The mid-season transfer market closed last night after another busy deadline day.
Many across Europe’s top leagues freshened their squads in the winter market, with the usual flurry of deals completed at the 11th hour.
Liverpool were the only English top four team to add immediate reinforcements to their squad this January, as the Reds acquired winger Luis Díaz, 25, from Porto. Liverpool paid €45M upfront, with the deal potentially rising to €60M including bonuses, and the Colombia international signed at Anfield until 2027.
Manchester City signed 22-year-old striker Julian Alvarez for €17M, however the Argentine will continue at River Plate for the remainder of the season.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and West Ham are all fighting for two top four places, yet none made new additions in January.
Several other European powerhouses were active in the market, including Barcelona who bought Ferran Torres from Man City for a €55M fee. The 21-year-old forward completed a return to his native Spain, 18 months after arriving in Manchester from Valencia.
Torres signed a five-year contract with the Catalan club, while the reigning English champions made a 100 per cent profit after they bought the player for €27M in August 2020.
Barça brought in Dani Alves on a free transfer, as the 38-year-old made a return to the club after five years away from the Camp Nou. Also returning to La Blaugrana was Adama Traoré, a product out of La Masia. The Spanish-Malian wide-man joined on an initial loan deal, with a €30M buy option in the summer.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrived in Catalonia on Monday hoping to force a move to Barça, after the Gabon forward fell out with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. Aubameyang was stripped of the Gunners' captaincy in December and he was allowed to leave the London club on a free transfer on deadline day. The deal is awaiting confirmation at the time of writing.
Juventus forked out a whopping €70M for Dusan Vlahovic and the Serbian striker penned a four-year deal on his 22nd birthday. Including add-ons, Fiorentina may receive in excess of €80M.
Juventus completed the deadline day signing of Denis Zakaria, 25, from Borussia Monchengladbach for €8M. The Swiss international has a market value above €25M but was in the final months of his contract in Germany, and the Old Lady landed an experienced midfielder for a substantially cut price.
Meanwhile, leaving Turin were Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur who both relocated to London, signing for Antonio Conte’s Tottenham – the former on loan and the latter permanently.
Kulusevski, a 21-year-old winger, has joined Spurs on an initial 18-month loan and Bentancur moves to North London for €19M on a four-year contract, after almost five years at Juventus. The Bianconeri signed Kulusevski for €35M in January 2020, but the Swede has made just five starts for Juve this season in a combined 29 games in Serie A and UEFA Champions League.
Tottenham loaned out record signing Tanguy Ndombélé to Lyon – from where they signed the French midfielder for €60M in 2019 – as well as Giovani Lo Celso to Villarreal, and Bryan Gil to Valencia. All three loan deals are valid until the end of the 21/22 season.
The January market was also utilised by clubs which have undergone changes in management during the course of the season. A handful of Premier League teams kept busy during the window, namely Aston Villa and Newcastle.
Making a grand return to the English top-flight was Coutinho, who joined the Villains on loan from Barcelona. The Brazilian playmaker left Liverpool for Barcelona in January 2018 after five years at Anfield, where he was teammates with new boss Steven Gerrard.
Villa have a €40M buy option at the end of the season.
Another former player of Barcelona signed at Villa Park this January as left-back Lucas Digne switched from Everton. Villa laid out €27M for the 28-year-old French international, who signed a four-year deal in Birmingham after three years on Merseyside.
Calum Chambers joined Villa on a free transfer from Arsenal.
England international Kieran Trippier became Newcastle's first signing since the Magpies changed ownership last year. Upon returning to England, Trippier had 107 Premier League appearances to his name from earlier spells with Burnley and Spurs, and the 31-year-old reunites with boss Eddie Howe ten years after playing under the current Newcastle boss at Burnley.
Trippier was away from the English game for two-and-a-half years as the progressive full-back enjoyed a stint with current La Liga champions Atlético Madrid, before switching to Tyneside for a €15M fee.
Newcastle also signed striker Chris Wood from fellow strugglers Burnley – costing close to €30M – defender Dan Burn from Brighton for €15M, as well as Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimarães from French side Lyon for a fee of €40M, which may rise above €50M with add-ons.
Trippier, Wood and Burn all signed at St James’ Park until June 2024; Guimarães penned a deal through to 2026. Matt Targett joined the Magpies on loan for the rest of the season.
Burnley moved for Dutch striker Wout Weghorst to replace the departed Wood, and the 6’6" forward cost the Clarets €15M.
Brentford signed Christian Eriksen on a short-term deal until the end of the season, seven months after the Danish midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest on the field at Euro 2020. Eriksen previously made 226 Premier League appearances with Spurs.
Everton acquired Ukraine left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko for €23M in place of the outgoing Digne. The Toffees also loaned Donny Van de Beek from Man United, and signed Dele Alli on a free from Spurs.
Man United loaned out-of-favour winger Anthony Martial to Sevilla for the rest of the season, while Amad Diallo joined Rangers on a loan deal until the end of the season.
Rangers also loaned in Aaron Ramsey from Juventus, with the Welsh midfielder sealing his move to Glasgow on deadline day.
Inter Milan signed German defender Robin Gosens from Atalanta on loan with obligation to buy for €25M in the summer.
Premier League clubs spent a combined sum in the region of €350M in January. Newcastle were the biggest spenders as its new hierarchy splashed out around €100M during the month.
Most expensive transfers, January 2022
🇷🇸D. Vlahovic, 22, Fiorentina to Juventus, €70M
🇪🇸F. Torres, 21, Man City to Barcelona, €55M
🇨🇴L. Díaz, 25, Porto to Liverpool, €45M
🇧🇷B. Guimarães, 24, Lyon to Newcastle, €40M
🇫🇷L. Digne, 28, Everton to Aston Villa, €27M
Free agents, July 2022:
🇫🇷K. Mbappé
🇫🇷P. Pogba
🇫🇷O. Dembélé
🇫🇷A. Lacazette
🇩🇪A. Rüdiger
🇩🇪N. Süle
🇨🇮F. Kessié
🇺🇾E. Cavani
🇦🇷P. Dybala
🏴G. Bale
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