This January, Premier League clubs were much more conservative than last, with only six sides actually committing money to a permanent signing. Considering £430million was spent in 2018’s winter window, the fall to £180m in 2019 is dramatic indeed. High player salaries, uncertainty around Brexit, and big teams being well stocked were factors in a month of modesty. Still, there were moves made and even deals sealed.
We assesses each club’s work as the window shuts till summer.
Arsenal
IN
Denis Suarez (Barcelona, loan)
OUT
Emiliano Martinez (Reading, loan)
Emile Smith Rowe (RB Leipzig, loan)
Unai Emery said at the start of January that Arsenal had no cash for major transfers so would have to concentrate on loans. By gosh he was telling the truth. The club’s only signing was Barcelona’s Denis Suarez, who played under Emery at Sevilla. The 25-year-old has been unable to displace some bloke called Lionel so a temporary switch to north London – with the option to make the move permanent for around £20m in the summer – makes sense.
Bournemouth
IN
Dominic Solanke (Liverpool, £19m)
Chris Mepham (Brentford, £12m)
Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool, loan)
OUT
Matt Worthington (Yeovil Town, free)
Jermain Defoe (Rangers, loan)
Marc Pugh (Hull City, loan)
Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa, loan)
Eddie Howe has used Bournemouth’s Premier League security to make long-term investments in his squad to be integrated gradually. Spending a combined £31m on Dominic Solanke and Chris Mepham, two players with five Premier League starts between them, might be seen as excessive but both are 21 and ripe for Howe’s coaching methods. He has shown he can improve players of that age.
Brighton
IN
Jan Mlakar (Maribor, £2.7m)
Tudor-Cristian Baluta (Viitorul Constanta, £2.7m)
OUT
Ben White (Peterborough United, loan)
Ben Barclay (Nottingham Forest, loan)
Markus Suttner (Fortuna Dusseldorf, loan)
A quiet window for Chris Hughton, whose composure in press conferences is replicated in his approach to the market. If a deal is not right, he won’t do it. He has preferred to work with his group as it is, with the side seven points clear of the relegation zone. They did bring in two players for the future in Maribor striker Jan Mlakar and Viitorul Constanta midfielder Tudor-Cristian Baluta, 20 and 19 respectively. Both were loaned back to their clubs for the rest of the season.
Burnley
IN
Peter Crouch (Stoke, undisclosed)
OUT
Sam Vokes (Stoke, undisclosed)
Sean Dyche produced one of the most warming stories of the window by bringing Peter Crouch back for a Premier League swan-song at the age of 38. The deal is until the end of the season, believed to be no fee to Burnley, and gives Dyche variety in his attack. Sam Vokes went to the other way to Stoke in a deal that could be worth £9m including add-ons, a good price.
Cardiff
IN
Oumar Niasse (Everton, loan)
Leandro Bacuna (Reading, undisclosed)
OUT
Anthony Pilkington (Wigan Athletic, undisclosed)
Gary Madine (Sheffield United, loan)
Lee Tomlin (Peterborough United, loan)
Mark Harris (Port Vale, loan)
Omar Bogle (Portsmouth, loan)
No balance sheet could ever detail the loss Cardiff felt this window. Emiliano Sala’s disappearance when flying over the Channel after his £15m record transfer from Nantes will forever be etched into the club’s history. In the circumstances, Neil Warnock weighed up walking away. He will of course stay and he got back to work with the signing of Leandro Bacuna.
Chelsea
IN
Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund, £58m)
Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus, loan)
OUT
Cesc Fabregas (Monaco, £10m)
Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid, loan)
Kasey Palmer (Bristol City, loan)
Lewis Baker (Reading, loan)
Victor Moses (Fenerbahce, loan)
Matt Miazga (Reading, loan)
Lucas Piazon (Chievo, loan)
Michy Batshuayi (Crystal Palace, loan)
Delivered an answer to the most pressing issue in the squad, namely getting an elite striker in and offloading Alvaro Morata, who had begun to look like the timid kid at the back of the class who only puts his hand up to ask to go to the loo. Whether Gonzalo Higuain can score the goals to get Chelsea into next season’s Champions League depends on how quickly he adapts to England at the age of 31. Bournemouth wasn’t a great start. Signing Christian Pulisic for £58m seems decent long-term business, but only if they can keep Callum Hudson-Odoi beyond summer.
