Fernando Torres, Suarez, Carroll: 2011's Top 15 Premier League January Transfers
The usually dull Barclays Premier league January Transfer Window suddenly came to life on the last day as all records seemed to be shattered.
Liverpool were, probably, the biggest winners and Newcastle could seriously be called biggest losers (considering they’ll have to play without their prime striker for the rest of the season).
Now is the time to look back. Who were the biggest buys of the January transfer window?
The article lists the 15 biggest transfers of the window. The rankings are not only arranged by price, rather by the worldwide status of the player as well as the final impact that the player is supposed to create
So, where do Fernando Torres,Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll rank among the Premier League’s biggest transfers of the current window?
Just for a quick stat, an insane £215,625,000 was spent by the Premier League clubs in buying the stars during January, 2011!!!
Here we Go...
15. Wayne Bridge
1 of 16
From: Manchester City
To: West Ham United
How Much: LOAN
The former England Left-Back went out on loan to relegation strugglers West Ham. Although a regular starter last season, he has failed to cement his place in City’s starting line-up this season due to the arrival of Aleksandar Kolarov and Jerome Boateng.
Bridge has been a veteran of many transfers during his playing career. He started his career at Southampton in 1998. He moved to Chelsea in 2003 for an ultra-successful six year stint. He was loaned to Fulham, and finally signed for man City in the summer of 2009.
He debuted for the Three Lions in 2002 and retired in 2010 after an alleged affair between his ex-girlfriend and his then captain John Terry. He has a solitary goal for his country to his name.
14. Roque Santa Cruz
2 of 16
From: Manchester City
To: Blackburn Rovers
How Much: LOAN
The Paraguay-an International is on loan to Blackburn from Man City till the end of the season.
Once renowned for his goal-scoring prowess during his stay at Blackburn, the 29-year old has failed to hold a regular place in the starting eleven at Eastlands, due to influx of mega-money signings.
He started his career at Olimpia, before moving to Bayern Munich in 1999. He won the Bundesliga and the Champions League with the Bavarian team before switching to Premier League with Blackburn Rovers.
He has played 304 games in his club career, notching up 85 goals. He has 78 caps for country, scoring 23 goals.
13. John Carew
3 of 16
From: Aston Villa
To: Stoke City
How Much: LOAN
The lanky Norwegian has been loaned out to Stoke City till the end of the season.
The 30-year old forward started his playing career with Valerenga in Norway before moving to Rosenborg. He has also represented Valencia, Roma, Besiktas, and Lyon during his career to date. He was transferred to Villa Park in 2007.
Till date, he has made 338 appearances in Club Career scoring 110 goals. He is also a La Liga winner (with Valencia in 2001-02).
At the International level, he has 82 caps and 22 goals for Norway.
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12. David Bentley
4 of 16
From: Tottenham Hotspurs
To: Birmingham
How Much: LOAN
The Peterborough-born midfielder was loaned to Birmingham, after Spurs added Pienaar to their already congested midfield.
The 26-year old England International started his senior career with Arsenal in 2002. He was loaned out to Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers- henceforth making a permanent move with the latter. He then moved to Tottenham in the summer of 2008
His Club Record reads as : 29 Goals and 40 Assists in 239 Games.
11. Ryan Babel
5 of 16
From: Liverpool
To: TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
How Much: £6M
The 24-year old Dutchman is part of 6m inter-league transfer.
He started his career at Ajax, before moving to Liverpool in 2007. But despite repeated attempts under three different managers, he had failed to hold down a regular first team spot.
His Club Career statistics stand as: Matches Played- 247
Goals Scored- 42
He was picked up for the Dutch World Cup team in South Africa in 2010. Even though Holland reached the final in South Africa, Babel did not play even a single minute in the tournament.
10. Sulley Muntari
6 of 16
From: Internazionale
To: Sunderland
How Much: LOAN
The Ghana-ian midfielder handed in a transfer request and was subsequently loaned from European Champions Inter Milan to Premier League side Sunderland.
