F365's Transfer Window Winners & Losers

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Winners

Newcastle
Although Newcastle failed to find a direct replacement for Demba Ba, they were by far the most productive Premier League club in the transfer window. Whether that will help them right the wrongs caused by last summer's inactivity is yet to be seen, but the squad is now better equipped to cope with injuries and Europa League duty, and Alan Pardew will have few excuses if the Magpies' form fails to improve.

The hard-fought victory over Aston Villa - which included a delightful assist from Moussa Sissoko - suggests Newcastle's new signings won't take long to settle. Papiss Cisse should also benefit from Ba's exit and the arrival of Yoan Gouffran allows the Senegalese to return to his favoured central role with the former Bordeaux man slotting in on the wing.

The jewels in Newcastle's January business are defensive duo Mathieu Debuchy and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa. The two France internationals have been consistent performers in Ligue Un over the past two years and should prove to be bargains at £5million and £7million respectively.

The remainder of the season allows time for Toon's new recruits to gel and if another striker is found in the summer, next year could see a return to the heights of last.


Gary Cotterill
After years of having to put up with the urchins assembled outside various Premier League grounds, the Sky reporter was rewarded with a trip to Milan to cover Mario Balotelli's move. Nigel de Jong was pleased to see him.


Liverpool
Two promising signings achieved with the minimum amount of fuss; Liverpool fans should be relieved after the Reds avoided the spotlight of previous transfer windows.

It's difficult to tell how much of an immediate impact Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho will have on Liverpool's fortunes, but the former has already struck up a good understanding with Luis Suarez. That bodes well for the Reds' pursuit of a Champions League place and the fact that Spurs, Everton and Arsenal all failed to strengthen significantly provides further encouragement.

The Coutinho deal could also prove to be an excellent piece of business. It isn't often you see clubs snap up a 20-year-old Brazil international for only £8.5million and it's surprising Internazionale have allowed the playmaker to leave so cheaply.

Coutinho was hugely impressive when he broke into the first team at the San Siro in 2010, and a successful loan spell at Espanyol last season further boosted his reputation. There's a good chance the skilful, diminutive number 10 will turn out to be Brendan Rodgers' best signing so far.


The Race For Third/Fourth
With Spurs, Everton and Arsenal all having fairly quiet transfer windows and Liverpool adding a much-needed second striker, the battle for the Champions League places is set to go to the wire.


Wilfried Zaha
That Manchester United were willing to spend £15million on Zaha suggests Sir Alex Ferguson will allow one of his current wingers (probably Nani) to leave in the summer.

The hugely talented 20-year-old will have opportunities to impress next season and his meteoric rise suggests he can make an impact.


Stoke
Another shrewd goalkeeper signing that provides good cover should Asmir Begovic leave in the summer.


QPR
There's only one word to describe the situation at QPR if they suffer relegation and I'm not allowed to write it here for fear of losing my job.

Chris Samba is undoubtedly a great signing for a club fighting for its life in the Premier League, but the defender's wages could kill QPR if they drop into the Championship. It's a huge gamble and quite an absurd position for the club to be in.

However, if Samba can shore up a leaky defence, and Loic Remy find goals at the other end, the Rs will stand a good chance of avoiding the drop even if their woeful lack of long-term planning only results in a similar crisis next season.

Andros Townsend, Jermaine Jenas, Tal Ben Haim and Yun Suk-Young pad out the squad and the aim now is for Harry Redknapp to work his 'magic' in the final 14 matches.

Magic is so much easier when money grows on trees.


Demba Ba
The striker finally got the big move he had been chasing for some time and he'll need to make the most of the next four months as Roman Abramovich mulls over a summer bid for Falcao.


Sunderland
A team of squad players bolstered by more of the same.


Arsenal
After the Gunners were linked with David Villa throughout January, the signing of Malaga left-back Nacho Monreal may seem rather underwhelming. But the Spain international is rated highly in his homeland and his arrival at least pushes Andre Santos further away from the first team (apart from in the Champions League, where the Brazilian is set to start against Bayern Munich in two weeks' time).

