How much value can be gained in the January transfer window? Well, it all really depends who you ask and the circumstances surrounding any given transfer.
Football pundits, coaches and administrators in Germany and further throughout the continent see spending in January as a sign of weakness that reflects a complete lack of planning from a club.
Compare this to thriving markets in England and China who see it as a perfect opportunity to reinforce or change the dynamic of the squad. Of course those competitions have the financial clout to speculate in order to accumulate, but given the value for money in the past decade it should be viewed as a help rather than a hindrance.
Charlie Austin’s recent move from Queens Park Rangers to Southampton last month is the perfect case in point how the system can work to a clubs benefit, even for one with the modest resources of the South Coast outfit. At £4m pounds the value for money is outstanding with a record of 45 goals in 82 appearances for QPR across the English Premier League and Championship. If scouts and recruiters look hard enough they can unearth affordable quality.
The equation is never a one-size-fits-all sum. For every bargain that pays off, there are two or three flops that throw the theory into question. But looking over the history of the January window within the EPL demonstrates that an injection of talent at the halfway mark of a season can make the difference between promotion and staying down, between survival and relegation, between Europe and mid-table, or between a title and second place.
Here at The18 we’ve come up with the essential 10 January transfers that made a difference.
10. Gary Cahill: £7m January 2012, From Bolton to Chelsea
Having left Aston Villa as a bit-part squad player, centre-half Gary Cahill moved to Bolton Wanderers to get first team football. He stood out in the heart of defence as a well-rounded player that tackled and distributed as well as anyone in the top flight. Just before he was sacked, manager Andre Villas Boas oversaw the move where he slotted in perfectly. Months later he won the UEFA Champions League, started for England and took home the EPL title in 2015.
9. Clint Dempsey: £2m January 2007, From New England Revolution to Fulham
A number of goalkeepers had successfully transitioned into European football from the MLS, but few outfielders had made waves like Clint Dempsey. The Revolution product went for a poultry sum in 2007 to Fulham and with the side looking at relegation, the USA international scored the decisive goal against Liverpool in May to keep the team up.
He would leave the club five years later for three times the sum, but his free-scoring ability saw Dempsey taking the Cottages all the way to the Europa League final.
8. Wilfried Zaha: £6m January 2015, From Manchester United to Crystal Palace
Coming back to where it all started seemed a sensible choice given how badly Zaha’s brief United career panned out. The tricky winger bared the brunt of criticism under David Moyes’ tenuous reign at Old Trafford and a return to Selhurst Park was the perfect tonic for Wilfried to take the Eagles from an uncomfortable position to sitting comfortably in mid-table.
7. Mikel Arteta: £2m January 2005, From Real Sociedad to Everton
In the mid 2000s EPL clubs saw Spanish football as the perfect environment to recruit technically proficient players on the cheap. Real Sociedad did not have the funds to keep the products they were producing and Everton exploited that to perfection when they bought Mikel Arteta for next to nothing under David Moyes. 6 years later he left for Arsenal for five times the fee but became a fans favorite in the process.
6. Nemanja Matic: £21m January 2014, From Benfica to Chelsea
It was the original stuff up of the century in soccer terms, but Chelsea’s speed in fixing the error paid immediate dividends. The tough-tackling and silky Serbian midfielder returned to the Blues three seasons after going the other way where he thrived in Portugal. He would end up being the key cog in Mourinho’s 2014/15 title success.
5. Luis Suarez: £22.5m January 2011, From Ajax to Liverpool
When Suarez eventually departed for Barcelona at a staggering £75m transfer fee, Liverpool fans knew they had received maximum value for money. The firebrand Uruguayan scored 69 goals in 110 league appearances for Liverpool, where he almost single-handedly took the club to their maiden EPL title under Brendan Rodgers.
4. Nemanja Vidic: £7.2m January 2006, From Spartak Moscow to Manchester United
Uncompromising defenders are few and far between in modern football, but the Red Devils unearthed one of the best in modern history when they bought Nemanja Vidic. Since his introduction in 2006 he won 5 EPL titles, a UEFA Champions League and formed part of the fiercest defence with Rio Ferdinand across 211 appearances. The adulation upon the news of his recent retirement illustrated the esteem he was held in at Manchester United.
3. Javier Mascherano: £18m January 2007, From West Ham to Liverpool
It was a short three seasons at Anfield for the Argentine midfielder, yet Javier Mascherano’s impact under Rafael Benitez was invaluable. Coming in from West Ham, his distribution and protection of the defence allowed the likes of Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard to thrive in the middle of the park. His spell did not end in a title, but it showed how much class he had on the field which was enough to convince Barcelona to buy him in 2010.
2. Daniel Sturridge: £12m January 2013, From Chelsea to Liverpool
Chronic injury notwithstanding, Daniel Sturridge hit the ground running for Liverpool like a bullet out of the gate. As the striker was only being used partially off the bench at Stamford Bridge, the English front man saw the move as an opportunity to show his wears and 37 goals in 60 games later demonstrated that when he is fit enough to play, he makes the most of it.
1. Andrey Arshavin: £15m January 2009, From Zenit Saint Petersburg to Arsenal
With the snow belting down in London, the time sensitive nature of the January window closing had everyone at the Emirates anxious that the deal would collapse. Although it wouldn’t be official until 24 hours after it had slammed shut, the Russian’s introduction saw the diminutive playmaker score four goals at Liverpool and he had accumulated 25 goals in the first two years at Arsenal as a winger.
His career in North London nosedived since then but for £15m there is little doubt that Arsene Wenger would spend that money again on the same player.
