Manchester City's Best and Worst January Signings of All Time
January is a notoriously difficult time to sign players, particularly for the biggest teams. Rival clubs don’t want to let their best players leave midseason, and many are cup tied after appearing in various competitions already.
The general surprise around Juan Mata’s transfer from Chelsea to Manchester United this week illustrates the point. It’s unusual to see two top sides (in the Premier League, at least) trade players in January, given the advantage and impetus it potentially provides the buying club.
Despite the difficulties, there are some good deals to be done at this time of the year. The Red Devils have been linked with Yohan Cabaye at a reasonable fee—a world-class player available to play in the Champions League and exactly the type of deal clubs at the top table of English football look to complete during this window (via ESPN).
Manchester City have managed to complete a handful of January deals in recent seasons, but which ones are the best? Here, we look back on the best and worst of their midseason transfers.
Best
Craig Bellamy
Signed in January 2009 for £14 million (via BBC Sport), Craig Bellamy proved to be an excellent signing by Mark Hughes. He gave everything for City, like he has done at every club he's played for, and his desire to win raised the performances of those around him.
His pace was a welcome addition to a side that possessed little at that time, and he offered City a new dimension.
His wonderful goal against the Reds in the defeat at Old Trafford was memorable, as was his performance away at Chelsea in City's 4-2 win, their first victory at Stamford Bridge in 17 years.
Bellamy scored two goals that day and gave a famous post-match interview in which he lamented John Terry's off-field behaviour in light of the revelations concerning his affair with the mother of Wayne Bridge's young son. Bellamy has never been one to toe the party line, but it was that irreverence that seemingly fuelled his brilliance.
In the summer of 2010, he was sold by Roberto Mancini, who seemed to take an instant dislike to the outspoken Welshman. He left for Cardiff on a season-long loan before eventually moving there permanently. His short-term impact at City, however, should not be forgotten.
Nigel De Jong
An expensive acquisition at £18 million, particularly given he was just six months away from triggering a clause in his Hamburg contract that would have allowed him to leave for £1.8 million, Nigel De Jong proved to be an excellent capture. He was incredibly limited in terms of his remit—operating in one very narrow strip of turf in front of the back four—but he was very, very good at it.
De Jong was a key player in City's run to the 2011 FA Cup Final, where they beat Stoke to claim their first piece of major silverware in 35 years. The following season, his role was reduced somewhat, but he would often come off the bench and allow Yaya Toure the freedom to move higher up the pitch—a tactic that helped the Blues win the title.
He eventually left for AC Milan after a three-and-a-half year stint at the club in which he made 137 appearances. He had just one year left on his contract and had found himself on the bench too often for a player of his quality.
With Mancini trying to evolve the City midfield, a player like De Jong was no longer seen as valuable, but there's no doubting the impact he had immediately after his arrival.
Edin Dzeko
He may not have proven to be the consistent, world-class target man many felt City were getting when they forked out £27 million to bring Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg back in January 2011 (via BBC Sport), but there can be very few who feel he hasn't contributed considerably to City's success in recent seasons.
Dzeko has scored 56 goals since his move (via Soccerbase), a healthy return for a player who has often been in and out of the side. His finest performance, of course, was his four-goal showing at White Hart Lane when City smashed Tottenham, 5-1, in 2011, and his equaliser against Queens Park Rangers in that game was of huge significance.
He has 16 goals this season despite being behind Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo in the pecking order.
Worst
Wayne Bridge
Very few players have performed quite as badly as Wayne Bridge during his time at the club. Signed by Hughes from Chelsea in January 2009 for £12 million (via the Guardian), Bridge's time at the club was a disaster, and he eventually left for Reading when his contract ended in the summer of 2013 (via BBC Sport) after loan spells at West Ham, Sunderland and Brighton and Hove Albion.
According to Daniel Taylor of the Guardian, Bridge was reportedly earning £4.7 million a year during his time at City, yet he made just 57 appearances, many of which were catastrophic. It seems the full-back became far more concerned with his celebrity lifestyle rather than playing well for City. The relief when he was finally off the payroll at City was palpable, bringing to an end a wretched spell in which there were very few good performances.
Felipe Caicedo
In January 2008, then-City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson signed striker Felipe Caicedo from Basel for around £5 million, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal (via BBC Sport).
He went on to make just 27 appearances for the club, scoring four goals, before loan moves to Sporting Lisbon, Malaga and Levante. He eventually signed for Lokomotiv Moscow, ending an awful period at City in which he looked far too raw to ever break into the City first-team.
He showed the odd glimpse of his ability, with his strength his main asset, but he lacked the all-around game and intelligence needed to excel at the top level of English football.
Georgios Samaras
Stuart Pearce's marquee signing was Greek striker Georgios Samaras, who signed for £6 million from Dutch club Heerenveen in January 2006 (via BBC Sport). The 20-year-old signed a four-and-a-half-year contract.
It was clear almost immediately that Samaras lacked technical proficiency, and the fans quickly realised he was not the player they so badly needed. He scored just 12 goals in two-and-a-half years before moving to Celtic on loan. He eventually made his loan move permanent and has carved out a successful career north of the boarder.
Pearce struggled to implement any kind of attacking philosophy during his time in charge at City, and his move for Samaras was indicative of his lack of understanding goalscoring talent.
Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here @TypicalCity.
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