With the January transfer window now shut, we take a look at the business, (or non-business!) done by English Premier League teams and pick out the sides that got the best of the market.
The January transfer window was one of the quietest in recent years, as clubs continue to grapple with the economic impact of last year’s global sports shutdown.
However, some teams still managed to get a few deals over the line, with Premier League champions, Liverpool and top-four hopefuls, Arsenal amongst the busiest teams over the last month.
Given their defensive problems- Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomes remain long-term absentees, and Joel Matip is set to miss the rest of the season- Liverpool didn’t really have a choice but to go into the market and try to plug the holes in their backline.
The champions did not go gung ho with the cash, but instead went for bargain buys that they hope will at least be effective stop-gap measures pending the return of their big guns.
The Reds brought in little-known Ben Davis from Championship side Preston North End for an initial fee of £500,000, which could rise to £1.6m; while they also signed Turkish center-half, Ozan Kabak on loan from Bundesliga side, Schalke 04.
Liverpool’s Premier League title rivals, Manchester United also did some January business, as they completed the signing of highly-rated Ivorian youngster, Amad Diallo from Atalanta.
The deal was initially announced during the summer window, but it has now been officially confirmed, with the 18-year-old penning a contract that runs till June 2025.
There were a few departures from Old Trafford, most notably, Jesse Lingard, who joined West Ham United on loan, while Timothy Fosu-Mensah left for Bayer Leverkusen.Â
Odion Ighalo also exited the club following the expiration of his loan deal.
Another marquee arrival into the Premier League was Martin Odegaard, who joined Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid, while the Gunners also brought in goalkeeper Matt Ryan from Brighton, also on a loan deal.Â
Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta promised that there would be a lot of departures during the January window, and he definitely kept his word.
Mesut Ozil’s troublesome stay at Arsenal was finally ended as the German moved to Turkish giants, Fenerbahce, while Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkodran Mustafi, William Saliba, Sead Kolasinac, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Joe Willock were among those to leave the Emirates.
Looking through the other teams in the league, Aston Villa’s £15.9m purchase of French midfielder Morgan Sanson from Marseille was one of the more expensive buys in January, while West Ham forked out £20m to complete a permanent acquisition of Said Benrahma from Brentford.
The Hammers had some cash to splash, having sold Sebastian Haller to Ajax for £20.3m.
Wolves got Willian Jose on loan from Real Sociedad in an attempt to solve their striking problems, while Everton completed a canny purchase of Joshua King from Bournemouth in what could well turn out to be the deal of the window.
So who got the best deal in January?
Given the relative inactivity during the window, the sample space isn’t the greatest.Â
Liverpool obviously did well to sign a couple of defenders. They haven’t gone for any big-name center-back, but the fact that they now have proper defenders to cover for their injury woes at that end counts for a lot.Â
Reds boss, Jurgen Klopp will hope that these players help his side revive their stuttering title defense.
Arsenal’s signing of Martin Odegaard looks really good. If they can get the best out of the Norwegian youngster, he can certainly fill the creative void long vacated by Mesut Ozil, and maybe inspire the Gunners to at least a top-six finish.
The odds on Arsenal ending the season in the top six are still pretty decent, just in case you want to have a punt on any of the betting sites in Nigeria!
Everton scored a big one over their rivals by bringing in Joshua King, who was always destined for a return to the Premier League, while West Brom are also worth a mention following a busy window that saw them sign as many as five players, including Robert Snodgrass, Mbaye Diagne, Maitland-Niles and Okay Yokuslu.
Time will tell if these new recruits can help big Sam Allardyce plot another great escape!
Olalekan Ajimoti – Blogger, Content Writer, and Digital Marketer helping brands and retailers build 8-figure e-commerce since 2016.
As a corporate trainer, brand communications expert, and brand consultant, I help people start, stay and grow in business leveraging digital skills and traditional expertise.
