Top 10 most expensive January transfer window signings
Clubs usually make their most important signings in the summer transfer window since it is at the point where the preseason is starting and that is why it is where the most expensive signings are usually seen. Normally, in the January transfer window, more specific signings are made to compensate for any weakness detected during the first half of the season or a serious injury.However, there are cases of January signings that have been quite expensive and that is why today we bring the top 10 of most expensive January transfer window signings.
10. Oscar - Chelsea to Shanghai Port (2017)
During the Abramovich era, Chelsea had a strategy of signing many young players in order to have them "under their control", however few had opportunities with the London team's first team. Oscar arrived at the club in 2012 and unlike others, he managed to have many minutes with Chelsea.In January of 2017, in the middle of a turbulent season for him and with the Chinese football bubble at its best, Shanghai Port signed the Brazilian for 60 million euros and a salary of around 20 million annually, making him one of the highest paid players in the world. When the Chinese football bubble burst, most of the stars left the country however Oscar remained in the league despite the difficulties that the clubs there were experiencing.
9. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal (2018)
The Gabonese born in France finished his youth stage at AC Milan although he never made his professional debut for the Italian team, beginning a series of loan spells in French football. In 2013, Borussia Dortmund, who at that time had Jurgen Klopp on the bench, signed him as a complement to an attack that already included Lewandowski, Reus and Mkhitaryan.Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang impact was immediate and his performance simply increased as the seasons went by. In 2017, during the January transfer window, Arsenal paid 64 million euros for the Gabonese to become their leading scorer, a goal that the player fulfilled until his departure to FC Barcelona in 2022.
8. Christian Pulisic - Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea (2019)
The American Christian Pulisic went to Germany very young (16 years old) and there he joined the youth teams of Borussia Dortmund, where at only 17 years old he made his debut in the first team and quickly established himself there, capturing the attention of many important teams in Europe. In January 2019, Chelsea would pay 64 million euros for Pulisic although he would leave him on loan for the rest of the 2018-19 season at Dortmund.He would spend four seasons in the English club but he never managed to show the best version of himself mainly due to the constant injuries he suffered. Finally, in July 2023, Chelsea would sell him to AC Milan for a third of what they paid for the American.
7. Bruno Fernandes - Sporting Clube to Manchester United (2020)
The Portuguese Bruno Fernandes has always been a player who has caught the attention of scouts from a very young age, however, until his arrival at Sporting Clube in 2017, he had not had the opportunity to play for a team of that magnitude. During his two and a half seasons in Lisbon, he was one of the best players in the league and the main figure of his team, standing out for his ease in scoring goals despite his midfielder position.In January 2020, Manchester United, in a complicated football situation, made an important bet on Fernandes by paying 65 million euros to Sporting. It must be said that the bet has turned out well since he can be considered the best signing of the post-Ferguson era.
6. Aymeric Laporte - Athletic Club Bilbao to Manchester City (2018)
Despite being born and raised in France, Aymeric Laporte has Basque ancestors, which allowed him as a defender to reach the youth teams of Athletic Club Bilbao, from where he had brief spells with Baskonia and the Basque club's reserve team before making his debut in the first team in 2012.In 2013, he became a regular in Athletic's starting eleven, where he remained until the January of 2018, when Manchester City signed him for 65 million euros. In the citizen team he had good moments although he also had moments in which he was a regular substitute so in the summer of 2023, he decided to accept Al Nassr's offer.
5. Mykhaylo Mudryk - Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea (2023)
With the change of ownership of Chelsea in 2022, the London team began to make a series of signings of many players with the intention of making a transition from one era to the other. In this context, in 2023, Chelsea made a significant outlay (70 million euros) for the Shakthar Donetsk star at that time, the young winger Mykhaylo Mudryk.The signing was considered very expensive, understanding that the player did not have such a high valuation considering that he had not played in a top league or that his performance was not something so extraordinary. This has been confirmed in the Ukrainian's first seasons at Chelsea, where he has not left a good feeling.
4. Dusan Vlahovic - Fiorentina to Juventus (2022)
The Serbian was a very precocious player, making his professional debut for Partizan at the age of 16 and that made him a target for many important teams in Europe for their youth teams. Finally, in 2017, he reached a preliminary agreement to join Fiorentina when he turned 18, which was a year later.At Fiorentina Dusan Vlahovic had various difficulties that complicated his beginnings but by the 2020-21 season, he was already one of the best scorers in Italy. His performance was such that in January 2022, Juventus, in a restrictive economic situation, signed him for 75 million euros, as a bet on the present and future for the club. His performance with the Vecchia Signora has been increasing progressively each year.
3. Virgil Van Dijk - Southampton to Liverpool (2018)
The current captain of the Netherlands national team had difficult beginnings at the youth team level until he arrived at Groningen at the age of 19 and was able to make his debut in the Eredivisie and little by little establish himself in the first team. In 2013, he signed for Glasgow Celtic and a couple of seasons later he would reach the Premier League with Southampton.The Saints were established in those years as a selling club where the greats got good players. Thus, in January 2018, in a somewhat surprising move at the time, Liverpool paid 84.65 million euros for the defender. Far from being under a lot of scrutiny or the fear of being considered a flop, the Dutchman emerged as a key defensive piece in the team to the point of being considered one of the best in the world, for many, the best center back in recent years.
2. Enzo Fernández - Benfica to Chelsea (2023)
In that same whirlwind of signings that brought Mudryk to Chelsea, the Blues paid 121 million in the January of 2023 for the Argentine midfielder who had become world champion in Qatar less than a month before. Enzo Fernández's case is particular since he went from a loan at Defensa y Justicia in 2020-21 to Chelsea in 2023, passing through River Plate and Benfica in between.The reality is that, although the player has not done badly in London, his price and the team's performance have not favored him, since the demands he has are considerably higher than what he would have had in another context.
1. Philippe Coutinho - Liverpool to FC Barcelona (2018)
The Brazilian became known from a very young age (at the under 17 level) along with Neymar and was quickly signed by Inter Milan, which left him in Brazil until he came of age and then loaned him to Espanyol due to lack of minutes that he had on the Italian team. In 2013, Liverpool, following the advice of an old fan favorite, Rafa Benítez, signed the Brazilian.In the five years he was in England, Philippe Coutinho was one of the best players in the Premier League and that made Barcelona pay 142 million in the January of 2018, taking advantage of the money they received from the sale of Neymar. Coutinho never finished working at the Catalan club and that led to him being loaned out, first to Bayern (where he scored two goals in the famous 8-2 against Barcelona) and then to Aston Villa where he would finally stay.