January 2018 transfer news

7 good, 7 bad: Analyzing the PL January deals

By Feb 1, 2018, 11:30 AM EST
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With a record $596.7 million spent on new players by Premier League clubs in January, there are plenty of new faces who are either settling in at their new clubs or they’re about to.

[ MORE: Latest January transfer news ] 

Bearing that in mind, let’s focus on seven deals which were good and seven deals where they jury remains well and truly out.

[ MORE: January transfer grades for each club ] 

Remember: the term “panic buy” was invented for the January window…

7 GOOD SIGNINGS

1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Dortmund to Arsenal, $79.6 million) – The big man should be a big player for Arsenal for many years to come and he joins as the reigning top goalscorer in the Bundesliga with a reputation for holding the ball up and finishing chances clinically. Auba’s arrival is a big boost for the Gunners and it will be intriguing to see if Lacazette lines up alongside him.
2. Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool to West Brom, loan) – Could prove to be the signing of the January window, if he stays fit. Sturridge’s pedigree as a supreme goalscorer is undoubted but he had no chances of regular minutes. Fair play to him for rolling up his sleeves in a relegation battle at West Brom rather than joining Inter Milan or Sevilla. He needs to play well, and scored goals, to work himself into England’s 2018 World Cup squad.
3. Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal to Man United, swap) – We all know about Sanchez’s quality and once Mourinho finds the perfect place for him in the lineup, he will flourish. He could perhaps do his best work centrally behind Lukaku before drifting out wide. Huge wages, but a swap deal for Mkhitaryan represented a wonderful deal for United.

4. Lucas Moura (PSG to Tottenham, $32.6 million) – This one flew under the radar on Deadline Day but could be the biggest bargain of them all. The former Real Madrid winger can rip opponents apart but was out of favor at PSG despite his best mate Neymar urging him to stay, The Brazilian winger will expect to start right away at Spurs.
5. Theo Walcott (Arsenal to Everton, $28.4 million) – Two goals and an assist in his first two games for Everton is a very tidy return and Walcott is another player hungry to get back into the England squad ahead of the World Cup. That’s good news for Everton and he’s made a flying start.
6. Fousseni Diabate (Ajaccio to Leicester, $2.55 million) – Another gem from France’s second tier for the Foxex as Diabete scored twice during his debut in the FA Cup and could be a replacement for Riyad Mahrez, long term. Pace, power and trickery, Diabete should slot into life in the PL very easily.
7. Joao Mario (Inter Milan to West Ham, loan) – Looks like an inspired loan deal until the end of the season with Mario being named Man of the Match on his PL debut. The Hammers may have finally replaced Dimitri Payet…

7 BAD SIGNINGS

1. Cenk Tosun (Besiktas to Everton, $38.3 million) – It appears that Besiktas have had a bit of a touch with this deal. Everton were desperate to bring in a new striker at the start of the window and they overpaid for Tosun. The Turkish striker has 64 goals in 124 games for Turkey but in his first few appearances for Everton he has looked off the pace.
2. Andre Ayew (West Ham to Swansea City, $25.5 million) – Bit of a strange deal this one. Andre Ayew didn’t want to move back to Swansea for most of the window, then all of a sudden he did. Swansea have paid a club-record fee for an injury prone striker who scored nine PL goals in 43 appearances for West Ham over the past two seasons. Hardly prolific.
3. Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Man United to Arsenal, swap) – Something about this just tells me it won’t quite be the success we all think. Yes, Mkhitaryan has his buddy Aubameyang with him, but there’s a lot of expectation on his shoulders. Failed to take games by the scruff of the neck at United over the last 18 months.

4. Guido Carrillo (Monaco to Southampton, $27.1 million) – A little harsh based on two sub appearances for Saints, but he didn’t exactly rip it up at Monaco. It appears the Ligue 1 club were quite surprised to see Saints spend a club-record fee. Pellegrino is desperate for goals but Carillo averages 1 every four  games in his career.
5. Ross Barkley (Everton to Chelsea, $21.3 million) – Looks a shadow of the player he was at Everton 18 months ago and Barkley’s career is in serious danger if it carries on in this trajectory. Is he going to be another promising Englishman who ends up on the Chelsea scrapheap?
6. Alex Pritchard (Norwich City to Huddersfield, $15.6 million) – Lot of pressure on his shoulders as the club-record signing and has so far struggled to settle into a struggling Terriers side.
7. Leonardo Ulloa (Leicester to Brighton, loan) – This move seems to be all about nostalgia. Yes, Ulloa is an aerial presence, but is he really better than Glenn Murray and Tomer Hemed? Probably not.

Key numbers: Premier League’s record-breaking January window

By Feb 1, 2018, 9:41 AM EST
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Premier League clubs shattered their previous record for spending in the January transfer window as the total outlay reached almost $600 million over the past 31 days.

