The big debate: Targeting players in January is always a risky strategy that drives up prices, but during the Premier League era, some elite players moved on and some clubs won mid-season gold.
Luis Suarez moved to Liverpool in January and has become one of the best players in the Premier League (Image: Getty Images)
The January transfer window is the toughest time of the year for player acquisitions, but it’s also a time when, if things go well, it can change the course of the season.
Pursuing players mid-season often stems from a desire to cover up rifts that develop during the season. This is the time when teams fighting for relegation are acquiring new players and are desperately looking for new quality talent.
However, there have been times over the years when top clubs have been able to bring in players so close to the end of the season. In some cases, players who were wanted in the summer are still in transfer negotiations, such as Virgil van Dijk, who moved to Liverpool in 2018.
Maybe players will unexpectedly appear in the market and it will be decided who will act first. Perhaps the deal will come suddenly or he may be tempted by the lure of the Premier League.
However, the right people at the right time can be transformative. Luis Suarez moved to Liverpool in January when they didn’t even have a permanent manager. Nemanja Matic helped Chelsea become champions 18 months after Jose Mourinho took over as manager for the second time. Who had heard of Nemanja Vidic before Sir Alex Ferguson called?
read more: Manchester United aren’t ‘that hard to fix’ as manager Michael Carrick says to fix obvious problemsread more: PSG ‘concerned’ over Enzo Fernandes transfer plan, £107m Chelsea star sacked
The Mirror Football writers have changed their minds to give their views on which January signing could be the best in Premier League history.
John Cross – Gary Cahill
The answer is simple, but not emphasized enough. Gary Cahill. The centre-half joined Chelsea from Bolton in 2012 for £7m after Arsenal balked at a hefty fee.
The barometer for whether a January signing is good or not is the impact they have on the team in the second half of the season. That’s why you’re trading. Well, Cahill went on to lift the Champions League trophy in his first season after playing a key role in the club’s remarkable rise to glory.
Gary Cahill becomes European champion with Chelsea (Image: Getty Images)
Cahill made a miraculous comeback from injury and was one of the heroes of Chelsea’s penalty shootout victory over Bayern Munich in Munich. This is their first European Cup and undoubtedly their biggest victory.
Cahill then spent seven years at Chelsea, becoming a club legend, winning the Premier League twice, the FA Cup twice, the Europa League twice and the League Cup once. He has also become a regular in England, being named in the PFA Team of the Year three times, and is a great representative and face for any club.
Sam Mead – Philippe Coutinho
It’s easy to forget that Inter Milan almost gave up on the young Brazilian when they were happy to sell him to Liverpool for just £8.5 million. Yes, you read that correctly. Before he knew it, Coutinho was part of Liverpool’s onslaught to win the title.
Although they narrowly missed out, Coutinho gave his all and scored the winning goal against eventual champions Manchester City in 2014, before Liverpool conceded.
Philippe Coutinho will go down as one of the greatest bargains of our time (Image: Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
The playmaker continued to step up even after some of his best team-mates left, and he was front and center when manager Jurgen Klopp first hit his stride. In the end, Barcelona’s appeal became too great, but Coutinho’s quality, combined with his value for money, made him one of the best players around.
He scored 54 goals in 201 games and was named the club’s Player of the Year in consecutive seasons. And unwittingly, his £105m advance yielded a huge profit that ultimately bought Virgil van Dijk to the club. Without this series of events, Liverpool probably wouldn’t have gotten to where they are today.
Andy Dunn – Papis Cissé
A number of January signings have proven to be excellent long-term acquisitions, with Virgil van Dijk, Bruno Fernandes and Luis Suarez all standing out.
But usually when you buy in winter, you want a fast-acting effect. So come forward, Papis Cissé, now with Wythenshawe Betts but formerly with Newcastle United and others. It would be an understatement to say that the Senegalese striker’s four-and-a-half year career at St James’ Park has had its ups and downs.
Papis Cisse scored one of the Premier League’s best goals for Chelsea (Image: Getty Images)
But January’s best signings are those who arrive and make an immediate impression. After all, they are mostly short-term gambles. And after signing in January 2012, Cissé will soon be repaying the £9.3m fee it cost him to lure him away from Freiburg.
He played in 14 games in the Premier League, scoring 13 goals. That includes the goal he scored with the outside of his right foot against Chelsea’s Petr Cech, winning him the BBC Goal of the Season award.
Although he was not able to maintain such a goal average over the next four seasons, his mid-season signing in the Premier League had a big impact on Cisse.
Daniel Ohm – Robert Huth
Normally when an aging centre-back plagued by injury problems leaves Stoke for Leicester, it goes completely unreported, but let’s be honest, that wasn’t the case at the time. Robert Foote’s loan move to the King Power Stadium in 2015 looked like a last-ditch move from a relegation-destined club.
Oh, how wrong we were. The German centre-back helped the Foxes fight for survival, winning seven of their final nine games of the season and clinching an unexpected spot in the Premier League.
Robert Foos was part of the Leicester miracle (Image: Getty Images)
But it was what happened next that underlined Hughes, who became a permanent Leicester player soon after, as a legendary figure in the East Midlands. The centre-back played another important role the following season, as Leicester rose from relegation candidates to unlikely champions.
He played in 35 of 38 games, scoring crucial goals against Tottenham and Manchester City, helping Leicester win the Premier League and writing one of the greatest sporting stories ever told. And if it hadn’t been for Hughes’ arrival, it might never have started.
Neil McCleman – Virgil van Dijk
He didn’t come cheap – the £75m Dutchman was the most expensive defender in transfer history at the time – but he was worth every penny and became the heart and soul of the Anfield club.
Klopp’s side reached the Champions League final that season, finished in the top four and won Europe’s top club competition and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019. He then played a major role in helping Liverpool win the Premier League for the first time in 30 years.
The signing of Virgil van Dijk was the catalyst for Liverpool’s success (Image: Getty Images)
Van Dijk is not only a world-class defender but also a hugely positive influence on and off the pitch. And Liverpool won’t be the same without him, even at 34. He should remain at the club in some form even after his playing career is over.
Honorable mention to the other Kieran Trippier who joined Newcastle in January 2022 and led them to Champions League and Carabao Cup wins.
Jeremy Cross – Bruno Fernandes
Considering Manchester United’s recent transfer history, Bruno Fernandes has to be the club’s best signing in January. And come to think of it, some United executives didn’t want to move forward with this deal.
A scout gave a video presentation questioning whether Fernandes had the right attitude and mindset to succeed at Old Trafford after kicking the dressing room door off its hinges after receiving a red card against Sporting Lisbon.
But Fernandez was the best signing of the Ed Woodward era. He has been a fixture at United since joining for just £47m in 2020. Fernandes is a key figure in the team and it’s scary to think where the club would be without him.
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