Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal skippers among every Prem club’s best January signing
Here are 20 lads to disprove the notion that January is rotten time to do transfer business. Man Utd and Liverpool spent big and in winter and their investments are still paying off…
Arsenal: Martin Odegaard
Odegaard, who joined initially on loan from Real Madrid in 2021, dethroned Theo Walcott as the Gunners’ king of January. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ran Walcott close as one of the few top-class winter signings Arsenal have made, but Odegaard’s influence on the most exciting side the Emirates has seen for too long makes him a worthy choice. The Norwegian was handed the captaincy in 2022 following Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette’s departures and Odegaard has flourished with the added responsibility. He remains one of the Premier League’s most creative players, especially on the dribble. His form more than anyone else’s could determine how far Arsenal can go.
Aston Villa: Tyrone Mings
This is a tough call. It really should be Philippe Coutinho – but it definitely isn’t. It was Ashley Young up until three years ago when Mings usurped the versatile wideman. Does Mings still warrant such status? It’s been a tough couple of years for the centre-back: losing his England place; the Villa captaincy; briefly, his Villa starting spot; and when he regained it, he suffered a serious injury on the opening day. So, yes, he retains this title, at least until Unai Emery makes the signing this month that pushes Villa to the title.
Bournemouth: Steve Cook
“I think Steve will be a Championship player and hopefully that will be with us,” said Bournemouth manager Lee Bradbury in January 2012. Little did he know that the then-20-year-old centre-half would become an established Premier League regular under his Dean Court successor. Eddie Howe found success in the January transfer window with Ryan Fraser, Matt Ritchie and Adam Smith, but a man he inherited helped fuel the club’s rise. Bournemouth’s record Premier League appearance-maker was signed from Brighton for £150,000.
Brentford: Christian Eriksen
Arguably the most wholesome January transfer of all-time, Eriksen joining Brentford in 2022 was move we could all get behind. Barely six months after suffering a cardiac arrest at the European Championships, the Denmark star joined the Bees as a free-agent. He quickly found his feet and played a starring role in helping Thomas Frank’s side move away from a relegation fight with a goal and five assists in 11 games. Brentford would have preferred that he stuck around rather than join Manchester United, but that shouldn’t sour a rare feelgood story.
Brighton: Moises Caicedo
A year ago, this title belonged to Alexis Mac Allister, who followed a very similar path to prominence at Brighton. Mac Allister even won a World Cup as a Seagull before both got their big moves last summer. Which gives Caicedo the edge given it was he who became Britain’s most expensive footballer, with Brighton standing to gain £115million from Chelsea for a player they signed for around £4.5million.
Burnley: James Tarkowski
Sean Dyche brought in Charlie Austin, Ashley Barnes, Kieran Trippier, Michael Keane, Ashley Westwood and Robbie Brady in January transfer windows. But his most impressive purchase must surely be that of then-23-year-old Tarkowski, who transformed from Football League stalwart into fully-fledged England international at Turf Moor. Not many predicted he would be featuring for a World Cup semi-finalist while he was plodding around at Oldham and Brentford. At Everton, Tarkowski is reunited with Dyche and it feels so good.
Chelsea: Branislav Ivanovic
In an alternate universe, the January arrivals of Kevin de Bruyne (2012) and Mohamed Salah (2014) might have heralded a dawn of complete Chelsea dominance. But while the Blues have historically struggled to add another attacking dimension to their squad mid-season, they have fared much better with defensive reinforcements. Gary Cahill was a fantastic addition in 2012, perhaps bettered only by that of Ivanovic four years prior. The Serb spent nine years at Stamford Bridge, winning ten trophies in the process. In time, Todd Boehly will hope that Enzo Fernandez takes this title given the money he spent on the Argentina midfielder.
Crystal Palace: Wilfried Zaha
It will forever be weird that Wilfried Zaha’s first ever Premier League start was for Cardiff. He Crystal Palace earn Championship promotion in his final season before leaving for Manchester United in 2013. His well-documented struggles at Old Trafford meant he was loaned out twice and played just four times for David Moyes before returning to Selhurst Park on loan in August 2014. So it came as no surprise when that deal was made permanent in the following transfer window, with Zaha comfortably now Palace’s all-time record Premier League scorer with 68 goals.
Everton: Seamus Coleman
If it came down to sell-on value, then few could compete with John Stones – signed for £3m and sold for £47.5m within three-and-a-half years. But in terms of sheer value for money, Coleman pips his former team-mate. The Ireland international joined from Sligo Rovers for £60,000 as an unknown gamble, and soon became one of the Premier League’s best right-backs. He is still going reasonably strong under his 427th Goodison Park manager at the ripe old age of 35.
Fulham: Brede Hangeland
The Cottagers have done well out of the January market. Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey arrived in the mid-season window, as did Aleksandar Mitrovic, who pushed Hangeland hard for his crown. But the centre-back left a huge mark on Craven Cottage. He was one of Roy Hodgson’s first signings at Fulham in 2008 from FC Copenhagen and the defender became a stalwart through one of the greatest periods in the club’s history, with all of his seven seasons at Fulham spent in the Premier League. He made 270 appearances before he was released by Felix Magath, who Hangeland later claimed had instructed him to ease a thigh injury by placing a block of cheese on his leg. “I always try to see the good in people,” Hangeland said. “But Magath was an awful human being.”