Crystal Palace
IN
Bakary Sako (West Bromwich Albion, free)
Lucas Perri (Sao Paulo, loan)
Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea, loan)
OUT
Jonny Williams (Charlton Athletic, undisclosed)
Jordon Mutch (released)
Jason Puncheon (Huddersfield Town, loan)
Alexander Sorloth (Gent, loan)
Steve Parrish brought all the deadline-day drama, announcing the return of ‘Batsman’ Michy Batshuayi at gone midnight. Bringing in the Chelsea striker on loan looks a shrewd move for some extra pep in Roy Hodgson’s attack, although the 25-year-old’s underwhelming stint at Valencia raises a notion of doubt.
Everton
IN
NONE
OUT
Kieran Dowell (Sheffield United, loan)
Mason Holgate (West Bromwich Albion, loan)
Oumar Niasse (Cardiff City, loan)
Cuco Martina (Feyenoord, loan)
Beni Baningime (Wigan, loan)
Yannick Bolasie (Anderlecht, loan)
Idrissa Gueye’s proposed move to Paris Saint-Germain dominated Everton’s January, and in the face of a transfer request and numerous bids of over £20m Marco Silva can view the 29-year-old staying as a victory. It will be fascinating to see how Gueye responds to missing out on a deal of a lifetime, however. Everton really needed to add a centre-forward to allow Richarlison back out to his best position on the wing, but any approach for Batshuayi failed.
Fulham
IN
Ryan Babel (Besiktas, free)
Havard Nordtveit (Hoffenheim, loan)
Lazar Markovic (Liverpool, free)
OUT
Aboubakar Kamara (Yeni Malatyaspor, loan)
Stefan Johansen (West Brom, loan)
Nobody in the photograph announcing Aboubakar Kamara’s loan to Yeni Malatyaspor looked happy. Maybe because they’ve just been told the yoga session is next. You imagine people at Fulham are wearing smiles at least. Getting rid of a winger who has acted like a one-man wrecking ball is good business whatever the price. Ryan Babel has already shown in glimpses he was worth bringing in from Besiktas for free, while Lazar Markovic is ready for his customary mid-season mission to a relegation battle.
Huddersfield
IN
Jaden Brown (Tottenham Hotspur, free)
Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace, loan)
OUT
Rajiv van la Parra (Middlesbrough, loan)
Collin Quaner (Ipswich Town, loan)
Jaden Brown (Exeter City, loan)
How do you approach a window when you look doomed to relegation? Huddersfield went for the sensible option – making a couple of low-cost acquisitions that will work in the Championship rather than gambling big money on a survival that seems impossible.
Leicester
IN
Youri Tielemans (Monaco, loan)
OUT
Yohan Benalouane (Nottingham Forest, undisclosed)
Vicente Iborra (Villarreal, loan)
Fousseni Diabate (Sivasspor, loan)
Yohan Benalouane (Nottingham Forest, undisclosed)
Adrien Silva (Monaco, loan)
Andy King (Derby, loan)
Bringing in Youri Tielemans can be regarded as a significant coup. The midfielder moved to Monaco for £22m in 2017 with a reputation as one of Europe’s most promising players and, now 21, will bring energy, quality and forward motion to Leicester’s core. Monaco only sanctioned a loan as they believe they can get big money for him in the summer. Despite his youth he has more than 250 appearances in his career.
Liverpool
IN
NONE
OUT
Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth, £19m)
Nathaniel Clyne (Bournemouth, loan)
Ovie Ejaria (Reading, loan)
Lazar Markovic (Fulham, free)
Jurgen Klopp has driven his club to a different place than last season, so the requirements of this window are different too. Twelve months ago Virgil Van Dijk was arriving for a record £75m fee. This time no signings, as the German is happy with who he has as Liverpool chase a first title in 29 years.
