Wilfried Bony Will Be the Most Important January Transfer in the Premier League

The skies over England were largely silent on Monday as the lack of any meaningful transfer activity meant the usual fleet of helicopters ferrying footballers towards new clubs remained grounded. 

Down below Sky Sports reporters stood safely inside training grounds, protected from the usual barrage of sex toys, inflatable dolls and delinquent teenagers but also now looking rather bored as they had nothing of real interest to tell their viewers.

Back inside the studio Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher were wheeled out to discuss the final day of the window, but the pair sporting a yellow tie and handkerchief provoked far more interest than any of the non-existent deals they talked about.

By lunchtime the highest profile completed deal was that Stoke City’s Robert Huth had been lured away from playing his dubious Twitter games long enough to sign a loan deal with Leicester City, the Foxes confirmed.

This is what happens when you hype up deadline day beyond its actual worth. Eventually you will be left with a day like Monday, which all felt a bit dull and embarrassing.

It would seem the leading clubs have learned the hard way that spending big on deadline day, especially in the middle of the season in January, rarely guarantees success.

From a list of the 10 most expensive players signed on deadline day in January only one, Luis Suarez, who arrived at Liverpool for £22.8 million in 2011, could be deemed to be an absolute success.

The rest of this list reads as a cautionary tale for clubs tempted to do business so late in the window, including such unmitigated disasters as Chelsea’s £50 million signing of Fernando Torres, Andy Carroll’s £35 million move to Liverpool, and as recently as last year Kostas Mitroglou’s £12 million ill-fated move to Fulham.

Towards the end of the day Chelsea broke ranks and signed Juan Cuadrado, but there were no major incomings on Monday at Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City or Liverpool. 

Nearly a quarter of the total amount spent in January was accounted for by Manchester City’s £28 million signing of the Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Bony, who should prove to be the most important signing of the window.

Three weeks after signing him City are yet to start seeing a return on their investment as Bony has been away with his country at the African Cup of Nations where on Sunday he scored twice in a 3-1 win over Algeria to advance to the semi-finals.

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But when he finally arrives Bony should have a major influence on the destination of this season’s Premier League title.

How City could have done with Bony in their ranks at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening to break down Chelsea’s defences and secure the goal that would have turned one point in to three.

But there are 15 games left and 45 points still available for Bony to score the goals City need to help bridge the five-point gap with Chelsea and retain their title.

So far Chelsea have scored six more goals than City in the Premier League this season, but Bony’s arrival should bolster the City front line and address this imbalance.

It is quite a coup for City to have recruited the highest scoring player in the Premier League during the calendar year of 2014 for an almost reasonable £28 million.

It is worth noting too that when City signed Bony in the middle of January he was the fifth highest scorer across the six top European leagues since August 2012.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Graziano Pelle had scored more goals than him during the last two-and-a-half seasons. 

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Bony scored 20 goals throughout 2014, more than any other player in the English top flight, and two more than his new team-mate Sergio Aguero.

As well as goals, Bony’s raw physicality and presence up front should benefit Aguero, and begin to provide more openings and chances for the quick Argentine striker.

At the start of last season City boasted arguably the best stable of strikers in the Premier League with Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic, and together they contributed 45 Premier League goals to City winning the title.

And yet it was actually Yaya Toure with 20 goals who was the club’s leading scorer in the Premier League.

This season, however, City’s collection of strikers have contributed a more modest 21 goals so far with Aguero shouldering most of the burden with 14, while Jovetic has five and Dzeko just two.

Meanwhile Yaya Toure is not scoring at the same rate as last season and had managed seven goals by the end of January.

It makes the signing of the prolific Bony, who doesn't need to now settle in to a new league and country, something of a potential masterstroke for City. 

If Bony can continue to score at the same rate he did in 2014 for Swansea—and surrounded by better players he should now score even more—and also use his muscle to create more space in the penalty box for the runs of Aguero, David Silva and Frank Lampard, City should be on course to claim the most important signing in the January transfer window, and more importantly, the Premier League title.