It’s not quite “silly season” as the January window is where clubs try to acquire players ahead of the summer before the rivals can swoop in and take a player in high demand. It’s usually a window associated with overpaying, even though the true value of a player isn’t determined until they get some matches under their belt. Even though this “January plus-up” isn’t factored into FIFA 23, it’s still proving to be a good measuring tool as to whether or not the financials make sense.
In this article, we’ll explore two signings to see who won the deal, FIFA 23 or real life.
Who Won These EPL Transfers?
Cody Gakpo – PSV Eindhoven To Liverpool – Roughly $45 million (And Maybe More)
From seemingly out of nowhere, Liverpool gazumped its arch rival Manchester United for the services of Dutch forward, Cody Gakpo. Long rumored to head to Manchester Red as a potential focal point up top replacing a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, Gakpo did his reputation a solid at this winter’s World Cup in Qatar. A goal in every group stage match, Gakpo showed nice combinations of physical prowess and technical ability. Naturally, clubs were interested given that he won’t command high wages (~30K/week), is productive, and has the potential to be elite with the right club and manager unlocking him.
If you’re thinking pace and power, there’s no better man or woman in world football than one Jurgen Klopp, and he was quick to scoop him up and bring him to Merseyside. Perhaps it was a little panic as injury setbacks to Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz have Oxlade-Chamberlain surfacing up on the left wing, but once healthy Liverpool will boast a very potent attack considering Mane left last summer and Firmino is mulling over a payday in the Middle East.
Financially speaking, the figures rumored to be thrown around the Man United circles were closer to 50 million, so if true, Liverpool somehow finessed an initial fee of 45 million (USD) with those all so popular now “add-ons” should Liverpool achieve some level of club success with their new player. PSV was most likely thinking that Liverpool would be competing on all fronts, but it looks like their Premier League hopes are hanging by a thread given their shaky start. This is a rare case of Liverpool recouping some cash to offset losses in other areas (potential lower finish in the Premier League, a potential early exit from the Champions League, etc.) if all goes wrong.
Even if Gakpo doesn’t realize his full potential, $40 million is about what you pay for these days for a backup wide attacker.
Real Life Grade: B+
If you’re running this one in FIFA 23, chances are you’re not going to be able to get Gakpo at Liverpool for those kind of numbers. He’s contracted until 2026, so you’re not going to be able to agree to a pre-deal for free any time soon. Unfortunately, FIFA isn’t deep enough to understand how player values drop when they’re nearing the end of their deal. Wages shouldn’t be a problem as the jump from the Dutch Eredivisie to the Premier League is massive so you won’t need to alter the wage budget or structure.
So how does it all play out in FIFA 23? Well, with their new Transfer Analyst feature we can figure that out.
Valued at $53 million in FIFA 23, PSV wasn’t budging with a $45 million bid, perhaps since there are no add-ons in transfer negotiations. Additional bids of $55 and $60 million also saw the Dutch side walk away, but once I threw out $60 million there was room for negotiation, and we agreed on $64.7M despite the “Best Possible Deal” saying otherwise. One area that did see a massive jump was his wages, up to ~70K to $105K/week. FIFA doesn’t quite understand depth but perhaps it thought that with Diaz and Jota already on the roster, there wouldn’t be many minutes for Mr. Gakpo, which is why the Analyst states “Not Good Enough” for the deal.
So Who Won The Gakpo Deal?
This is a case where real-life Liverpool and their executive team beat out their video game representation in FIFA 23. Not only does Gakpo fill a temporary hole for Klopp, he also came for a much cheaper price tag when compared to FIFA. A shrewd piece of business for Liverpool, and if he maxes out his potential, an absolute steal given today’s inflated prices.
Benoit Badiashile – AS Monaco To Chelsea FC – Roughly $38-45 Million
Another highly touted French youth international center back, Benoit Badiashile joins a host of youngsters on the way to Stamford Bridge as new owner Todd Boehly attempts to buy every center back in Europe. A promising talent, Benoit is one of those highly coveted left-footed center backs who also has a penchant for a pass and being able to progress the ball from deep. With aging center backs Thiago Silva (38) and Kalidou Koulibaly (31) as the current partnership for a struggling Chelsea side, the Blues are looking to get younger with the likes of Wesley Fofana (22), Trevoh Chalobah (23), and Levi Colwill waiting in the wings. It’s unknown how large of a role Badiashile will play, but the moves speak to the long-term plan Graham Potter and company are putting in place for what should be a more targeted transfer philosophy.
Financially speaking, the move for Badiashile is rumored to be around the $46M range, a far cry from another target Josko Gvardiol — Red Bull Leipzig are holding out for a number in the range of $100M for the talented young Croatian. With enough cover at center back already considering Azpilicueta and Marc Cucurella can play there in a pinch (or in a back three), the move wasn’t necessarily one that will immediately improve Chelsea.
However, it’s a similar thought process as to the one Liverpool used with Gakpo, specifically pairing the young talent with a manager who has a history of improving players to help them reach new heights. What is interesting is his seven-year deal as Chelsea has a long history of not being able to offload players due to poor contracts. Salary-wise, Benoit was on a modest 22K/week at Monaco. His Chelsea wages are yet to be confirmed, but one can only expect that it will be in the 30-50K/week range considering his move from France to England.
Real Life Grade: C+
After putting this one through the FIFA 23 ringer, it’s easy to see that Benoit, even on “Strict” negotiations, was a relatively easy deal to get done. A modest offer of $22M was enough to get the deal done with a modest wage bump up from 22K to 48K a week with the promise of being a sporadic player, hence the “Not Good Enough” tag attached to Benoit and his 77 OVR rating. Possibly he could have been acquired for $2M less, but when you have the budget that a club the size of Chelsea has, haggling over two million isn’t worth the time and effort.
So Who Won The Badiashile Deal?
It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that FIFA 23 won the deal with a bargain price of $22M and $47K/week in wages. Perhaps in real-life it’s different if you take into account amortization (paying his transfer fee over the life of the seven-year contract deal) to offset Financial Fair Play (FFP), but if faced with just a $22M fee, Chelsea might have just opted to pay that lump sum and keep it moving. You could make an argument that due to the struggles of Koulibaly and the injury to Fofana that Badiashile might be more of an immediate need for Chelsea (similar to Liverpool with Gakpo), but the difference in price is too significant to ignore in this case.
Bottom Line
As a window, January doesn’t see quite the same activity that the summer does. Obviously the summer window is open longer so there’s more time to acclimate new players but there’s still some good business to be had this month. With a lot of deals still on the horizon, be sure to stay tuned as we roll this concept out for other potential deals (and rumored ones).
Related: FIFA 23: How to Complete Centurions Stefan Radu SBC on Gamepur
