Power Ranking European Clubs on Their January Transfer Window Moves
Which clubs did the best business during the 2018 January transfer window?
Winter windows are usually deathly quiet and anti-climactic, but this year's bucked the trend, handing us excitement and big-money deals from the first day to the last.
Every single one of the Premier League's top six signed a notable player, while Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund also got involved.
We've taken a look at every transfer that occurred, selected the 20 teams that we feel did the best business and ranked them in order.
When ranking the teams, consideration wasn't given solely to how good or expensive the players bought were, but also what sort of business was done on the sales side and, crucially, whether the month's work changes the prospects of the club's season.
All deals can be seen on the Guardian's January transfer window guide.
16-20
1 of 12
20. Schalke 04
Notable ins: Marko Pjaca (loan), Abdul Rahman Baba (loan)
Notable outs: None
19. Stoke City
Notable ins: Moritz Bauer, Kostas Stafylidis (loan), Badou Ndiaye
Notable outs: Josh Tymon (loan)
18. Athletic Bilbao
Notable ins: Inigo Martinez
Notable outs: Aymeric Laporte
17. Werder Bremen
Notable ins: Milot Rashica, Sebastian Langkamp, Marco Friedl (loan)
Notable outs: None
16. Lyon
Notable ins: Martin Terrier
Notable outs: Clement Grenier
11-15
2 of 12
15. Sassuolo
Notable ins: Pol Lirola, Mauricio Lemos (loan), Khouma Babacar (loan)
Notable outs: None
14. Swansea City
Notable ins: Andre Ayew, Andy King (loan)
Notable outs: Roque Mesa (loan)
13. Atletico Madrid
Notable ins: Diego Costa
Notable outs: Augusto Fernandez, Luciano Vietto (loan to buy)
12. Manchester United
Notable ins: Alexis Sanchez
Notable outs: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Axel Tuanzebe (loan)
11. Manchester City
Notable ins: Aymeric Laporte, Jack Harrison
Notable outs: Jack Harrison (loan), Eliaquim Mangala (loan), Marlos Moreno (loan)
10. Girondins Bordeaux
3 of 12
Notable ins: Paul Baysse, Soualiho Meite (loan), Martin Braithwaite (loan)
Notable outs: None
January's been a massive success for Bordeaux.
They've changed managers and immediately felt that typical boost such a move brings, retained the services of Malcom—one of the most wanted young players in Europe—and added three players who will undoubtedly help them continue to steady the ship.
Martin Braithwaite was superb for Toulouse last season and only finds himself back in Ligue 1 because he's not really a Tony Pulis player (hardly the biggest crime in football), while Paul Baysse can be impactful so long as he stays fit. Soualiho Meite can't get into the Monaco side, but he's fine for Bordeaux.
9. Borussia Dortmund
4 of 12
Notable ins: Manuel Akanji, Sergio Gomez, Michy Batshuayi (loan)
Notable outs: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Marc Bartra
It was a busy window for Borussia Dortmund, and while not every deal looks great on the surface, the good outweighs the bad.
First, BVB should be commended for selling Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He's been one hell of a goalscorer for them, but in their situation, his antics were becoming tough to stomach. Selling Marc Bartra so cheap looks a mistake, but the club likely feel a special duty of care toward him after the horrible events of last April.
Replacing Bartra is Manuel Akanji, an impressive and promising young centre-back acquired from FC Basel, while filling Aubameyang's shoes on a temporary basis is Michy Batshuayi, on loan from Chelsea.
Last, BVB's commitment to signing wonderkids continued, snaring Under-17 World Cup star Sergio Gomez from Barcelona for around €3 million, per ESPN.
8. Tottenham Hotspur
5 of 12
Notable ins: Lucas Moura
Notable outs: Georges-Kevin Nkoudou (loan)
Tottenham Hotspur have needed an attacking body like Lucas Moura's for quite a long time, so fans are understandably happy to see the only real hole in the squad now filled.
Better yet, Lucas can improve the team when he's on form, lessens the burden a little on the likes of Heung-Min Son (playing two positions at times) and Erik Lamela (easing his way back from a long time out) and has been secured for a modest £25 million fee, per The Independent.
7. Real Betis
6 of 12
Notable ins: Marc Bartra
Notable outs: None
Just the one move for Real Betis, but it's so good it lands them in seventh place in the rankings.
Marc Bartra represents a steal at €10 million, and although the reasons behind his cut-price move back to his homeland are really quite sickening, Betis know they've landed an excellent centre-back for about half his market value.
The Verdiblancos followed up the Bartra announcement with the news that Fabian Ruiz had signed a new deal with a higher release clause.
