January is actually a good time to buy

ESPN FC's Gab Marcotti discusses the positives that can come out of making moves in the January transfer window.Football loves its mantras. They get repeated so often that in time, they are treated as fact. If you had a penny for every time somebody said that there's no value in the winter transfer market, you could probably afford to buy Gareth Bale and a space shuttle to help him commute from Wales to Valdebabas in minutes.

I get the argument. The idea is that clubs are reluctant to part with their star players in January because finding a suitable replacement in mid-season is tough. Effectively, there's a buyers' chain. Your star will need to be replaced by a somewhat smaller club's star…