The failure to capture Villa (if, indeed, Arsenal were interested in the first place) may actually prove a blessing in disguise. Although the Gunners have endured a run of poor starts to matches (the last time they secured a half-time lead was 11 games ago against Reading) their ability to fight back has demonstrated a growing team spirit. Adding a star signing into the mix at this stage, who would possibly have required the system to be tweaked, may only have been an unwanted disruption.

As I wrote here, a new defensive midfielder should have been a priority and it has been reported that Wenger failed with a late move for Etienne Capoue, who may still arrive in the summer.

But for now, Arsenal are only four points behind Spurs and eight behind a Chelsea team with more wobble than a jelly weeble. Monreal is a sensible signing that shows careful planning to strengthen the squad, and there is every chance the Gunners' difficult season thus far will be rewarded with a 16th Champions League campaign in a row.

And of course, their most important player at the moment finally signed da ting. He's like a new signing...


Losers


Daniel Levy and Spurs
After all the jokes about Daniel Levy having his breakfast at 7pm as he prepared to start business, deadline day passed with barely a whimper from Spurs. This resulted in quite an enjoyable episode on Thursday, though, as Twitter parody account 'You Got Levyed' was left scratching its backside at 11pm.

After spending a month building up to Thursday's deadline, all the account could muster on a disappointing evening was 'Well this is a f**king let down', before adding 'We all got Levy'd'.

Indeed, fans waited for the Spurs chairman to finish his Eggs Benedict in vain. There was no last-gasp deal for the striker Spurs are rather desperate for and Leandro Damiao continues to gather moss at Internacional.

It's quite odd that Levy has maintained his reputation for finding bargains in the twilight hours of the transfer window. The chairman's capture of Rafael van der Vaart in August 2010 was an inspired move, but since then Spurs have often failed to sufficiently strengthen in their pursuit of Champions League football and Levy's focus has been negotiating a good price for departing players.

Spurs signed as many first-team players in the summer as they did in the previous three transfer windows, but given Brad Friedel's age, the loss of Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart, and the fact that Jermain Defoe was the only experienced striker on the club's books, there was no option other than to invest.

That £52million outlay was followed by the excellent acquisition of Lewis Holtby in January, but Spurs should have found a new striker to boost their top four challenge. Instead their attack will face similar strain to last season and, after already losing Sandro to injury, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to how the rest of the season will go for Spurs.


Everton
The collapse of Leroy Fer's £8.5million move from Twente was a blow and the Toffees' small squad will struggle to keep up with the rest in the race for fourth.


Man City
Although Mario Balotelli had scored only once in the Premier League this season, the striker's exit leaves Man City slightly weaker while Man United continue as they are. Clearly the owners think Roberto Mancini has all the tools he needs to repeat last year's achievement. The pressure is on.


Norwich
Luciano Becchio is likely to struggle in the Premier League but the striker will serve as a stop-gap option until the Canaries can pursue a better option in the summer. More could have been done had they not wasted so much time bidding for Gary Hooper.


Peter Odemwingie
What now for dear Peter? If I were him, I would have kept going.

It takes an hour and a half to drive from London to Dover, and from there you can take a ferry to France. Hire a car in Calais and drive through the night, keeping to A-roads and small towns to avoid being recognised. Change your name to something forgettable, like 'Graham Dorrans', and continue to eat the tarmac until the Strait of Gilbratar beckons. It's a two-hour crossing to Morocco and Tangier's haven, where the narrow streets and unforgiving heat will swallow your identity, and with it the memories of a 'triffic, top top transfer that failed to come to fruition.

Anyway, that's what I would have done. Instead Odemwingie has taken the fool's route and returned to West Brom, not with his tail between his legs, but after announcing on Sky Sports News that "I will still leave the club. It is just a matter of time." Oh, Peter. Silly, silly Peter.

According to reports the striker, who has 18 months left to run on his contract, has been told to go home and return on Monday. Anything could happen over the weekend.


Aston Villa
Sweet Lord, have mercy. The arrival of a chap named Dawkins is hardly going to earn Villa divine intervention in their miserable season, and Paul Lambert's team now face a gruelling battle to survive. Simon Dawkins and Yacouba Sylla may turn out to be good signings, but the likelihood is that they won't be enough to make a difference.


Xisco
The disco is finally over.


Mallorca
They won't know what's hit them. Perhaps literally.

Matt Stanger - he's on the Twitter.