Five Ligue 1 players who could move in January

Ligue 1 has won a reputation as being one of Europe’s great crucibles of talent, making it an attractive shopping destination during the January transfer market.

As is so often the case, there are numerous vibrant young talents who could leave France during the transfer period, and inevitably some of the biggest clubs in the world are looking at making buys.

FootballTransfers has picked out five players who could be on their way to Europe’s giants over the next few weeks, from an exciting maverick playmaker to a forgotten €100 million star and a gnarled centre-back.

Rayan Cherki – Lyon

Frozen out of the Lyon side in the early part of the season, Cherki has returned producing the best form of his life to date. He’s only under contract for another 18 months with OL and a move away appears inevitable in 2025.

While there might be concerns over his ability to produce the type of form he has shown with Lyon in recent weeks over the long term, there has still been interest from some giant clubs, most notably Liverpool.

He came close to moving to PSG in the summer, while there have also been reports that Chelsea could move for him in a bargain bid.

Jonathan David – Lille

Out of contract in June 2025, David is Ligue 1’s top scorer on 11 goals, making him a valuable asset as teams chase low-cost options in attack.

There has long been interest from the very best teams in the Canada international. David, for example, rejected Arsenal to sign for Lille in 2020. He’s never quite manifest his full potential with Lille but that has still not stopped the likes of Man Utd being linked with a potential move for him.

Given his contract status, he’d move for far less than his true worth, but Lille are adamant that they will not sell either him or Angel Gomes, also out of contract in 2025, during the January transfer window.

Randal Kolo Muani – PSG

It was little over a year ago that PSG spent €95 million to sign Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt in a blockbuster deal. To say the move hasn’t worked out for either party is an understatement.

Kolo Muani currently finds himself on the very periphery of Luis Enrique’s thinking, to such an extent that he failed to even make the squad in Les Parisiens’ final two Ligue 1 matches of 2024.

He’s reportedly been offered to the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United on loan during January, with his future at PSG looking very short.

Abdukodir Khusanov – Lens

One of the rising stars of Ligue 1 this season, the Lens centre-back has made an impressive breakthrough campaign and is now a regular in Will Still’s starting XI.

The Uzbekistan international star has proven himself to be a very reliable centre-back and at 20 years old would seem to have a huge future in the game.

Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham have all been linked with a player Lens spent just €100,000 on 18 months ago. He’s now worth more than 10 times that figure.

Milan Skriniar – PSG

Another flop PSG signing, Skriniar is on his way out of the Parc des Princes club just 18 months after arriving as a free agent from Inter Milan.

The Slovak has proven to be incompatible with Luis Enrique’s style but could be a valuable addition to a club looking for a physical presence in the heart of their defence. Juventus, known for their defensive traditions, could be one option for the aggressive centre-back.

PSG, meanwhile, will continue their search for a long-term successor to Marquinhos.