January Transfer Window, 2023 (Marley Duncan, Year 11)

As the January transfer window comes to a close and we enter the business end of the season let's take a whistle-stop tour through the Premier League's biggest clubs’ big-money moves in another thrilling transfer window.

Manchester United signed 3 names this winter, the biggest of those being Wout Weghorst coming in on loan from recently relegated side Burnley. In an effort to keep the ball out of the back of the net they also bought in backup goalkeeper, Jack Butland from Stoke on loan. Marcel Sabitzer, a midfielder from Bayern Munich also signed which wraps up Manchester United’s Transfer Window. 

On the blue side of Manchester, City only signed one player, Maximo Perrone, for a price of £8.4 million. City controversially got rid of Joao Cancelo (on loan to Bayern Munich with a £62 million end-of-season option-to-buy) after an argument between the player and manager, Pep Guardiola. 

The Manchester club’s big rival and neighbour, Liverpool, also signed only 1 player; for £37 million from Netherlands club PSV. The player is Coady Gakpo who has had a very promising start to the season. Manager, Klopp, will be hoping the “Flying Dutchman” provides some extra ammunition to Liverpool’s front line who’ve been misfiring this season since their key player, Sadio Mane, left in the summer. 

North London Club, Tottenham made 3 transfers this January. Coming in on loan from Spanish club, Villareal, is Danjuma another Dutch forward. Also coming in on loan to fix their right-back problems is Pedro Porro from Portuguese club, Sporting Lisbon, Spurs also have an end-of-season option-to-buy if Porro proves his worth at the club.

However, Tottenham's rivals, Arsenal, sitting pretty at the top of the league, have equalled their signings. Brighton sold their star winger, Trossard for £27 million to the Gunners; potentially a key signing for Arsenal’s squad depth as they look to win their first Premier League title in over two decades. They also signed Jacob Kiwior for an unexpected £21 million to add another promising talent to their roster. Also on top of these 2 big transfers, midfielder Jorginho controversially signed from rival club, Chelsea, for only £12 million, in a traitorous move unlikely to endear him to fans.

By far the biggest spender this year is Chelsea, who broke the Premier League transfer World Record spend. The cheapest of the bunch was Atletico Madrid star Felix who they signed on loan for a £9.7 million price tag. They also signed David Datro Fofana from Belgian club GENK for £10 million. Brazilian youngster Andrey Santos also signed from Brazilian club Vasco De Gama for £11 million. Malo Gusto was next with Chelsea’s new owner spending £26 million on the French Lyon player who is only 19 years old. AS Monaco sold youngster Benoit Badiashile for £31 million, a hefty price for a 21-year-old defender. English youngster Noni Madueke signed from Netherlands club PSV for £35 million; one of 4 wingers Chelsea have signed this season. Their second most expensive signing this January was Mykhailo Mudryk from Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk for a jaw-dropping £88 million to secure the pacy winger for their squad. Finally, Chelsea set their sights on World Cup “Young Player of the Tournament” award winner, Enzo Fernandez, from Benfica, with an eye-watering, record-breaking offer of £105 million. 

This spending is not without its critics and controversy. When asked for his verdict, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp concluded, "Chelsea sorts problems differently to us, so let's see… I can't explain it [the spending]... But if the numbers are true then it's impressive… I am not sure Chelsea can do that for the next 10 years though."

On top of the excitement at the top of the table, there have also been some freak, unexpected transfers that also make a difference in the footballing world. 

There was movement across London, with Shane Duffy, the Irish international leaving Brighton Hove Albion to join Fulham, while young Sambi Lokonga has made a loan move from Arsenal to Crystal Palace.

Nottingham Forest made a big name signing, Felipe, the Brazilian International who played for Athletico Madrid. Forest also welcomes Newcastle United legend, Jonjo Shelvy, who has left after 7 years in the Toon Army along with ex-PSG and Real Madrid star and Costa Rican international starter, Keylor Navas. He’s on a short-term loan, but they may look to buy the player at the end of the season. Matt Doherty the Irish wing-back has transferred from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid as a free agent after his contract ran out recently. Weston McCeny, the American, has signed for Leeds on loan from Italian side Juventus. Bryan Gil has gone back to Spain on loan after transferring to Tottenham in 2021 and Anthony Gordan, the scouse youngster, has signed for Newcastle United for a respectable £45 million.

Players moving down to the Championship from the Premier League include Axel Tunazebe who left Manchester United, on a loan to Stoke. Aaron Ramsey, the Aston Villa star, finds himself on loan to Middlesbrough and another prodigy of Brazilian origin has also been sent on loan to the Championship side Norwich. 

So, it’s been a thrilling roller-coaster ride with plenty of twists and surprises to keep fans on the edge of their seats. Now we all look forward to watching the drama unfold on the pitch.