Who cost the most?
Premier League clubs spent a total of £430m in the January transfer window, with £150m splashed on deadline day alone. There were also some big sales involving sides in England’s top flight, as a handful of wantaway stars sealed moves abroad.
In this slideshow, we pick out the 20 biggest winter 2018 transfers involving Premier League clubs, with deals ranked on the fee involved.
20. Jordan Hugill, Preston to West Ham (£8m)
West Ham beat Crystal Palace to the signature of Hugill on deadline day, as the 6ft centre-forward swapped Lancashire for the London Stadium. The 25-year-old arrives in the capital having scored 10 goals in 29 games for Preston this season; his record in front of goal is therefore solid rather than spectacular, but Hugill’s hold-up play and aerial ability was probably what attracted David Moyes in the first place.
The January window was a frustrating one for West Ham in general, but Sam Byram and Aaron Cresswell have both excelled after joining the club from Championship sides in recent years, and Hugill will be keen to follow in their footsteps.
18= Alexander Sorloth, Midtjylland to Crystal Palace (£8.8m)
Roy Hodgson entered the transfer window keen to sign a new goalkeeper and centre-forward; although he and Palace were frustrated in their pursuit of an upgrade on Wayne Hennessey between the sticks, they did manage to find competition for striker Christian Benteke in the form of Sorloth.
The towering frontman stands at 6ft 5in and, as you might expect, is strong in the air and adept with his back to goal. With Benteke having underwhelmed for much of the season up to now, a positive start to his Palace career could see Sortloth usurp the Belgian in Hodgson’s starting XI.
18= Diafra Sakho, West Ham to Rennes (£8.8m)
Sakho’s departure in the January window appeared inevitable, with the Senegalese striker having failed to start a single Premier League game under either Slaven Bilic or David Moyes this term. The Senegalese striker only began two top-flight matches in the whole of 2016/17, but the Hammers were unable to shift him in the summer market.
Rennes are enjoying a positive season in Ligue 1 and could even qualify for the Europa League, with Sakho likely to be instrumental to their chances of a top-six finish.
17. Alex Pritchard, Norwich to Huddersfield (£10m)
Pritchard has made a handful of appearances in the Premier League for Tottenham and West Brom, but this is his real crack at the top tier. The Spurs academy graduate has impressed for Norwich in the Championship in the last season and a half, with David Wagner admitting the 24-year-old will offer his side “something different” in the final third.
Pritchard became Huddersfield’s second-most expensive acquisition of all time when his £10m deal went through in January, with striker Steve Mounier the only player who has ever cost Town more.
16. Francis Coquelin, Arsenal to Valencia (£12m)
Coquelin’s decade-long association with Arsenal came to an end in the January window, when Valencia snapped him up for £12m. The signings of Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny in the last couple of seasons, as well as the return to the fold of Jack Wilshere, have pushed the Frenchman down the midfield pecking order at the Emirates Stadium, but a move to Champions League-chasing Valencia is hardly a major step down.
Given the fact Coquelin still had two-and-a-half years left to run on his Arsenal contract, the Spanish side did well to pry him away from north London for just £12m.
14= Badou Ndiaye, Galatasaray to Stoke (£14m)
Most Stoke supporters won’t be overly familiar with Ndiaye’s previous work, but the 27-year-old midfielder will provide the Potters with energy, bite and aggression in the centre of the park. Although he only joined former club Galatasaray from fellow Turkish outfit Osmanlispor in summer 2017, a bid of £14m was sufficient to bring the Senegalese to the Premier League.
New manager Paul Lambert clearly identified the need for greater lung power in midfield, with Darren Fletcher and Charlie Adam both the wrong side of 30. Ndiaye, on paper at least, looks to be a good fit.
14= Jurgen Locadia, PSV to Brighton (£14m)
Signing a new striker in the winter window was a must for Brighton, who brought in former PSV frontman Locadia for £14m in early January. Purchasing centre-forwards from the Eredivisie can go one of two ways, but the evidence up to now suggests the Dutchman – who netted 45 goals in 127 league outings for PSV – is an upgrade on Glenn Murray and Tomer Hemed.
As the window closed Brighton were without a win in six games, their return of 18 goals from 25 games being the joint-lowest in the division. Whether or not Locadia is a success could determine Albion’s fate this season.
13. Ross Barkley, Everton to Chelsea (£15m)
Barkley looked set to join Chelsea last summer, but the deal mysteriously collapsed on deadline day when the Everton midfielder decided to stay put for the time being. His departure from Goodison Park was inevitable, though, and the Premier League champions duly parted with £15m to bring Barkley to London in the winter window.
The England international has made a slow start to his Chelsea career, although it’s worth remembering he’s only recently returned to action following a hamstring problem. Given he was available for a relatively low fee, this was a risk worth taking for the Blues.
12. Emerson Palmieri, Roma to Chelsea (£17m)
Palmieri’s move to Chelsea was somewhat overshadowed by the addition of Olivier Giroud on the same day, but the former Roma left-back could prove a bargain at £17m. The Brazilian may still be feeling his way back from a serious knee injury, but he’s a gifted defender and will provide Marcos Alonso with some much-needed competition at wing-back.
Antonio Conte was left frustrated with the Blues’ transfer dealings for a second successive window, although he’ll certainly have been pleased to bring in Emerson from Serie A.
10= Andre Ayew, West Ham to Swansea (£18m)
Ayew became West Ham’s club-record signing back in summer 2016, when he joined the east London outfit from Swansea for £20.5m. Eighteen months on and the Ghanaian is back at the Liberty Stadium, where he’ll be relied upon to both create and convert chances as Carlos Carvalhal’s charges attempt to avoid relegation.
