The January transfer window has arrived again like every year. EPL clubs spent over £185 million in the previous January transfer window. The most profligate club of the country last year was Newcastle, which shelled out nearly £33 million towards a futile bid to avoid demotion. The club managers with the same intentions should take the failure of this club as a warning this year. Nevertheless, every year there is an increase in the total money spent by top tier sides of England.
Manchester United are likely to finish a deal of £38 million for Victor Lindelof of Benfica, while Antonio Conte, the manager of Chelsea, says that he will spend all the money that he received from mooted move of Oscar worth £60 million to China. However, how did the transfer window perform last year? In this article, we are going to look at the 8 biggest signings in the English Premier League from the winter transfer window of the previous year.
- Wahbi Khazri
Khazri was moved from Bordeaux to Sunderland at a fee of £9 million. Although, some say that he played well, some do not agree with this. At one time he scores stunning goals and the next time he is tripping up while playing a rabona.
Although, Khazri does not have impressive statistics with the Black Cats, he has added flair and creativity to the squad, which is lacking both of this. At the age of 25, Khazri has still got time to get better at his game and Sunderland are not likely to lose their money on him in case they choose to sell him.
- Nordin Amrabat
Amrabat was transferred from Malaga to Watford last January at a fee of £6.1 million. He was one of the three huge signings to be transferred to Vicarage Road at the year’s starting. Although, Amrabat has been doing better than other two players, his fans are still not convinced by his performance.
The ex-Malaga winger has contributed with 3 assists in 18 appearances in the Premier League this season. And although, he established himself in the first XI of Walter Mazzarri, there are not a lot of Watford fans with his name on their shirts.
- Lamine Kone
Kone has been moved from Lorient to Sunderland at a £6 million fee. Last January, Sunderland was second last in the English Premier League. Owing to this, they spent over £15 million in order to improve their squad.
When the January window was ending last year, Kone joined this club and has displayed excellent performance. The Black Cats have made a powerful defense around the Ivorian, who was on the brink of leaving the team in the summer.
- Mohamed Elneny
Elneny was transferred from Basel to the Arsenal club at a £5 million fee. He was brought in to act as a competition to Francis Coquelin. Eleny has played brilliantly and proved to be a valuable player in an inflated market.
The Egyptian displayed himself as a consistent all-rounder. He settled in swiftly into both Arsenal as well as the league. He has looked solid in his initial year with a goal against Barcelona in the Champions League.
- Lewis Grabban
Grabban was moved from Norwich to Bournemouth at a fee of £7 million. He returned to Bournemouth after a not so good performance at Norwich. He had two successful years in Bournemouth club before he went to Carrow Road. However, his move was not so tremendous after all.
Last season, Grabban made 16 appearances for Bournemouth. He made only one goal after he rejoined the Cherries. This goal was against Preston in an EFL Cup match, which took place in September last year that was nine months after he was transferred to this club.
- Alberto Paloschi
Paloschi was transferred from Chievo to Swansea at a £8 million fee. He made only 10 appearances for Swansea in the previous season’s second half. Although, the Italian scored two goals, he was unable to convince his fans as well as his manager that he deserved a position in the team. Paloschi was thus unsuitable for the Swans and was sold at a loss to Atlanta in the summer.
- Abdoulaye Doucoure
Doucoure was moved from Rennes to Watford at a fee of £8 million. He did not make even a single appearance in his first season of the Premier League at Watford. Moreover, the player was lent to Granada for the 2015/16 season’s final months. Doucoure finally debuted in August, when the club was defeated with 2-1 at Chelsea. He has just appeared once so far.
- Steven Naismith
Naismith was moved from Everton to Norwich at a fee of £8.5 million. Although, Naismith just managed to play five goals for Everton in the season’s first half, in which three goals were made in one game, he seemed an odd signing for a club that badly required goals to stay in the league. In his primary season, he did not find the net with the Canaries, owing to which they were later relegated.
So, these are the 8 biggest signings in the league from the previous year’s January window. Wait and watch how the January transfer window goes this year.
