent illness ruling him out of a home AFCON with Ivory Coast.