EPL Transfer Window Closes: How Does Your Team Look Now?
The January transfer window is always an interesting one, but certainly none more so in recent memory than this year.
What seemed like a quiet window became a money-throwing frenzy as the British transfer record was broken not once, but twice.
Expected big spenders Manchester City were overshadowed by the powers that be at Stamford Bridge, Anfield and Villa Park.
League leaders Manchester United seemed content with what they have while Arsenal again failed to address their worrying goalkeeper situation.
With the season now past the halfway mark and some major moves made, how will your team fare for the remainder of the season?
Arsenal
1 of 20
Players In
Ryo Miyaichi (Chukyodai Chuyko High School)
Players Out
Aaron Ramsey, Jay Emmanuel Thomas ( both Cardiff City, loan), Carlos Vela (West Bromwich Albion, loan), Henri Lansbury (Norwich City, loan), Craig Eastmond (Millwall, loan), Vito Mannone (Hull City, loan), Kyle Bartley (Glasgow Rangers, loan)
Arsene Wenger rarely makes a move in the January window unless a genuine bargain—Andrei Arshavin—comes up and this year was no different.
Many will look at the goalkeeping and defensive problems and think an opportunity was missed to strengthen, but with Vermaelen on the road to recovery, Fabiánski looking like a better proposition than before and the emergence of Szczęsny, the Gunners look equipped to continue their season in all four competitions.
A fit Van Persie, Walcott and Vermaelen will provide a big boost in the run into May.
Aston Villa
2 of 20
Players In
Darren Bent (Sunderland), Robert Pires, Jean Makoun (Lyon), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach, loan), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur, loan)
Players Out
Curtis Davies (Birmingham City), John Carew (Stoke City, loan), Jonathan Hogg (Portsmouth, loan), Steven Ireland (Newcastle United, loan), Shane Lowry (Sheffield United, loan), Steve Sidwell (Fulham)
Villa looked the big spenders until a last-minute dash by Liverpool and Chelsea made their signings look like a splash in the ocean.
At 24 million too, Darren Bent is looking a bargain compared to the money paid for Andy Carroll. While still more expensive than Suarez and almost matching the fee paid for Dzeko, with Bent you can guarantee one thing: goals. With Young, Downing and Albrighton supplying the ammunition, he should thrive here.
The additions of Makoun and Bradley look like sound signings and bring much-needed experience to the middle of the park.
Don't expect Villa to be anywhere near as bad as they have been so far this season.
Birmingham City
3 of 20
Players In
David Bentley (Tottenham Hotspur, loan), Curtis Davies (Aston Villa), Obafemi Martins (Rubin Kazan, loan)
Players Out
Garry O'Connor (Barnsley, loan), Marcus Bent (Sheffield United, loan), James O'Shea (Port Vale, loan), Michel (AEK Athens, loan)
Birmingham entered January in desperate need of one thing: a new striker. After a failed attempt to lure Robbie Keane, they secured the services of former Newcastle forward Obafemi Martins.
Having collected quite a few large transfer fees, Martins has not exactly given a great return for any of his previous clubs. Alex McLeish will be hoping he can form a formidable little and large act with Nikola Žigić.
David Bentley, after suffering a nightmare at Spurs, has already looked like a good signing in his first few games.
.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Blackburn Rovers
4 of 20
Players In
Roque Santa Cruz (Manchester City, loan), Jermaine Jones (Schalke, loan), Ruben Rochina (Barcelona B), Mauro Formica (Newell's Old Boys)
Players Out
Pascal Chimbonda (QPR, loan), Aaron Doran (Inverness, loan), Arnie Linganzi (Preston North End, loan)
Blackburn's transfer activity has been very much what you would expect from a club with a caretaker manager.
The return of Roque Santa Cruz should be a huge boost for a team that has been struggling to find goals.
Deadline day signings Formica and Rochina look like wise ones, but don't expect an immediate impact from them.
Blackpool
5 of 20
Players In
Andy Reid (Sunderland, loan), Salaheddine Sbai (Nimes, loan), James Beattie (Glasgow Rangers, loan), Jason Puncheon (Southampton, loan)
Players Out
Stephen Husband (Stockport County, loan), Louis Almond (Barrow, loan), Ashely Eastham (Cheltenham Town, loan), Mark Halstead (Kettering, loan)
Ian Holloway's best piece of business this January will be ensuring that captain Charlie Adam will be playing his football at Bloomfield Road until the summer at least.
Of the signings made, a fit Andy Reid might provide creative spark in Adam's absence.
The addition of Beattie is a poor one as he's a player who has never managed to produce consistently at the top level of English football.
Bolton Wanderers
6 of 20
Players In
David Wheater (Middlesborough), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea, loan)
Players Out
Andy O'Brien (Leeds), Riga Mustapha (released)
Like Blackpool, Bolton will be happy to ensure that the likes of Gary Cahill and Johan Elmander have not been the subject of bids from bigger teams.
