Clinton Morrison - The Winners and Losers of the January Transfer Window
Will Jackson 
Popular pundit Clinton Morrison has joined up with the Freebets.com team this season to discuss the biggest games and talking points each week in the EFL.
The former Crystal Palace, Birmingham and Republic of Ireland striker will be giving his views and predictions on the pick of the matches each week, as well going over some of the hot topics in the football world.
This week we discuss the winners and losers of the January transfer window across the Premier League and the EFL, including the pick of the deadline day moves and the highlights of the FA Cup fourth round weekend.
Here's a full transcript of everything discussed this week.
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Transfer Window in the EFL
Q: You were working on Deadline Day with Sky Sports. Were there any late deals in the EFL that caught your eye?
Adam Armstrong to West Brom was a great move. I was surprised that Southampton wanted to let him go, to be fair, very surprised.
They're not scoring goals in the Prem and he got them promoted from the Championship with his goals.
I think for West Brom, that's a really good signing because West Brom's problem has been putting the ball in the back of the net.
That was a great signing. Jayden Danns going to Sunderland was another good one because we knew Sunderland needed players. Kelechi Iheanacho to Middlesbrough is a brilliant move for them. Obviously they've lost Emmanuel Latte Lath, but Iheanacho knows the division ever so well. It’s a really shrewd signing.
There's probably another one which was quite surprising, with John Egan going to Burnley and hardly playing any football, and now he's gone to Hull. That was another one I was surprised about. But Hull have a bit of money and want to get out of the danger area at the bottom of the table
Marcus Edwards to Burnley was a massive one as well. When I saw that I thought, how is there no Premier League team interested? I know Ruben Amorim loved him at Sporting, as he's a big player. He's got so much ability.
I think he's a top, top player.
Q: With the likes of Danns, Armstrong and Iheanacho, we’re seeing those promotion-chasing teams really strengthening ahead of the run-in
I think all those teams want to try and get promotion, or are definitely aiming for the play-offs.
Sunderland still have a chance of getting into that top two - even though it's going to be difficult - but they’ve given themselves the best opportunity with the players they have added.
It’s really good business from all three clubs mentioned (Sunderland, West Brom, Middlesbrough) because all three players brought in are talented and can have a big impact on the pitch from now to the end of the season.
Edwards to Burnley is something they needed badly.
I've said many times that when you look at Burnley, they've needed something like that. They're defensively one of, if not the, best teams in the Championship, but it's going forward where they lack the creativity.
I think that's why they were in for Morgan Whittaker and Edwards is a similar player to Morgan Whittaker. He's a talented individual, as I say. We see what he's done at Sporting Lisbon.
So for me, it's a really good signing for Burnley.
EFL Winners and Losers?
Q: Who do you have down as the biggest winners and losers for the whole transfer window in the EFL?
It's a hard one because most of the teams have done business.
Probably the teams that are in the bottom half are probably the losers because they're the ones who should have been doing the most business because there's a reason they’re at the bottom.
I’d probably include Plymouth and Portsmouth in that. They probably would have wanted to do a bit more business.
Luton as well will feel like that. They didn't get Richard Kone, despite offering £6 million, and I was surprised Wycombe could turn that down and that was a huge blow to Luton.
Q: Hull is an interesting one. They have spent quite a bit of money but also strengthened quite significantly with Louis Barry one of the really interesting moves they made…
Hull have strengthened ever so well, and I think Louis Barry is a really good signing.
I think Selles knows Unai Emery well, so he probably helped that deal get across the line because there was a lot of interest and he signed a new contract at Villa.
He was brilliant in League One with Stockport. Now it's a bit of a jump up to the Championship, so it will be a test for him. Hopefully he can hit the ground running. He's a winger who can go and beat players. I want to see him in the Championship because he's a player that really does excite me.
I also think Ruben Selles will get Hull out of trouble.
I think John Egan's a brilliant signing for them too. I think he's got the experience and the know-how. He's an international footballer for the Republic of Ireland, and played for Sheffield United for many years.
So I think for me, those two signings will help Hull survive in the Championship.
I think Hull will start climbing the table.
Q: And then in League One, Wrexham went big as many thought they would
Jay Rodriguez is a very good signing. Burnley haven't been scoring a lot of goals so you might think they would want to keep him. Y
ou know what Jay Rodriguez can do at the higher level and in the Championship so to drop down to League One, he must fancy the project at Wrexham and the chance to work with a good manager in Phil Parkinson.
They did really good business.
I think Wycombe are doing brilliantly along with Huddersfield, but I still think it's Birmingham and Wrexham that will get promoted.
I think when you add a bit of quality like Jay Rodriguez along with the strikers they've got in Elliott Lee, Mullin, Marriott and Fletcher, they have a lot of talent up there. I think that's the difference maker when you're in the EFL, as you need your goal scorers to score goals.
Transfer Window in the Premier League
Q: And on to the Premier League. Same question. Any late transfers catch your eyes? I think it was probably a busier winter window than we've seen for quite a while.
