Feyenoord were the busiest Dutch club in the January transfer window as top scorer Santiago Giménez left for AC Milan for a club record fee.

Sources quoted by AD.nl said the Italian giants paid €32 million for the 23-year-old Mexican striker, potentially rising to €35 million with bonuses, after the deal was confirmed on Monday.

Gimenez, who scored 45 league goals in 73 matches for Feyenoord, could be back in Rotterdam as early next Wednesday when the two clubs play each other in the Champions League play-off round. UEFA scrapped the rules banning players from turning out for two different clubs in the same year’s competition six years ago.

Feyenoord offset the loss of Giménez by recruiting another Mexican striker, 18-year-old Stéphano Carrillo, from Santos Laguna for €2.5 million.

Moroccan midfielder Oussama Targhalline is also moving to De Kuip from Le Havre after the French club accepted a bid of just under €1 million for the 22-year-old.

Ohio no go

PSV had hoped to boost their squad after losing Mexican midfielder Hirving Lozano, in a pre-agreed move to San Diego FC at the turn of the year. But Peter Bosz’s hopes of bringing Noah Ohio to Eindhoven were dashed at the last minute when it emerged he was likely to be sidelined for the first two weeks with an injury.

PSV’s most high-profile signing was a loan deal for former Feyenoord left-back Tyrell Malacia, who has struggled to break into the first team at Manchester United, for the rest of the season.

The club needed to plug a gap left by the sudden departure of Belgian defender Matteo Dams, who moved to Saudi club Al-Ahli for €10 million in January.

There were no big moves in Amsterdam either, but Ajax signed one of Go Ahead Eagles’ two Edvardsens – Norwegian winger Oliver Edvardsen – for €3 million.

Ajax also acquired two Brazilians just before the transfer window closed on Tuesday: wing-back Lucas Rosa from Real Valladolid and goalkeeper Diant Ramaj from Sporting Braga.

Haller returns

Perhaps the most eye-catching arrival of the month was the return of Sébastian Haller to Utrecht, on loan from Borussia Dortmund for the rest of the season.

The Ivorian has played just 33 games since joining Borussia from Ajax for €31 million in the summer of 2022 – partly because he had to undergo treatment for testicular cancer shortly after arriving in Dortmund. But Utrecht, currently third in the Eredivisie, hope he will drive their push to secure a place in next season’s Champions League.

Twente Enschede signed Belgian midfielder Arno Verschueren on a three and a half-year contract from Sparta Rotterdam as they chase a European place.

Go Ahead Eagles unveiled two new Scandinavians in the wake of the sale of their Norwegian striker Edvardsen: Oskar Sivertsen, a 20-year-old Norwegian forward from Kristiansund BK, and 25-year-old Swedish winger Oscar Petterson from IFK Göteberg.

Sydney van Hooijdonk will hope to rediscover his scoring form after joining NAC Breda on an 18-month deal. The 24-year-old son of former Feyenoord and Celtic striker Pierre van Hooijdonk bagged 22 goals for Heerenveen in the 2022-23 season while on loan from Bologna, but failed to reproduce his form in subsequent spells at Norwich City and Cesena.