There’ll be a degree of pressure on Ayew’s shoulders given he’s now the most expensive player in the Swans’ history, but his previous stint in south Wales will stand him in good stead and he’ll also enjoy linking up with brother Jordan.
10= Olivier Giroud, Arsenal to Chelsea (£18m)
After being linked with Andy Carroll, Peter Crouch and Ashley Barnes throughout January, Chelsea settled on another tall, targetman centre-forward on deadline day. Giroud is a better fit than all three of the aforementioned English strikers and, despite the fact he turns 32 later this year, represents good value for money at £18m.
Antonio Conte will hope he’s able to hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge, with Alvaro Morata continuing to struggle with a back injury. In theory Giroud should require little adaptation time, although it may take a couple of weeks for the Frenchman to rediscover his match sharpness.
9. Guido Carrillo, Monaco to Southampton (£19.2m)
It’s fair to say Southampton didn’t expect to be involved in a relegation battle at this stage of the season, but Mauricio Pellegrino’s men find themselves in a precarious position after 25 games. Having seemingly not been convinced by any of Shane Long, Charlie Austin and Manolo Gabbiadini, the Saints boss will hope his new £19.2m striker can score the goals required to drag his side clear of trouble.
Carrillo wasn’t exactly prolific at Monaco, where he averaged a goal every four-and-a-half games, but he may prove more effective as the first-choice No.9 at St Mary’s.
8. Theo Walcott, Arsenal to Everton (£20m)
After 12 years at Arsenal, Walcott sought pastures new in January. Everton were willing to stump up the £20m the Gunners demanded for the England international, and they’re presumably already pleased with their purchase after Walcott’s brace in the victory over Leicester at the end of the month.
Although he never really lived up to his early promise – much of which was caused by his shock inclusion in the 2006 World Cup squad as a 17-year-old – Walcott still scored over 100 goals for Arsenal and, at 28, has plenty to offer his new employers.
7. Lucas Moura, PSG to Tottenham (£25m)
It’s easy to forget that Lucas is still only 25 years old, so Tottenham did well to acquire him for only £25m. The Brazil international moved to PSG for £38m shortly before his 20th birthday in 2012, but he failed to live up to expectations in the French capital and fell further down the pecking order when Unai Emery added Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to his attacking arsenal in summer 2017.
Lucas still has time on his side, though, and Mauricio Pochettino could be the man to coax the best out of the talented winger.
6. Cenk Tosun, Besiktas to Everton (£27m)
Everton’s failure to adequately replace Romelu Lukaku in summer 2017 was belatedly addressed in January, as Tosun was snared to Goodison Park for £27m. The striker has already provided Sam Allardyce’s side with a greater physical presence at the top of the pitch, although his two appearances so far have yet to yield a goal.
The Turkish frontman became the third costliest Everton player of all time when he signed for the club, with only Lukaku and Gylfi Sigurdsson costing the Merseysiders more.
5. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal (£56m)
Arsenal fans feared the worst heading into January, with star men Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil both linked with moves away. The Gunners, however, deserve credit for their winter business: although Sanchez departed for Manchester United, the north Londoners were able to get Henrikh Mkhitaryan included in the deal, while Ozil put pen to paper on a new three-and-a-half year contract at the end of the month.
Arsenal’s most notable move was the signing of Aubameyang, who arrived at the Emirates Stadium in exchange for £56m. Although there have been a few doubts expressed related to his age and reliance on pace, the Gabon international is an elite striker with an excellent goalscoring record in recent years.
3= Diego Costa, Chelsea to Atletico Madrid (£57m)
In reality Costa left Chelsea several months ago, but his £57m return to Atletico Madrid only officially went through once the mid-season market opened for business. Despite being pivotal to the Blues’ Premier League title triumphs in 2014/15 and 2016/17, the Spain international was told by Antonio Conte in summer 2017 that he was free to depart Stamford Bridge.
Costa spent three seasons as an Atletico regular earlier in his career, and Diego Simeone was only too happy to bring the Brazil-born striker back to the Spanish capital.
3= Aymeric Laporte, Athletic Bilbao to Man City (£57m)
Alexis Sanchez seemed to be City’s principal transfer target heading into the winter window, but Laporte has been on the club’s radar for some time. The 23-year-old centre-back enjoyed an accomplished debut against West Brom on the final day of January, just over 30 hours after his £57m move to the Eithad Stadium was confirmed.
Only one defender has ever been sold for a higher fee than the ex-Athletic Bilbao man, but City will still consider Laporte good value given his age and quality.
2. Virgil van Dijk, Southampton to Liverpool (£75m)
Eyebrows were raised last summer when Jurgen Klopp opted against targeting a different centre-back once it became clear Southampton weren’t willing to part with Van Dijk. The Liverpool boss eventually got his man in January, though, spending £75m – a world record for a defender – on the Dutchman’s signature.
The Reds have struggled defensively throughout Klopp’s tenure, so Van Dijk is under pressure to help his new team tighten up at the back.
1. Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool to Barcelona (£142m)
At £142m, Barcelona bought Coutinho for almost double the amount of Virgil van Dijk, the runner-up on this list. The Brazilian became the second costliest player in the history of the game when he swapped Anfield for the Camp Nou in January, a move the attacking midfielder had been hoping to make the previous summer.
The signing of Coutinho means Barcelona have now been involved in the three priciest transactions of all time, with the former Inter man joining Ousmane Dembele (bought for £135.5m) and Neymar (sold to PSG for £198m) in the ranking.
