7 Biggest January Transfers in Premier League History

“Nobody is interested in selling key players right now”, “prices are too steep”, and “a small number of players are available right now”. These sentences are the commonest ones when you take a look at the interviews Premier League managers give regarding January transfers. This transfer window has always been considered a rather strange one.

The reason being that a lot of managers have pointed out that this is isn’t the best time for them to sign a player who will make a major impact in the first eleven. However, we can see that the real situation can be widely different in some cases. Since we are talking about EPL, it’s not surprising that so many clubs are ready to invest a couple of dozens of million in new additions to their squad, both in winter and during the summer transfer window.

Since this window was introduced in EPL in 2003, we can see that there was some resistance to this idea. However, pretty much all the clubs have adjusted to the new situation. In case you would like to learn more about it, be sure to read more and inform yourself about it. Now, let’s talk about the transfers made during winter that have been the heftiest ones. Let’s get started.

Virgil Van Dijk

In the last couple of years, Virgil Van Dijk has managed to become one of the best defenders in the world. He moved from Southampton to Liverpool for an exceptional €84.6 million. Like the majority of Southampton players at that time, he created quite a credibility for himself. Surely, this move proved to be one of the best ones Jurgen Klopp made while his time at Liverpool. The reason being that Van Dijk managed to win a lot of important titles, but the most important one is the long-awaited Premier League title after more than twenty years for the club.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is often regarded as one of the best African players ever. The reason being he played for some high-quality teams throughout his careers, like AC Milan, LOSC Lille, Monaco, Saint-Etienne, and Borussia Dortmund. In 2018, moved to Arsenal for €63.7 million. Even though Arsenal doesn’t have the best results after Arsene Wenger’s retirement, we can see that Auba has managed to score a high number of goals and to create numerous chances for his teammates. In 2018/19, he shared a golden boot with Mohamed Salah, which is a sign of how good he is.

Aymeric Laporte

There’s no doubt that Aymeric Laporte is one of the best defenders in the world. However, he struggles with his fitness since he arrived in Manchester City from Athletic Bilbao in a deal worth €65 million. Since he arrived, he has managed to win one FA Cup and two Premier League titles. But numerous injuries have limited his impact at the club and his ability to be on his top-notch form. In a season behind us, he played only a handful of games and didn’t leave any kind of an impact. Still, in 2024/21 he is on the rise, and we can expect to see way more of him. If hamstring injury doesn’t happen once again. Hopefully not.

Christian Pulisic

Christian Pulisic is, without any doubt, one of the major prospects in today’s football. What’s more interesting is that he comes from the United States, even though he has European origins. Over the years, he managed to turn in some really good performances while he played at Borussia Dortmund. Despite moving from PA Classics to Borussia Dortmund U17 in 2015, he says that he considers Dortmund his home. On the second of January 2019, he moved to Chelsea in a deal worth €64 million. However, he immediately returned to Dortmund for a loan spell until the end of the season 2018/19. Today, he’s 22-years-old, and he will show his true potential in the future.

Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres was surely one of the best forwards in his time. Even though he didn’t cope well with injuries in 2011, Chelsea decided to make a move and bring him over from their fierce-rival Liverpool for €58.5 million. Without any doubt, we are talking about one of the most impressive transfers at that time. However, his spell in London didn’t end too well. He managed to score 45 goals in 172 matches. However, one moment will be always remembered. He scored a goal in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. It is often regarded as one of the best goals in the history of the competition.

Bruno Fernandes

Now, we would like to talk about Bruno Fernandes and his move to Manchester United. A couple of days before the end of the transfer window, Bruno Fernandes moved from Sporting CP to Manchester United for €55.0 million, which could arise to €80 million through future bonuses. The Player’s ex-club, Sampdoria, received 10% of the total sum. Even though there was some skepticism, we can see that more than a year after the move, he has managed to become one of the best players in his club. Not only that, his statistics are really impressive, especially with the number of chances he created for his teammates.

Juan Mata

During his spell at Chelsea, Juan Mata was described as one of the best playmakers in the league. It’s no wonder that Manchester United wanted to sign him for €44.7 million in 2014. The veteran is still at Old Trafford and he still turns quality performances. Naturally, he is close to the end of his career, but he is still well-respected among his teammates despite not playing so much these days. Since 2014, he won four honors with the club, and score 33 goals in 186 matches. His contract expires at the end of the season, and it is unlikely that he will receive a new one at the club. However, he left a really big market in the last decade at Old Trafford.

In Conclusion

These are the biggest January transfers in the history of the premier league. We are sure that there are a lot of them to come in the future.