January transfer window’s biggest winners and losers of the – Man City, Liverpool, Crystal Palace? YOU DECIDE
It was a January transfer window of great importance at both ends of the Premier League, with title hopefuls Manchester City addressing issues in attack and defence with the signings of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, while, at the bottom, West Ham brought in as many as three attacking options. But who are the winners and the losers of the window? It’s your turn to decide!
The January transfer window came to a quiet finish with just seven Premier League deals done on Deadline Day.
But it was a month of big spending for clubs at both ends of the table.
Manchester City attempted to bridge the gap to Arsenal with the additions of Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth and Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, both impressive additions as top performers in the past 18 months.
Meanwhile, West Ham saw a major exit in Lucas Paqueta, with Pablo Felipe, Taty Castellanos and Adama Traore brought in to try and keep the Hammers in the top flight.
Among the moves on Deadline Day were Liverpool’s £60m signing of Jeremy Jacquet, who will join in the summer, and Crystal Palace signing striker Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves for £48m.
Others teams chose not to dip into their pockets at all after spending big in the summer.
As always, the January transfer window was nowhere near as busy as its summer sibling, but we have still seen some big movers, which could shake up proceedings as the season goes on.
So with that, who are the winners and losers from the January window?
It’s time for you to have your say on which clubs and players profited the most. Cast your votes below!
Best signings?
Antoine Semenyo
This was the definition of transfer efficiency by Manchester City, getting the deal done quickly and without much fuss, despite interest from virtually every other major Premier League rival. Semenyo had been one of the stars of the season at Bournemouth and City jumped early to get their man ahead of the summer. He has already shown he is going to be a hit with three goals in his first four matches, including in a 2-0 win over Wolves.
Marc Guehi
Guehi was involved in one of the biggest transfer sagas of the summer where he seemed destined to go to Liverpool on Deadline Day, only for the deal to fall through at the death. It felt like a big missed opportunity to sign one of the biggest Premier League talents in defence. And, after excelling back in the Crystal Palace side but with only six months left of his deal, City struck again and brought Guehi in on a cut-price deal.
Oscar Bobb
As happens so often in modern day football, when one transfer happens, there is a domino effect – and that is the case with Oscar Bobb’s move to Fulham. The Norwegian looked destined to get his shot at City last season, before a pre-season leg break saw him reduced to just three Premier League appearances. While he made nine this term, with Semenyo coming in, Bobb found himself on the scrap heap. But make no mistake, he is a supremely talented player who could make a big impact on Fulham’s European dream.
Taty Castellanos
West Ham have struggled with consistency in their forward ranks and now, with Niklas Fullkrug heading to AC Milan, they brought in Castellanos from Lazio. The Argentine finished as the Serie A side’s top scorer last season and was extremely prolific in MLS for New York FC, scoring 49 goals in 101 games. He made his mark early on, scoring the winner in the FA Cup win over QPR, and has played his part in West Ham’s upturn in results in the Premier League, as they defeated both Tottenham and Sunderland.
Who had the best January transfer window?
Manchester City
With Guehi and Semenyo in, there is little doubt that City are among the biggest winners of this transfer window. Those moves leave them with a strong side ready to push for the Premier League title in the short term, but when the likes of Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Jeremie Doku return from injury, City will have riches that will be the envy of Europe once again.
West Ham
It has been a supremely busy window for West Ham, with Paqueta’s tumultuous time at the London Stadium coming to an end and players who struggled to live up to expectations in Fullkrug, James Ward-Prowse and Guido Rodriguez also heading out of the door. There was therefore space to bring in three attacking names – Felipe, Castellanos and Traore. All three could bring fresh impetus to an attack that was overly reliant on Jarrod Bowen as Nuno Espirito Santo tries to keep the Hammers up.
Fulham
This may seem like a stretch, but for Fulham to have no major outgoings despite interest in Harry Wilson, and to bring in a player of Bobb’s quality, they must be given praise. They have now given themselves every chance of overachieving under Marco Silva by grabbing one of the European spots for next season. Who would have thought that at the start of the season?
Aston Villa
Villa have had a brilliant season, sitting four points behind Arsenal and looking like one of the favourites to win the UEFA Europa League. Now it is crunch time, and they needed some depth behind Ollie Watkins, so they signed Tammy Abraham, a player who is popular with fans after an earlier loan spell at Villa Park. Injuries began to mount in midfield, so they brought back Douglas Luiz, another player who the fans adored and who knows both the club and Unai Emery’s style from his previous stint in Birmingham. Brazilian Alysson is a lesser prospect for the future. It might not have been the flashiest of windows, but it may yet prove one of the most effective.
Who struggled in the January transfer window?
Liverpool
After being applauded left, right and centre for their summer transfer window, Liverpool have not had the season many were expecting them to have. They face a battle for UEFA Champions League qualification next year and were in desperate need of defensive reinforcements, but failed to bring anyone in, seeing summer target Guehi head to rivals City, and completing a £60m deal for defender Jeremy Jacquet that won’t happen until the summer. On paper, Liverpool’s strongest XI is capable of beating anyone, but if injuries persist, it could be a tough few months at Anfield.
Crystal Palace
You could make a compelling case for Crystal Palace to be in the good or the bad windows, as while they have lost key personnel, they have recruited astutely and quickly – except for at centre-back. Brennan Johnson adds further pace to an already rapid attack, while Evan Guessand will be looking to get his career back on track. Strand Larsen was effective last season for Wolves and Jean-Phillipe Mateta ended up staying after his move to AC Milan was called off because of issues with his medical. What happens now with Mateta remains to be seen, but not finding a suitable Guehi replacement could prove costly.
Wolves
Wolves may already feel that their chances of survival are so slim that there is little point in recruiting players now, and they may have a point. There has been notable improvement under Rob Edwards and the plan may simply be to collate a squad that is ready to come straight back up from the Championship. Strand Larsen has gone for good money, and on Deadline Day there was a loan move for midfielder Angel Gomes from Marseille and the addition of Adam Armstrong from Southampton for £7m.
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