It was a busy one, but a good one. Tel was a big one to Tottenham because last Friday, it didn't look like he wanted to go there. He wanted to go to Man United, Aston Villa or possibly Chelsea.
So I think when Tottenham got him, it became an exciting one. He’s 18 or 19 years of age. He's got a lot of ability. But he has to come in and hit the ground running because they have so many injuries and Tottenham have been struggling.
Gonzalez as well going to Man City is exciting, because they needed a midfielder, so that was interesting. For me, Marmoush will also be a very good signing for City.
I think if I'm going to get excited about any signing during the window it's probably Marmoush because he's a good player.
I think Rashford to Villa is a great move for him. He just needs to play. I was thinking maybe he should go abroad, but it’s good to stay in the Premier League and carry on playing.
I think this will be brilliant for Marcus Rashford. I think it will be a good signing, and I think the manager is a big thing in this move.
Marcus Rashford needs to be loved. He needs to be playing week in, week out and I think he'll get the opportunity at Aston Villa.
They're a good team, they’re playing Champions League football so it's a good time to resurrect and kickstart his career because we all know Marcus Rashford is a very talented individual.
Hopefully he can kick on from now to the end of the season and go and prove to everyone that he can deliver what we all know he can. He should just go out there, enjoy himself and play with a smile on his face.
Q: They also brought in Disasi from Chelsea and Asensio from PSG...
Asensio is a really good addition. You've seen his pedigree at PSG and also at Real Madrid.
He's got so much ability but has been stuck by a lot of injuries, but he can play anywhere across that front line, maybe as a 10 or one of the wide players.
Aston Villa have done really good business in the transfer window.
Q: And Ben Chilwell to Crystal Palace is a smart deal, good for him to get back playing again
I was always happy with that as that's my football club! As soon as I heard they were interested in Ben Chilwell I was buzzing.
I think it's a great move.
I think hopefully he can come and hit the ground running. He hasn't played a lot of football.
A player like Ben Chilwell shouldn't be training with Chelsea’s B squad, he should be in amongst that first team but I didn’t like how he was treated at Chelsea. Hopefully their loss is Palace’s gain.
I think it will help Mitchell on the left, and he could also play in a back three as well.
Q: Evan Ferguson is another one that caught my eye. He’s very highly rated but maybe stalled a bit, it will be interesting to see how he gets on
West Ham have made a brilliant signing in Evan Ferguson. Obviously he is a young Ireland international who burst onto the scene and everyone was talking about him.
Some were even comparing him to Alan Shearer. I was thinking maybe don't get ahead of yourself yet!
But he's a top player. He just needs to play football. He's down the pecking order at Brighton at the moment and has had a few injuries.
He knows Graham Potter from his Brighton days and Potter could get the best out of him at West Ham.
He's going to a big football club in West Ham and hopefully he plays week in, week out to get his confidence back, even though I don't think he lacks confidence for a young man.
I think he's got terrific ability, and it's a really positive signing for West Ham. It's something they needed with the injuries they've got to the strikers so for me it ticked all the boxes and hopefully he's a success there.
Premier League Winners and Losers?
Q: Just in terms of winners and losers then, Manchester United have got to be one of the losers, especially after losing Martinez to injury on Sunday for the rest of the season.
Oh big time. I just don't get how they didn't do any business.
Obviously, I know they needed to sell players, so they probably wanted to get rid of Garnacho and they did get rid of Rashford. They didn't sell him, but he went on loan, so maybe got rid of some of his wages
PSR is hurting a lot of clubs. I think Man United fans will be disappointed. The season's already been a big disappointment. You lose someone like Martinez, then you need a replacement.
Could they have added other attacking options like a number 10, or another striker too? I think Man United fans will be disappointed with this window for sure.
FA Cup Fourth Round
Q: And then just looking ahead to the weekend's action then, we're back with the FA Cup starting on Friday night. What games stand out to you?
The game I am looking forward to is Birmingham v Newcastle, because I know Newcastle have just had a great win and will want to try and win the FA Cup even though they're also in the Carabao Cup final.
But if he (Eddie Howe) doesn't go strong, Birmingham at St Andrews could be a little banana skin.
I know Leyton Orient v Man City stands out in terms of the other games, but I still think Man City will be too strong going there.
But I think Birmingham against Newcastle is the one where everyone's eyes could be raised because that is a massive football match and a really good one.
Villa v Spurs is one of the ties of the round alongside Man United v Leicester with van Nistelrooy going back to Old Trafford, but his side have been in really bad form recently.
I think if you can get a good little cup run, that could breed confidence moving forward.
Q: With Newcastle into the final of the Carabao, would you be surprised if he did rotate his his players again on Saturday?
I wouldn't be surprised. I think he will probably rotate four or five players, but his squad is good. I can't see him making wholesale changes because I still think he'll want to do well in the FA Cup.
Q: And then from Birmingham's point of view going into that game, is it just stick out your best side, don't matter about forget about the league, just see what you can do?
Yeah absolutely, go and test yourself. And that's what I would say. Go and test yourself and go and see what the result will be. And it'll be a great atmosphere at St. Andrews, that's for sure. The fans will play a big part and hopefully they can get the result.
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