MY ACCOUNT
Premier League clubs splashed in excess of £800million during the January transfer window, with Chelsea breaking the British transfer record with the £107m purchase of World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez.
But which clubs made the right signings to bolster their ambitions and which clubs may be left ruing silly signings or missed opportunities?
Winners in the relegation scrap
No less than seven teams sit within three points of Southampton at the bottom of the Premier League and of that group, Leicester, Leeds and Wolves look like the transfer winners.
The Foxes addressed three areas of weakness with the signings of Danish left-back Victor Kristiansen, World Cup star Harry Souttar at centre-back and winger Tete.
The additions of Kristiansen and Souttar will shore up the defence, while the arrival of Tete allows James Maddison to move back into the centre without losing quality on the flank. Manager Brendan Rodgers will be feeling positive.
Leeds’ capture of Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie was something of a coup and defender Max Wober has followed manager Jesse Marsch from Red Bull Salzburg to Elland Road. Add in £24.8m signing Georginio Rutter and the Whites have added depth and quality and will expect to pull away from danger.
So too will Wolves, who have brought in experience as well as a couple of younger prospects. Pablo Sarabia, Craig Dawson, Mario Lemina and David Bentley are all 29 or older and offer expertise that should help Julen Lopetegui’s men stay up.
The relegation losers
Among the other relegation candidates, Southampton did well to capture Croatian attacking midfielder Mislav Orsic for £8m but Kamaldeen Sulemana and Paul Onuachu have plenty to prove to justify price tags of £22m and £18m respectively.
Bournemouth spent an estimated £55m but none of their attacking signings and loans are hugely convincing. However, centre-back Illya Zabarnyi could prove a shrewd buy even at £24m.
West Ham have bought a proven Premier League goalscorer in Danny Ings but he did not set the world alight at Aston Villa and, at 30 years old, represents a gamble at £12m.
However, the biggest losers were Everton, who weaken themselves with the sale of Anthony Gordon and failed to bring in any reinforcements whatsoever. The Toffees’ survival hopes now rest squarely on the shoulders of new manager Sean Dyche.
The title challengers
Another side who weakened themselves in January were Manchester City, who are 5/4 in LiveScore Bet’s Premier League winner market after letting full-back Joao Cancelo go on loan to Bayern Munich.
That will be a boost to leaders Arsenal, who were unable to strengthen as well as they had hoped. Instead of Mykhailo Mudryk and Moises Caicedo, Mikel Arteta must make do with Leandro Trossard and Jorginho – both decent reinforcements but not the title-clinchers they were after.
But the Gunners, who are 4/6 to win the title with LiveScore Bet, remain in pole position and have additional options.
Any hopes Newcastle supporters had of a megastar arriving to spark a title push fizzled out, with the club overspending on £40m Anthony Gordon in their only significant transfer move.
Manchester United did well to cover Christian Eriksen’s injury with the impressive Marcel Sabitzer but he and fellow loanee Wout Weghorst are more gap-pluggers than game changers – the Red Devils are no stronger after the transfer window than before it.
The European chasers
Liverpool’s top-four hopes faded with an underwhelming transfer window, the arrival of Cody Gakpo an exciting addition but one that failed to address the obvious midfield problems. £35.4m Gakpo was Jurgen Klopp’s only signing.
Tottenham eventually landed the primary wing-back target with the capture of Sporting star Pedro Porro and he could prove a game-changer who allows Antonio Conte’s system to click.
Attacker Arnaut Danjuma also arrived but Bryan Gil departed, arguably making little difference to the quality of the Spurs frontline. But Conte will be pleased enough and Spurs are 5/2 to finish in the top four with LiveScore Bet.
Brighton’s best business was holding onto Caicedo and they brought in only a couple of youngsters. Though if recent history is any guide, soon there will be a host of big clubs clamouring to take Yasin Ayari and Facundo Buonanotte off their hands for 10 times the price.
The big movers were Chelsea, who took their transfer spend to over half a billion in the past two transfer windows and can be backed at 8/1 to finish in the top four.
Manager Graham Potter certainly has options but so many signings will also bring problems. At least one of his star signings will miss out on the Champions League squad due to UEFA regulations and several new or recent stars will suddenly find themselves out in the cold.
Thrilling winger Mudryk could prove the heir to Eden Hazard and Benoit Badiashile is an excellent defensive recruit.
Record signing Fernandez stole the headlines, however. But while clearly a hugely talented player, a £107m spend on a player who cost Benfica just £8.8m last summer and has played just half a season in European football remains a massive gamble.
It could pay off in style. Or Fernandez could join the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Alvaro Morata and Fernando Torres in arriving at Stamford Bridge for a massive fee before utterly failing to justify the price tag. No pressure, Enzo.
