The 2025-26 Premier League season is well underway, and as it begins its final stretch, the race for the title is still very much open. Arsenal currently sit top of the table with 56 points.
Manchester City are a close second with 50 points and Birmingham-based Aston Villa are in third place with 47.
The race for Champions League qualification is also heating up with a rejuvenated Manchester United sitting in the last qualification spot in fourth place on 45 points.
Chelsea, under new manager Liam Rosenior are lurking right behind them with 44 points in fifth.
Liverpool and Brentford sit in sixth and seventh respectively on 39 points, both vying for a possible Champions League place.
This January saw several changes to both squads and managers. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was sacked on New Year’s Day, after a few disputes with the board of directors.
Manchester United sacked Ruben Amorim, a manager who supporters of the club either trusted completely or loathed, following a turbulent two seasons at the helm of one of the most successful clubs in England.
The main headliners of player transfers this window surrounded Manchester City of course who splashed the cash through the signings of Bournemouth starman Antoine Semenyo and Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi for $76 million and $24 million respectively-a combined $100 million.
Bournemouth immediately followed the departure of their main creative outlet by signing 19 year old Brazilian wonderkid Rayan for $30 million from Brazilian side Vasco de Gama.
They also secured the signing of midfielder Alex Toth from Ferencvaros for $13 million. Despite only being 20 years old, he has already represented his nation of Hungary 11 times on the international stage.
Crystal Palace have not been so lucky unfortunately. After winning their first major trophy in the club’s history in the form of a 1-0 win against Manchester City in the FA Cup final last May, the club’s best run of form came at the end of October, where they were unbeaten in five matches.
The club’s brightest star, Eberechi Eze departed to Arsenal over the summer window and that combined with a serious lack of creative talent or flashy players has stopped Palace from continuing their hot run of form at the end of last season.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner has also publicly announced his desire to leave the club at the end of the season to pursue new challenges, no doubt stemming from the fact he received no support from the board with essential signings for the new season.
This January, Palace were surrounded by more drama after their star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta tried to force a move to Italian side AC Milan, but the deal fell apart after a failed physical.
Palace brought in two big names this window, Brennan Johnson from Tottenham and Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
A club who had a more successful January was Aston Villa. They signed 19 year old Brazilian Alysson Edward from Gremio for $10 million, 17 year old talent Brian Madjo, a Luxembourg international, for $13 million from French club Metz, and 28 year old Tammy Abraham from Turkish side Besiktas for $22 million.
Abraham returns to Villa for the first time in eight years having previously spent the 2018-19 season on loan from Chelsea and helped them secure promotion to the Premier League from the Championship via the playoffs.
