Often seen as the 'baby brother' to the much busier summer window, a studious purchase at the turn of the year can nonetheless often make or break a team's ambitions domestically and in Europe.
Take Italy's Old Lady, Juventus, as an example.
Juve still trying to find the right formula
Though they remain easily the most successful Italian side in history, their 36th Scudetto back in 2019/20 seems an awfully long time ago now.
Club hierarchy has tried to find the right formulas on the bench and on the pitch since then, and though the Bianconeri are still scaling the Italian top-flight peak, they've not actually conquered it again.
Currently in fifth place in Serie A, their form is decent, and the experienced Luciano Spalletti is the latest manager to be tasked with restoring former glories to such a storied institution.
One area where Juve have struggled of late, however, is with regards to their main striker.
Ronaldo the benchmark in terms of goals
In 2020/21, Cristiano Ronaldo top-scored with 29 in the league and 36 in all competitions. Since then, Paulo Dybala's 10 (15 in all comps) in 2021/22 & Dusan Vlahovic's 10 (14 in all comps) in 2022/23, 16 (18 in all comps) in 2023/24 and 10 (15 in all comps) last season is as good as it's got.
Kenan Yildiz leads the way in the current campaign with seven Serie A goals and eight in total, but the fact remains that it's been years since Juve have had a striker that's a real guarantee of goals.
Moreover, it seems that Spalletti is keen on ensuring that the club secure a proper target man before the closure of the window. A centre-forward who might be termed 'old school' in some quarters but who is strong physically, dominant aerially, and can play at the tip of an attacking 4-2-3-1 formation or in a front two alongside Jonathan David, to help get the best out of the Canadian, who has struggled since his move from Lille.
Interest in Mateta was obvious
Not to mention any new recruit needs to have a skillset that also includes being able to play with his back to goal and bring the likes of Yildiz, Weston McKennie and Francisco Conceicao into play.
In many respects, then, Juve's initial interest in Crystal Palace ace Jean-Philippe Mateta was obvious.
The 28-year-old Frenchman has been used to ploughing a loan furrow up front for the South Londoners, or dovetailing well with the likes of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze before the pair left for Bayern Munich and Arsenal, respectively.
His goalscoring prowess certainly isn't in question either. In his last full league season with Palace (24/25), he held a superb xG of 13.5, and the majority of his 14 goals in the English top flight were as a result of getting on the end of crosses from wide areas.
Note in the attached graphic that many of those goals came from a position that was virtually dead centre of the area, and from between the penalty spot and the goal.
Since the start of the 23/24 campaign, he's plundered 38 goals in 94 Premier League appearances, along with providing seven assists. He's scored five more goals in domestic and European competitions and added four assists.
He's improved in most seasons where he's not been injured for any length of time, and in a better quality side than Palace, with respect, he will almost certainly increase his output again.
Striker wants out of Palace
In terms of his general associative play, his best pass completion stat of 73.8%, coming in the successful 24/25 FA Cup run, is well above average for a 'target man.'
The great thing about the Frenchman, too, is that he plays to his strengths and keeps things simple.
He isn't, and likely won't ever be, a player that dribbles past defences going on mazy runs, but it's never been his forte, and that isn't why clubs will want to buy him.
Given that Mateta has recently accused Palace of lacking ambition and made it clear he wants a move away, a switch to Juve would've presented a great opportunity for both player and club.
En-Nesyri the new target
However, it would now appear that the South Londoners have played hardball over the terms of any deal, and that's seen the Italian giants apparently turn their attention to Youssef En-Nesyri, with reports suggesting that a delegation has already flown in for talks with the player.
Like Mateta, the Moroccan is adept at hold-up play and being in the right place at the right time to get on the end of deliveries from wide areas.
He thrives on the ball into the box, does his best work directly in front of goal, and not only trumped Mateta's league output in 24/25 (20 goals), but also had a sensational xG of 18.3.
Though he's scored frequently wherever he's played to date, perhaps the one nagging doubt - arguably similar to Mateta - is that he's never shouldered responsibility at a truly big club.
Juve have to play to En-Nesyri's strengths
With respect to current employers, Fenerbahce, they're not quite in the same bracket as Juventus - and the Turkish Super Lig isn't Serie A either.
That's not to say he couldn't succeed in Italy; however, there has to be an acknowledgement of the facts.
Indeed, if Spalletti ensures that his playing staff are in tune with En-Nesyri's strengths and plays to them, he will absolutely be a success at Juve.
The Bianconeri can't afford to make another recruiting error, mind you, and have to be sure before committing funds, particularly in this window.
43 goals and six assists in 82 league games since the start of 23/24 is a better return than Mateta, with him supplementing those with 14 more goals in domestic and European cup competitions, as well as providing one more assist.
His passing accuracy of 76.3% in the current Super Lig season - when using more than 100 passes as the baseline comparison - is also slightly higher than the French striker.
The variables at this stage in terms of acquiring his services would be the fee required - a loan may suit Juve better initially, something that Palace aren't interested in doing with Mateta despite his desire to move to Turin - and just how badly the player wants the move.
Given that he has a contract until 2029, he has, to date, shown no apparent desire to leave Turkey.
Ultimately, either player would suit a variety of formations and tactical approaches from Spalletti, but if Juve want to get the best out of whichever player does arrive, using them as a lone target man would surely prove to be the more successful formula in the short and medium term.