After failing to have much impact at Manchester City and Chelsea, Daniel Sturridge will surely see this as his last chance to prove himself at the top before dropping down a division to ply his trade.
Chelsea
7 of 20
Players In
Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Luiz (Benfica)
Players Out
Gael Kakuta (Fulham, loan), Patrick van Aanholt (Leicester City, loan), Daniel Sturridge (Bolton Wanderers, loan), Nemanja Matic (Benfica)
Chelsea's season has been brutal so far and something needed to change. Now it has. A deadline day spending spree reminiscent of Abramovich's early ventures sees the arrival of Fernando Torres and David Luiz.
They now have arguably two of the best strikers to play in the Premier League in the last five years, alongside Rooney.
Luiz—while slightly overpriced—will provide the defensive cover that's been needed since Carvalho's departure in the summer.
Expect a very different Chelsea for the rest of the season, especially with a fit again Lampard.
Everton
8 of 20
Players In
Eric Dier (Sporting Lisbon, loan), Apostolos Vellios (Iraklis Thessalonika)
Players Out
Steven Pienaar (Tottenham Hotspur), James Vaughan (Crystal Palace, loan), Kieran Agard (Peterborough, loan), Yakubu Aiyegebeni (Leicester City, loan)
David Moyes has been working on a shoestring budget for years and this window was no different.
Losing Pienaar is a definite blow to their midfield but getting four million for a player who was due to leave in the summer is good business.
Keeping club captain Phil Nevile was even better.
Fulham
9 of 20
Players In
Gael Kakuta (Chelsea, loan), Steve Sidwell (Aston Villa), Eidur Gudjohnsen (Stoke City, loan)
Players Out
Robert Milson (Aberdeen), Fredrik Stoor (Valerenga)
Fulham's signings surely won't be instilling much faith in their fans.
Steve Sidwell is starting to establish himself as a bit of a journeyman and doesn't look like he will bring much to their midfield.
On the other hand, Kakuta could make a difference for Fulham. He has shown some promise in his brief appearance for Chelsea.
Liverpool
10 of 20
Players In
Luis Suárez (Ajax), Andy Carroll (Newcastle United), Yusuf Mersin (Millwall)
Players Out
Ryan Babel (Hoffenheim), Paul Konchesky (Nottingham Forest, loan), Nathan Eccleston (Charlton Athletic, loan), Stephen Darby (Notts County, loan), David Amoo (MK Dons)
When New England Sports Ventures took over Liverpool last October, John W. Henry told fans they would be running the club like a proper business and investing wisely.
Up until the deadline day, he certainly was true to his word. Six million received for Ryan Babel, good. Luis Suárez signed to partner Torres, fantastic. Torres sold and Andy Carroll bought for 35 million, oh dear.
To put his price tag into perspective, Carroll has scored only 34 goals in his whole career. For the money spent on him, Özil, Van Der Vaart and Khedira could have been bought, with some change left over for Pienaar.
If he scores against Chelsea this Sunday and shows up the man he's replacing, all will be forgotten though.
Manchester City
11 of 20
Players In
Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg), Gai Assulin (Unattached)
Players Out
Wayne Bridge (West Ham, loan), Emmanuel Adebayor (Real Madrid, loan), Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers, loan), Javan Vidal (Chesterfield, loan), Ben Mee (Leicester City, loan) Abdisalam Ibrahim (Scunthorpe), David González (Leeds United, loan)
A 27 million pound transfer kind of looks like a quiet month for the league's big spenders.
After the football equivalent of musical chairs for the past few years, it seems City finally are happy they are equipped to challenge for the title.
Dzeko already looks a good signing after grabbing his first goal for the club at the weekend.
Dumping Bridge, Santa Cruz and Adebayor's contracts—albeit temporarily—have made their wage bill slightly better. That said, it's still outrageous.
Manchester United
12 of 20
Players In
Anders Lindegaard (Aalesunds)
Players Out
Federico Macheda (Sampdoria, loan), Ritchie De Laet (Portsmouth, loan), Ben Amos (Oldham, loan)
Five points on top of the league and not even playing well, United opted against changing anything bar the acquisition of Lindegaard.
There was money to spend but Ferguson will likely wait to the summer when there is some rebuilding work to be done with Van Der Sar's retirement and possibly that of Neville and Scholes.
Loaning Macheda will give him games he was unlikely to get with Chicharito's emergence.
Newcastle United
13 of 20
Players In
Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille), Steven Ireland (Aston Villa, loan)
Players Out
Wayne Routledge (QPR, loan), Tamás Kádár (Huddersfield Town, loan), Joán Símun Edmundsson & James Taverner (Gateshead, loan) Ryan Donaldson (Hartlepool, loan), Andy Carroll (Liverpool)
If Newcastle can stay up this season, then they will have pulled off the deal of the century.
