Top 10 Most Expensive January Transfers in Football History

The January transfer window is currently open and clubs are busy to bolster their squads. But it is not always possible to make big marquee signings in this window as most teams are not willing to let go of their players in the middle of the season. Despite that, there have been many marquee signings in the past, some of them even going for record fees. This article will explore the top 10 most expensive January transfers ever, analyzing how they panned out.

Ranking Factors

While there have been numerous signings in the winter transfer window, we have selected the most expensive January signings across all domestic footballing leagues. The first and most important ranking factor is the transfer fee which decides the initial rankings. There are many players who were signed for the same or approximately same transfer fee in the transfer window. We have ranked those players on the basis of their popularity, contribution to the team and overall statistics throughout the season.

10 Most Expensive January Transfers of All Time

10. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Aubameyang is regarded as arguably the best striker after Henry and van Persie in the Premier League era. He won the Golden Boot award despite Arsenal struggling, scored a lot of winners, and was also the captain of the club. His FA Cup heroics during the 2019/20 season were some of his best performances and he was one of the biggest reasons why Arsenal won the cup. His partnership with Lacazette was tremendous too, often linking up really well and producing magical moments.

While he got frozen out in the end because of some squabbles with the coach Mikel Arteta, his overall tenure is looked back with only love.

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9. Christian Pulisic

In the January window of 2019, Pulisic was signed for a record fee of £58 million. ($70 million) He remained at Dortmund on loan for the remaining half of the season and arrived at Chelsea at the start of the 2019-20 season.

Pulisic started his Chelsea stint brilliantly, scoring a perfect hat-trick vs Burnley thereby becoming the second American to score a hat-trick in the Premier League after Clint Dempsey. He sustained these performances throughout the season, ending up with 21 goal contributions, and was rewarded with the number 10 jersey.

Pulisic’s career got derailed by persistent injuries. The constant shuffling of managers and the plethora of young talent Chelsea were purchasing reduced his game time significantly, hampering his development. 

8. Aymeric Laporte

A class defender, Laporte was one of the biggest pieces of the Guardiola puzzle. He was always consistent and played a key role in their title races, especially during 21/22 season when he playing through the last few matches on painkillers with a knee injury to secure the title because Manchester City had no other fit centre backs. He put his career on the line to see out the title and he will always be remembered fondly for that.

7. Bruno Fernandes

Bruno is one of the few signings in the post-Sir Alex era where it worked exactly as it intended to. The Portuguese Magnifico was brought in to bring life to the tepid Manchester United attack and he did exactly what he was supposed to do. His ability to turn the tide around, his bulls-eye penalty skills, his impeccable work rate and fitness and his eye for creating chances have made him one of the most irreplaceable players for the Red Devils and with the new manager Rubem Amorim at the helm, the sky is the limit for the Portuguese midfielder.

6. Goncalo Ramos

After impressing everyone while at Benfica, PSG took a punt on him in their huge revamp process. He also took some time to adjust, his form improved massively in February. He eventually went on a decent run scoring 8 goals in 11 games, while averaging about 60 minutes a match.

PSG managed his playtime well and eased him into the role and team. While he is not exactly lighting it up yet, considering how much they paid for him, he is contributing something of value. He is also very young and will develop if provided with the right atmosphere.

5. Mykhaylo Mudryk

A young sensation at Shakhtar Donetsk, his performances and the situation of the war-torn Shakhtar Donetsk, forced them to sell him. While it was almost decided that he was going to Arsenal, things took a turn and he signed for Chelsea. His debut was impressive, skinning Mudryk and showing everyone what he is made of. Unfortunately, things took a huge nosedive from there, as he struggled to nail a place in the main eleven and nowadays he is finding it very hard to get rotation minutes too.

4. Dušan Vlahović

Vlahovic was the talk of the town when he was at Fiorentina. He was dubbed as the next big thing and was hounded by many major clubs and Arsenal were the one who was the most interested in him. But, he moved to Juventus, staying in Italy. He struggled initially to make an impact, which was a combination of his not being able to find his feet and also the lack of combinations and service he gets from teammates. But his form has improved and will be aiming to help the Bianconeri return to their former glory.

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3. Virgil van Dijk

One of the greatest to wear the Liver bird on their chest, van Dijk is not just a Liverpool great but also arguably the best centreback in the history of the Premier League. Winning 8 major trophies so far, he completely transformed Liverpool’s defence along with those around him. He gives defenders around him confidence to attack which in turn gives midfielders the confidence to take a risk. His signing was the turning point of the Jurgen Klopp era and the team started to completely dominate on the pitch and lock horns with Manchester City.

He is currently at crossroads, with his contract close to expiry, but Liverpool will be aiming to close it up as soon as possible.

2. Enzo Fernandez

Enzo was making waves when he was at Benfica and played a key role in Argentina winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup, winning the FIFA Young Player Award. This caught the attention of all the elite clubs and Chelsea broke their banks to sign him. But, he was unable to replicate that success in the turbulent atmosphere of the club, often struggling to keep up in the matches. He was also caught in a racism scandal, which further put a dent in his reputation. But in a stable atmosphere now, he is regaining form and now wants to stay long and win silverware.

1. Philippe Coutinho

“The Little Magician” as he was fondly called, Coutinho did justice to that nickname when he was playing for Liverpool. He pulled off incredible tricks to escape tricky situations, and his ability on the ball was exceptional. The Brazilian proved he was one of the best-attacking midfielders in the world, showing his great dribbling, vision, long shots and genius plays every single game. There is a reason why he was amongst the very few £100M transfers, he was that good.

Unfortunately, he never replicated that in Barcelona, primarily because he did not fit into the team tactically and ended up as one of the worst deals the club ever made in their history.