Arsenal could bank some helpful transfer funds in January as one of their former players is linked with a move to a Premier League rival. It has been reported that Aaron Ramsdale could be leaving Southampton just six months after he departed the Emirates in a deal worth an initial £18million.

If January is a month for restraint and cutting back, football begins each year dutifully following the memo. Another transfer window might have opened across Europe but, in stark contrast to the lavishness of summer, spending will be mostly reluctant and circumspect.