While they may have hoped that Carroll would be their talisman for years to come, a transfer fee that large is impossible to turn down. That money will easily bring them in four or five quality players in the summer who can stabilize their position in the league.
Steven Ireland, if motivated and able to find the form he had for City a few years ago, could be an inspired signing.
Stoke City
14 of 20
Players In
John Carew (Aston Villa, loan), Jermaine Pennant (Real Zaragoza)
Players Out
Liam Lawrence (Portsmouth), Tuncay (Wolfsburg), Eidur Gudjohnsen (Fulham, loan)
Tony Pulis made few moves in the transfer window.
Jermaine Pennant had his loan from Zaragoza made permanent.
John Carew's arrival from Aston Villa means that not much will change at the Britannia Stadium; more long balls and Rory Delap throw ins are ahead.
Sunderland
15 of 20
Players In
Sulley Muntari (Inter Milan, loan), Stephane Sessegnon (Paris St Germain)
Players Out
Darren Bent (Aston Villa), Andy Reid (Blackpool, loan), David Healy, Rangers), Paolo Da Silva (Real Zaragoza), Matt Kilgallon (Doncaster, loan), George McCartney (Leeds United, loan)
While 24 million for Darren Bent was good business, the lack of a replacement should be alarming for Sunderland fans.
A big onus will be placed on Welbeck and Gyan to supply goals to keep up the form that sees them in the top half of the table.
Acquiring Muntari on loan will bolster their midfield greatly too.
Tottenham Hotspur
16 of 20
Players In
Steven Pienaar (Everton), Bongani Khumalo (Supersport United)
Players Out
Robbie Keane (West Ham United, loan), Jamie O'Hara (Wolverhampton Wanderers, loan), Kyle Walker (Aston Villa, loan), Harry Kane & Tommy Carroll (Leyton Orient, loan) Jonathan Osika (Peterborough, loan), Giovani Dos Santos (Racing Santander, loan)
Everyone expected a last-minute deal by Harry Redknapp, but it never happened despite alleged bids for Phil Neville and Charlie Adam.
Spurs desperately need a world class striker if they want to improve on their fourth place finish from last season. Rumours of Rossi, Negredo and Llorente seemed way off the mark in the end.
Bringing Pienaar into an already crowded midfield seemed a bizarre decision, but when a player of his quality is available for a cut price, you move regardless of whether you need him.
West Bromwich Albion
17 of 20
Players In
Carlos Vela (Arsenal, loan)
Players Out
Luke Moore (Swansea), Leon Barnett (Norwich City), Ishmael Miller (QPR, loan), Joe Mattock (Sheffield United, loan), Luke Daniels (Bristol Rovers, loan), Romaine Sawyers & Kayelden Brown (Port Vale, loan), Paul Downing (Rotherham United, loan)
There was very little activity at The Hawthornes this January.
With money likely to be very tight, Roberto Di Matteo opted to take Arsenal youngster Carlos Vela on loan.
Vela should fit in perfectly with West Brom's free flowing approach, and they will be hoping that he can have the same impact that Jack Wilshere had last season at Bolton.
West Ham United
18 of 20
Players In
Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur, loan), Wayne Bridge (Mancester City, loan), Demba Ba (Hoffenheim), Paul McCallum (D Hamley)
Players Out
Valon Behrami (Fiorentina)
Sitting at the foot of the table, West Ham needed a shake-up badly.
His wage packet is gargantuan, but Bridge is still one of the better left backs in the Premier League on his day.
The signing of Robbie Keane should be a perfect move for both parties. Keane desperately wants to prove himself and hold onto his place on the Ireland team, while West Ham need a consistent goalscorer, which Keane is.
Wigan Athletic
19 of 20
Players In
Adrián Lopez (Deportivo La Coruna), Conor Sammon (Kilmarnock)
Players Out
Mario Boselli (Genoa)
All the transfer activity at the JJB seemed to revolve around their better players—McCarthy, N'Zogbia and Rodallega—leaving but Roberto Martinez has managed to keep them all.
A 6.5 million pound summer signing, Boselli has been shipped out after only playing eight games with no goals.
In his place is Conor Sammon, whose 14 goals this season have earned him a three million pound transfer.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
20 of 20
Players In
Jamie O'Hara (Tottenham Hotspur, loan), Adam Hammill (Barnsley)
Players Out
Greg Halford (Portsmouth, loan), Matt Hill (Barnsley), Jelle Van Damme (Standard Liege), John Dunleavy (Barnet, loan), Andy Keogh (Bristol City, loan)
Unlike previous windows, Mick McCarthy had very little in the way of transfer funds, so Wolves' activity was kept to a minimum.
Jamie O'Hara is a decent addition to their midfield but nothing to get ecstatic about.
For Wolves fans, their current squad doesn't look like one be climbing out of the relegation battle any time soon.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