6. Bayern Munich
7 of 12
Notable ins: Sandro Wagner, Leon Goretzka (for the summer)
Notable outs: None
The key to Bayern Munich's high ranking is the Leon Goretzka deal. It's one that's been made in advance of the summer, but given they spent all month batting away interest from Premier League teams, we'll give them the reward for their hard work this month.
Goretzka's a complete central midfielder, capable of passing, scoring, tackling and dominating aerially. This combination of skills is incredibly rare, so Bayern were wise to ensure he got no further than their door when the time came for him to leave Schalke 04.
Signing Sandro Wagner seems like overkill on paper—will he receive the minutes he desires?—but the truth is Thomas Muller has become less and less comfortable as Robert Lewandowski's deputy, so a body was indeed required.
5. Sevilla
8 of 12
Notable ins: Guilherme Arana, Sandro Ramirez (loan), Roque Mesa (loan), Miguel Layun (loan)
Notable outs: Walter Montoya, Michael Krohn-Dehli
Sevilla spent the month mopping up on the loan market, bringing in three high-quality players and taking advantage of impatient Premier League teams.
Sandro and Roque Mesa barely played during their six-month stints in England, quickly finding themselves shorn of the managers who signed them, and now they will get the chance to excel with a good team in a league they know.
Their only permanent signing was left-back Guilherme Arana, who looks a lot of fun, but may need to be refined before he features. That makes Miguel Layun's acquisition all the more smart.
4. Chelsea
9 of 12
Notable ins: Ross Barkley, Emerson Palmieri, Olivier Giroud
Notable outs: Diego Costa, Charly Musonda (loan)
Chelsea's window was a mix of savvy business and good squad filling. Three players were brought in, and while none upgrade the starting XI, they do offer Antonio Conte something he's been looking for for a while.
Olivier Giroud at around £15 million (according to Goal.com) is a ridiculous bargain, and he's just about the only target man the Blues could have acquired this window that the fans would accept. Emerson Palmieri brings long-needed depth to the left flank, while Ross Barkley is a depth piece and a potential profit-maker later on.
On the sales side, Diego Costa's finally gone, and Chelsea have made a serious profit in selling him back to Atletico Madrid, while Charly Musonda was loaned to a club who will appreciate what he brings to the pitch.
3. Cologne
10 of 12
Notable ins: Simon Terodde, Vincent Koziello
Notable outs: Konstantin Rausch
Starting the window cut well adrift at the bottom of the Bundesliga table, it's a surprise Cologne managed to convince any players at all to join them—particularly on permanent deals.
But two arrivals were secured, bolstering the attacking and midfield sections. Simon Terodde already has three goals in Cologne colours, with his presence on the pitch helping the club to seven points, while Vincent Koziello is an energetic No. 8 who will drive himself into the ground to help this team.
These impact characters are what you need when you're in a hole the size Cologne find themselves in, and to grab them for just €3 million each is seriously impressive business.
2. Arsenal
11 of 12
Notable ins: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Notable outs: Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud, Francis Coquelin
Coming into the window, many Arsenal fans were eager to see a disenchanted Alexis Sanchez leave but were concerned by the potential knock-on effect in their side. Losing a player of that quality hurts regardless of whether you like him or not.
Unbelievably, Arsene Wenger managed to secure Henrikh Mkhitaryan's signature in the deal that sent Alexis to Manchester United, removing the need to hit the market and replace the Chilean.
He followed that up with the opportunistic capture of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabonese striker's arrival creates a lot of questions regarding formations and personnel and definitely wasn't needed, but if he's the signing that convinced Mesut Ozil to sign a new contract, as reported by the BBC's David Ornstein, it's already been half worth it.
Make no mistake: Arsenal have not been fixed; there are still problems Wenger must deal with for the rest of the season. But the Frenchman has made the best of a bad situation, reinspiring hope in some quarters of a beleaguered fanbase.
1. Barcelona
12 of 12
Notable ins: Philippe Coutinho, Yerry Mina
Notable outs: Javier Mascherano, Rafinha (loan to buy), Arda Turan (loan), Gerard Deulofeu (loan)
Clearly, Barcelona subscribe to the old adage "strike while the iron's hot." Despite seemingly having La Liga wrapped up for the season, they chose to substantially strengthen their squad with the signing of Philippe Coutinho, refusing to rest on their laurels.
They also added the impressive Yerry Mina for a bargain price and can give him time to grow and learn as an understudy to the likes of Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti.
To clear some room in the squad, they've waved goodbye to several players, none of whom were being leaned on, and in one case—Arda Turan's—it's a genuine relief to see him leave.
Often for clubs like Barca, January is almost solely about clearing the decks, but they've done that and added two talented players, further cementing the feel-good factor of 2017-18.
