Another transfer window has come and gone in the Football Transfer Tavern and whilst we are all in agreement that yesterday’s deadline day was hardly the most exciting we have seen, some of the Premier League clubs will be delighted with the business they have managed at the start of 2015.
There wasn’t the thrills and spills of deadline days gone by with no huge Mesut Ozil, Dimitar Berbatov or Fernando Torres moves with much of the focus placed on Aaron Lennon’s loan switch to Everton.
Of the clubs at the top of the table, it was Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City who proved the busiest whilst Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion added the most reinforcements to help in their respective battles against relegation.
In total, this year’s spending matched the £130 million spent in January 2014 however the figure fell well short of the record £225 million spent in 2011.
Here, we have identified five of the best pieces of business done over the course of January.
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Click on Jose Mourinho to reveal The 5 best deals this January transfer window.
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Andre Schurrle to Wolfsburg – £22 million
Despite scoring some important goals for Chelsea, Andre Schurrle was never going to be a first team regular under Jose Mourinho. So to recoup £22 million for his sale back to Germany is pretty good business by the Chelsea boss.
To put it into context, over the past 12 months Chelsea have sold Juan Mata, Kevin De Bruyne, David Luiz and now Andre Schurrle for a combined total of more than £100 million on players Mourinho didn’t really rate.
Juan Cuadrado to Chelsea – £23.3 million
Chelsea fans can always expect one big arrival in the transfer window and this time it has proven to be Colombian international winger Juan Cuadrado. With Mohamed Salah and Andre Schurrle moving out of Stamford Bridge, Cuadrado offers something a bit different from the wide areas.
Manchester United and Barcelona have previously expressed an interest in him, so for Chelsea to land him for just £1.3million than they sold Andre Schurrle for is great business.
Cuadrado will offer more pace, trickery, assists and goals to a Chelsea side that already sits five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Wilfried Bony to Manchester City – £28 million
No Premier League player managed more goals in the year that was 2014 than Wilfried Bony. And with the likes of Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic struggling to provide goals at Manchester City, a £28 million move for Bony made sense for the champions.
In Bony and Aguero, they now have two proven Premier League goal scorers at the spearhead of their attack. Whilst £28million is a major transfer fee, if Bony can score the goals to take City past Chelsea and to the Premier League title come May, we will be looking back at this deal as a defining moment in the season.
Gabriel Paulista to Arsenal – £11 million
The transfer window is so often the time in which Arsene Wenger lets himself down. However this year, he took everyone by surprise and actually went out and signed a player the Gunners were in desperate need of.
Brazilian centre back Gabriel Paulista has been a major force in La Liga with Villarreal and could prove to be an excellent addition to the Premier League once he settles.
Arsenal appear to be coming into their own at the moment and had it not been for defensive lapses in the early part of the season, a title challenge would have been a genuine possibility. The signing of Paulista should help them secure that final fourth spot and Champions League qualification however.
Dele Alli to Tottenham – £5 million
This is a deal that may well go under the radar considering Dele Alli has gone back to MK Dons on loan for the remainder of the season. But Tottenham supporters may well be celebrating the best bit of business of the lot in the next few years because in the 18-year-old midfielder they have signed one of the brightest young talents in the country.
Dele Alli has 12 goals from midfield for the Dons this season and has previously caught the attention of Liverpool, Newcastle United and Manchester United. He has even been described as the ‘new Steven Gerrard’ by some and could well prove a bargain for £5 million in the not so distant future.