In his club career, the 26-year old has also played for Udinese and Portsmouth, before moving to Inter in 2008.
He has 57 caps for Ghana- scoring 16 goals-even though his relationship with the Country’s Football Federation has been rocky at times.
9. Robbie Keane
7 of 16
From: Tottenham Hotspurs
To: West Ham United
How Much: LOAN
The Northern Ireland striker was loaned out by Spurs to West Ham.
Perhaps the most experienced of all Premier League strikers at the moment, Robbie Keane was part of the so called "Golden Generation" of Republic of Ireland youth football of the late 1990s and won the UEFA U-18 Championship in 1998.
He has been a true journey-man through-out his long footballing career-playing for Wolves(1st Diviision), Coventry City(Premier League), Internazionale( Serie A), Leeds United, Tottenham,Liverpool( All Premier League),and Celtic( SPL).
The 30 –year old still has some great legs to fit into almost any Premier League team in some capacity. He has played a humongous 539 games in his club career, scoring 208 goals in return.
He is also the all-time leading goal-scorer of the Irish National team- scoring 45 goals in 104 games.
8.Steven Pienaar
8 of 16
From: Everton
To: Tottenham Hotspur
How Much: £3M
The 28-year old South African mid-fielder had his contract with Everton running out in the summer. Tottenham moved in and bought what still could be huge back-up for their Champions League dream.
At £3M, the former Ajax and Borussia Dortmund player could be considered a steal. He joined Everton from Dortmund on loan in 2007, and made the move permanent in 2008. He played 133 games for Everton, scoring 12 goals for the Merseyside team. He was awarded the Everton Player of the Year in 2009-10.
For the South African national team, he has played 46 times and scored 2 goals. He is the current captain of the team.
7. Emmanuel Adebayor
9 of 16
From: Manchester City
To: Real Madrid
How Much: LOAN
The Togo-lese forward has had a forgettable year at Manchester City. He was finally spared of the further nightmares when Jose Mourinho swooped him on loan for the rest of the season at Real Madrid.
The 26-year old former Arsenal striker has also played for Monaco and Metz in his initial career.
While at Arsenal he scored 62 goals in 142 games played, before enforcing a sensational move to ultra-ambitious Manchester City.
Since his move to Manchester, he has played 43 games for the club, scoring 19 goals and providing another 3 assists.
Adebayor captained the Togolese football team in their maiden World Cup appearance in Germany in 2006. He has appeared 38 times for country, scoring 16 times. He was part of the Togo team which was attacked during the African Cup of Nations in Angola in January 2010. He has retired from International football since.
He was awarded the African Player of the Year in 2008.
6. Darren Bent
10 of 16
From: Sunderland
To: Aston Villa
How Much: £24M
Darren bent was the subject of the January transfer between Aston Villa and Sunderland. The 26-year old English striker joined Aston Villa for a much debated £18M.
Bent has been a journeyman across England. He started playing for Ipswich Town in 2001, before moving to Charlton Athletic in 2005.
He moved to London-side Tottenham Hotspurs in 2007, subsequently joining Sunderland in 2009.
Below is the Club Record of the Veteran Striker
Club Duration Games Goals
Ipswich Town 2001-05 141 55
Charlton Athletic 2005-07 79 37
Tottenham Hotspur 2007-09 79 25
Sunderland 2009-11 63 36
Aston Villa 2011- 02 01
Total 2001-11 364 154
Compared to his Club record, Bent has been relatively neglected at the International Level, mustering just 7 appearances since debuting for The Three Lions in 2006,finding the net just once in the process.
5. David Luiz
11 of 16
From: Benfica
To: Chelsea
How much: £25m
The 23-year old was also one of the deadline-day signings in the Premier League. The Brazilian
center –back, after much hassling,finally moved to Chelsea for a reported 21m plus player(Nemanja
Matic) deal.
He started playing for Vitoria in 2005. He was subsequently loaned to Benfica in 2007 before making
his move permanent in the summer. Since then, he has played as a central defender for Benfica,
even scoring 6 goals.