[ MORE: Latest January transfer news ]  

With the window closed for the winter, there will be no new arrivals for the rest of the season. Don’t worry though, the summer window opens in 149 days…

[ MORE: January transfer grades for each club ] 

Official figures released by the PL on Feb. 1 show just how much clubs spent on new players, how much they brought in from players sales and, most importantly (at least for ArsenalFanTV…) the overall net spend in the league.

Can clubs afford it? Well, the PL has also said that the transfer spending in January equates to 3.11% of their total revenue this season. Not bad at all.

Simply put, clubs spent big on incoming players but also cut their cloth accordingly but sending others out on loan or selling to bring players in. Despite all of the crazy fees, there was plenty of sensible business out there.

Here are the key numbers behind a record-breaking January:

  • $596.7 million spent on new players in the Premier League
  • Premier League clubs received $386.8 million for selling players
  • That equals a net spend of $210.8 million between all 20 PL clubs, an average of $10.5 million per club
  • The previous record for the most money spent across the PL in a January window was back in the 2010-11 season when $319.8 million was dished out on new players

And here’s a look at the five biggest signings for Premier League clubs in January:

  1. Virgil Van Dijk (Southampton to Liverpool) – $106.6 million
  2. Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao to Man City) – $81 million
  3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal) – $79.6 million
  4. Cenk Tosun (Besiktas to Everton) – $38.3 million
  5. Lucas Moura (Paris Saint-Germain to Tottenham) – $32.6 million

Which clubs spent the most?

  1. Liverpool – $106.6 million
  2. Manchester City – $87 million
  3. Arsenal – $82.3 million
  4. Chelsea – $71.9 million
  5. Everton – $66.8 million

Five lowest net spending clubs

  1. Southampton – $79.4 million profit
  2. Liverpool – $45.5 million profit
  3. Newcastle United – $0 profit
  4. Manchester United – $0 profit
  5. Bournemouth – $0 profit

El Tri standout Moreno leaves Roma for Real Sociedad

By Jan 31, 2018, 10:06 PM EST
Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images
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When last we caught up with Hector Moreno, he was set to be a major player in AS Roma’s bid for a Serie A title.

[ MORE: Cameron, Arena argue USMNT ]

Just over six months later, he’s returning to La Liga to help arrest a relegation slide… and lead a Europa League run.

The 30-year-old El Tri defender has left Rome for Real Sociedad on a $7.5 million deal, one day after his new club sold Inigo Martinez to Athletic Bilbao for about $40 million.

The club says he’s signed a deal to keep him with the txuri-urdin through the 2020-21 season. The move will allow him consistent playing time ahead of the World Cup.

Moreno made just five Serie A appearances for i Lupi, and Roma went 5-0 in those matches including a pair of clean sheets in his lone starts.

Real Sociedad is on a 1W-3D-6L run in league play and has won one match since a Nov. 5 defeat of Eibar. They have progressed to the Round of 32 in the Europa League, where they meet Red Bull Salzburg on Feb. 15 and 22.

Stoke hopes $20m Ndiaye cures what ails them

By Jan 31, 2018, 9:19 PM EST
stokecityfc.com
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Stoke City completed what could be a season-saving pickup with the addition of Senegalese international Badou Ndiaye on Wednesday.

[ MORE: JPW grades every PL club ]

The $20 million price tag means only Giannelli Imbula has cost Stoke more money in the market.

Ndiaye, 27, comes from Galatasaray and is 14-times capped by Senegal with a goal. In a certain light, his success would make amends for what failed to materialize with the promising Imbula signing.

He led Gala in tackles and fouls per match. Here’s Paul Lambert‘s take on his new midfielder, from the Stoke Sentinel:

“I met him yesterday and had a quick chat and I know these things are pretty prolonged at times and I’m never sure until somebody says. I’m delighted he’s here.

“He’s going to the World Cup with Senegal. He’s a really good player which good energy for the game. Big crowds won’t faze him because he’s played in big grounds in Europe.

January addition Moritz Bauer has already started to stabilize the Potters’ back line with Kurt Zouma and Geoff Cameron, and Ndiaye could step up the middle of the park with Joe Allen.

Newcastle takes Slimani on loan just before deadline

By Jan 31, 2018, 6:42 PM EST
@NUFC
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Newcastle United’s first loan signing of the season was Man of the Match in Wednesday’s draw with Burnley, as Kenedy won a penalty kick and sent in the corner kick that resulted in Newcastle’s loan goal.

[ RECAP: Newcastle 1-1 Burnley ]

It’s second is an even more well-known quantity.

Islam Slimani will spend the second half of the Premier League season with Newcastle United, the big Algerian bringing five goals across all competitions to join his seven goal, four assists PL campaign in 2016-17.

Here’s Slimani, from Newcastle’s web site:

“Knowing the power of the fans and crowd here and how great they are, and also speaking to the manager, it gave me the confidence that this was the right choice.”

Slimani is still returning to fitness after a recent injury, and will not be able to play against Leicester City either.

Newcastle will also add a goalkeeper on loan, according to reports, with Martin Dubravka joining from Sparta Prague. Will it be enough to save Newcastle from a third relegation in 10 seasons?