Liverpool: Virgil van Dijk
It was once Luis Suarez, scorer, biter and racism-er extraordinaire. But Van Dijk helped transform Liverpool entirely into title winners and European champions. The Reds have made bountiful use of the winter window – Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, Maxi Rodriguez, Javier Mascherano, Daniel Agger, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Steven Caulker – but Van Dijk remains the best investment of the lot.
Luton: Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu
Little did Mpanzu or anyone else know when he signed for Luton in January 2014 in the Conference Premier that a decade later, he and they would be playing Premier League football a decade later. A truly remarkable story.
Manchester City: Edin Dzeko
“If the champion is City, then I would say a Man City player and if I have to choose, I choose Dzeko,” said Jose Mourinho when asked for his choice of Player of the Year in May 2014. “The kind of player he is, he’s not just a goal-scorer. He assists, he plays, he behaves, he’s fair, doesn’t dive, doesn’t try to put opponents in the stands with an accumulation of cards,” the Portuguese added, doing one of his weird winks in the general direction of eventual winner Luis Suarez. Dzeko arguably never earned the adulation he deserved at the Etihad, with a respectable 50 goals in 130 Premier League games, of which only 74 were starts. Only Sergio Aguero scored more goals (40) across the club’s first two title-winning seasons than the Bosnian (30).
Manchester United: Bruno Fernandes
Fernandes had to go some to edge out Daniel Storey’s best January signing ever but he did just that by establishing himself as the most transformative arrival of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. After making his debut in February, in a Covid-hit year, the recruit from Sporting Lisbon was our Premier League Player of 2020 and, two managers later, he remains comfortably United’s most important player.
Newcastle: Bruno Guimaraes
January was generally a dark month, as most of them were, under Mike Ashley. Then the Saudis turned up and showed what can be achieved mid-season if you’re willing to fork out more than a tenner with a couple of Sports Direct tea vessels chucked in. There wasn’t really a bad buy among the five Eddie Howe made in winter 2022 – even if Chris Wood came back to haunt them – but Guimaraes, signed from Lyon for a then-club-record £38million was the best of the lot. “He’s absolutely a bargain because he’s had a huge effect on the team and the club,” said Eddie Howe this year. “In today’s market, that is a relatively modest sum – which I can’t really believe I’m saying – but it is. It’s an amazing thing for us to have him, it’s not just the player, it’s the person as well. I can’t say how good a person he is.”
Nottingham Forest: Keinan Davis
Davis wasn’t at Forest for a long time, but he played a large role in making it the best time at the City Ground in bloody ages. He was signed on loan from Aston Villa last January, which prompted an underwhelmed reaction from the Forest faithful unimpressed by his three-goal haul in 73 league appearances. But he quickly became a firm favourite, scoring five goals and offering three assists while adding a different dimension to Steve Cooper’s attack. Not good enough for the Premier League, Davis scored seven for Watford in the Championship last year before signing for Udinese and getting injured before kicking a ball for the Italians.
Sheffield United: Oliver Norwood
We’re cheating here a little since Norwood joined the Blades from Brighton initially on loan in summer 2018 before it was made a permanent arrangement at the first opportunity the following January. Sheffield United were the midfielder’s eighth club but at Bramall Lane he found his home. Norwood was one of the key performers in Chris Wilder’s overlapping centre-backs system and sprayed passes for fun while getting the Blades into the Premier League – twice. Hasn’t been as effective this season but that doesn’t detract from his legacy.
Tottenham: Dele Alli
Dejan Kulusevski is starting to push Dele here but barely a single eyelid was batted when Tottenham rounded off a quiet January 2015 transfer window by making a teenage Dele Alli their only signing a matter of minutes before the deadline. The midfielder arrived from MK Dons with a huge reputation but was hardly expected to make his mark on the first team any time soon; he made his England debut later that year, became a two-time PFA Young Player of the Year and was twice named in the PFA Team of the Year. Then it went woefully, inexplicably pear-shaped and Dele lost his way but, hopefully, the playmaker is slowing edging towards a return at Everton.
West Ham: Jesse Lingard
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer didn’t fancy Lingard much and the attacker appeared determined to prove the then-Manchester United manager wrong when he was allowed to join the Hammers on loan in January 2021. In 16 games, Lingard scored nine goals – more than he’d ever managed for United in a single season – and assisted five more. With his point seemingly proven, Lingard returned to Old Trafford, where Solskjaer still refused to pick him. Ralf Rangnick wasn’t minded to either, so when he left United as a free-agent, it was expected he would return to West Ham, who made a decent offer. Not just as a decent as Forest’s. Which wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Wolves: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
Since the Premier League – and therefore football itself – was established in 1992, only three players have been the top goalscorer in England’s second tier more than once. Of that trio, only two have won the Golden Boot in consecutive seasons. John Aldridge worked wonders for Tranmere in the early 1990s, and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake took on the mantle with ease over a decade later. He netted 23 times in 2007/08 despite joining Wolves from Plymouth halfway through the season, then fired his new side to the Premier League with 25 goals in 2008/09. He really is one of the deadliest Championship strikers of all-time.
Read more: Ten worst January transfers ranked: Only one deal worse than Man Utd/Arsenal swap