He also has 3 Brazil caps to his name
4.Edin Dzeko
12 of 16
From: Wolfsburg
To: Man City
How Much: £27M
Edin Dzeko moved from 2009 Bundesliga Champions Wolfsburg to English Money-Bags Man City for a staggering £27M.
Edin Dzeko scored 66 goals in Germany, backing Wolfsburg to the victory in 2009.
He was the top in Bundesliga in 2009-10 scoring 22 league goals. In 2010-11 season, he had so far scored 10 league goals for Wolfsburg. He was awarded the Bundesliga players' German Footballer of the Year for season 2008–09.
The new Man City No. 10 also got off the mark in the 1-1 draw with Nottingham in FA Cup.
The Bosnian Striker has also scored 17 goals at the International Level.
3. Luis Suarez
13 of 16
Luis Suarez
From: Ajax Amsterdam
To: Liverpool
How Much: £22.8M
The Uruguayan hit-man, after lengthy negotiations, finally joined the Reds from Eredevisie side Ajax Amsterdam.
The 25-year old played for Ajax a total of 154 times, scoring 110 goals in total. He was the top scorer in Eredivisie in 2009-10 season.
He was awarded the Dutch Player of the Year in 2009-10.
He has also scored 17 goals while representing Uruguay at the International level. However, Suarez is remembered for his self-proclaimed ‘hand of god’ incident during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
2. Andy Carrol
14 of 16
From: Newcastle United
To: Liverpool
How Much: £35M
The most expensive British player ever. That says it all.
Toon Hero turned into a villain when he forced a move to Liverpool on the deadline day. Even though he is injured for the next two months, Liverpool still had to cough up what many believe is an outrageously inflated transfer amount for Carroll.
Make no doubt, he has the potential to be the very best in striking business.
Carroll has been compared to Newcastle legend Alan Shearer, and also to former Newcastle and Everton striker Duncan Ferguson due to his skill in the air. He is referred to as a classic No. 9 centre forward, owing to his strength, powerful shot, and excellent heading ability. Former Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan stated "he is probably in the top three headers of a ball I have ever seen in football."
After Newcastle's game at home to Blackpool, Ian Holloway, Blackpool manager, described Carroll as the best striker in the Premier League.
He started his career with Newcastle in 2006. He was loaned to Preston North End in 2007 but returned to Newcastle in 2008. He was one of the prime reason for Newcastle being promoted to the Premier League in 2010.
He also has one cap for England in a friendly defeat against France in 2010.
1. Fernando Torres
15 of 16
From: Liverpool
To: Chelsea
How Much: £50M
The Biggest transfer of the January Transfer Window. El Nino made a sensational move to Chelsea from Liverpool in a British inter-club record shattering deal worth 50m.
The dying moments of the Transfer Window saw Torres being granted his wish to join the Londoners. He even went on to proclaim that Chelsea are the biggest team in Europe,much to the anger of Liverpool fans.
The Spanish World Cup winner is rated as one the best strikers in World Football. The 26-year old has been off-form this season, but this did not stop the Blues from splashing the cash on Torres.
He started his career in Spain with Athletico Madrid in 2001. He played 294 games for Athletico, netting 94 goals.
In 2007, he moved to Liverpool for a reported 25m. With brilliant technique and expert striking capabilities, he was recognised as one of the best strikers in Europe. He played 142 games for Liverpool, scoring 81 goals in all.
He has a glittering International record too. Playing for Spain, his goal tally stands at 26 goals from 81 games. He was an integral part of the Spanish team that won the 2010 World Cup as well as the Euro 2008, scoring the only goal in Euro 2008 Final against Germany to hand Spain the trophy.
Honourable Mentions
16 of 16Mentions should also go to:
Carlos Vela -On Loan from Arsenal to West Brom
Jermaine Pennant Real Zaragoza to Stoke City for £1.78M
Jean Makoun- On Loan from Lyon to Aston Villa
Stephens Ireland- On Loan from Newcastle United to Aston Villa
Do you think there is any other signing which should have a mention?Which of the above signings would have the biggest effect on their club's fortune?
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