January XI: The best signings in the transfer window
· The Football FaithfulThe January transfer window didn’t quite deliver the goods this year, with the biggest clubs, particularly in the Premier League, curbing their spending.
It’s left us with the tough task of finding the best 11 players to move clubs this past month and putting them into a coherent formation.
But we’ve done our best, so here are they are in a 4-4-bloody-2.
January XI: The best signings in the transfer window
GK: Hugo Lloris
The veteran goalkeeper left Spurs after 11 years to join LAFC in what is a massive signing for the MLS outfit.
RB: Sacha Boey
After realising that Kieran Trippier was not going to be leaving Newcastle United in January, Bayern Munich turn to Sacha Boey, who joined from Galatasaray for £25.6m (plus £4.3m in add-ons).
CB: Radu Dragusin
Bayern were also keen on Radu Dragusin, but the Romanian centre-back persevered with his move to Tottenham despite the German champions offering more money in salary. He moved from Genoa for £21.5m, which could rise to almost £25m.
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CB: Maxime Esteve
If one thing has become abundantly clear this far into the season it’s that Burnley need better defenders, and they may have secured one in the form of Maxime Esteve, who signed on loan from Montpellier. But will it be enough to save the Clarets from the drop?
LB: Valentin Barco
The 19-year-old is the latest highly-rated youngster to join Brighton, moving from Boca Juniors for around £7.8m.
CM: Kalvin Phillips
It’s been a while since we’ve seen the best of Kalvin Phillips, and he didn’t have the best West Ham debut, but his loan move from Man City is a transfer that suits all parties. It should give the midfielder the ideal platform to return to past form and impress Gareth Southgate enough to earn a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad.
CM: Adam Wharton
The most expensive signing by a Premier League club on deadline day was Crystal Palace‘s purchase of 19-year-old Adam Wharton, a sign of how prudent top-flight clubs are being around transfer spending. The defensive midfielder joins from Blackburn Rovers for an initial £18.5m after impressing in the Championship this season.
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RW: Jadon Sancho
Jadon Sancho escaped his nightmare spell at Manchester United, at least temporarily, by returning to the welcoming arms of former club Borussia Dortmund. The English winger has already shown he’s still got talent to burn since joining the German outfit on loan, and he’ll be hoping Erik ten Hag will be gone by the time he returns to Old Trafford if he wants to resurrect his Premier League career.
LW: Timo Werner
Nothing signifies the paucity of mid-season Premier League transfer dealings as much as Timo Werner being on this list. After flopping at Chelsea and not doing much better upon his return to Leipzig, the 27-year-old linked up with Ange Postecoglou in a loan move. In typical fashion the German is yet to find the net, but he has nonetheless contributed on the left side of Spurs’ three-man frontline in his first few matches.
CF: Vitor Roque
Barcelona’s main striker is an ageing veteran, so they made the wise decision to sign a promising youngster with bags of potential. Signing from Athletico Paranaense in a transfer deal that could cost up to £52.2m, Vitor Roque is one for the future, but he has already shown signs of his ability when he scored the winning goal against Osasuna this week.
CF: Gift Orban
After being linked with Premier League clubs such as Spurs and Fulham in the summer, Gift Orban remained at KAA Gent but eventually departed in January. The Nigerian striker joined Lyon for just £11m, which makes one think why an English club didn’t just take a punt on him in the last month for that price.