Manchester City
IN
Ante Palaversa (Hajduk Split, £7m)
OUT
Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid, £22m)
Rabbi Matondo (Schalke, £10m)
Pep Guardiola has effectively kept his chequebook dry also, although City would have done Frenkie De Jong had the money been right. Not £65m. City have developed a reputation for walking away from deals when the cost gets too high, although perhaps the lure of Barcelona for De Jong was the primary cause he is not coming to England.
Manchester United
IN
NONE
OUT
Regan Poole (Newport County, loan)
Joel Pereira (KV Kortrijk, loan)
Another big club, another spend of zero. Having a supposed caretaker manager in charge, even if it is Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, makes it difficult to complete any long-term transfer targets.
Newcastle
IN
Miguel Almiron (Atlanta United, £20.5m)
Antonio Barreca (Monaco, loan)
OUT
Jamie Sterry (Crewe Alexandra, loan)
Rolando Aarons (Sheffield Wednesday, loan)
Achraf Lazaar (Sheffield Wednesday, loan)
Jacob Murphy (West Brom, loan)
The last time Newcastle broke their transfer record Tony Blair was still two years from standing down as PM, the Nokia 1110 was the most popular phone, and Tony Christie reprised ‘Is This the Way to Amarillo’ with Peter Kay for the biggest-selling single. That was 2005, when Michael Owen joined for £16.8m from real Madrid. Now, finally, this is the way to Almiron. Miguel Almiron.
Southampton
IN
NONE
OUT
Manolo Gabbiadini (Sampdoria, £11.7m)
Ryan Seager (Yeovil Town, free)
Cedric Soares (Inter Milan, loan)
Jake Hesketh (MK Dons, loan)
Ralph Hasenhuttl knows his mind and was satisfied to go by without making a signing. The Austrian tried for Che Adams but ultimately decided to settle for the players he has, which includes Charlie Austin. It had seemed Austin was destined to depart but without any incomings Southampton need his scoring capabilities.
Tottenham
IN
NONE
OUT
Mousa Dembele (Guangzhou, £11m)
Jaden Brown (Huddersfield Town, free)
Kazaiah Sterling (Sunderland, loan)
We knew Spurs were in all likelihood going to finish a second successive window without making a signing, but the injuries to Harry Kane and Dele Alli gave cause for them to try a final-day bid for Batshuayi. Chelsea wanted more than £5m in loan fees from Spurs, despite eventually sending him to Selhurst Park for £2m. All’s fair in love and war for the top four.
Watford
IN
NONE
OUT
Stefano Okaka (Udinese, loan)
Marvin Zeegelaar (Udinese, loan)
Ben Wilmot (Udinese, loan)
Michael Folivi (AFC Wimbledon, loan)
Javi Gracia keeps things quietly ticking along at Vicarage Road and it was the same story for the club in this window. No links, no drama, no signings. Just fine for a team who look collected and robust. Chelsea reportedly took a look at Abdoulaye Doucoure but that never gathered pace.
West Ham
IN
Mesaque Dju (Benfica, free)
Samir Nasri (free agent)
OUT
Joe Powell (Northampton Town, loan)
Reece Oxford (Augsburg, loan)
The Marko Arnautovic saga dominated West Ham’s month and Pablo Zabaleta admitted the loss of focus affected the dressing room. Arnautovic got a new contract so he is satisfied for the time-being, but at what cost to the side’s harmony. Samir Nasri arrived on good wages but looking trim after his ban. He played well in the win over Arsenal but then got injured. Let’s just hope he doesn’t decide to quicken his recovery via any intravenous methods.
Wolves
IN
Jonny Otto (Atletico Madrid, £18m)
David Wang (Jumilla B, undisclosed)
OUT
Danny Batth (Stoke City, £3.5m)
David Wang (Sporting Lisbon, loan)
Kortney Hause (Aston Villa, loan)
Bright Enobakhare (Coventry City, loan)
Ethan Ebanks-Landell (Rochdale, loan)
Leo Bonatini (Nottingham Forest, loan)
Dominic Iorfa (She