The 5 Best January Transfers in Premier League History

Since the Premier League introduced the January transfer window at the start of 2003, its clubs have spent in excess of £1 billion during it. 

An astute signing in the middle of the season can either fuel a title challenge or help a club survive in the top flight.

Who have been the best signings made in the mid-season transfer window over the last 12 years?

Here I list the five players who have make the biggest impacts after being signed in January. 

Luis Suarez

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It is easy to forget Luis Suarez’s arrival at Anfield from Ajax for £22.7 million in January 2011 was actually overshadowed by Liverpool also signing Andy Carroll for a club-record fee of £35 million.

It soon became apparent that, while Carroll was a terrible waste of money, Suarez was an exceptional bargain.

Over the next three-and-a-half seasons, the Uruguayan scored 82 goals in 133 games to transform Liverpool and take them agonisingly close to winning their first Premier League title.

Liverpool reluctantly allowed Suarez to leave for Barcelona last summer in a deal worth £75 million

Nemanja Vidic

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Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic was a relative unknown when Sir Alex Ferguson brought him to Old Trafford from Spartak Moscow for just £7 million in January 2006.

"Good defenders win you things. ... This lad is really natural and athletic. You need good defenders and that is exactly what this lad is," Ferguson told MUTV, as reported by the BBC.

Ferguson was quickly proved right, as Vidic established himself as one of the Premier League’s most accomplished defenders, helping United win five titles, one Champions League, three League Cups and one Club World Cup.

After 300 games in all competitions for United, Vidic moved to Inter Milan in the summer of 2014.

Daniel Sturridge

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Daniel Sturridge’s potential had long been known around the Premier League, but he had been through both Manchester City and Chelsea without coming close to fulfilling it.

In January 2013, Liverpool decided to take a chance on Sturridge and signed him from Chelsea for £12 million.

It proved to be an astute move, as Sturridge finally became the player he had always threatened to be. Two years later, he is England’s leading striker and has a record of 36 goals in 52 games for Liverpool.

Nemanja Matic

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Three years after allowing the Nemanja Matic to leave for Benfica, Chelsea realised their mistake and brought him back to west London for a fee of £21 million.

"He has grown as a player in Portugal and has become a fantastic all-round midfielder,” the Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told the BBC.

Matic immediately brought his new calmness and authority to the centre of Chelsea’s midfield, and this season, his consistency has been crucial to the club’s pursuit of the Premier League title.

Patrice Evra

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In January 2006, Sir Alex Ferguson was committed to rebuilding the Manchester United defence with Vidic and Patrice Evra, whom he signed for £5 million from Monaco.

The left-back made his debut against Manchester City that month and soon found out about the harsh realities of the Premier League, looking uncomfortable in a 3-1 defeat.

As he has recalled in the Manchester Evening News: “It was really difficult. ... After the first 45 minutes, the manager took me off, told me to sit down, watch English football and learn.”

But Evra proved to be a quick learner, and by the end of his first full season, he had helped United regain the Premier League title.

He would become one of United’s greatest defenders before leaving for Juventus in the summer of 2014.