Winners and losers of the January transfer window



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winners

Michy Batshuayi and the Crystal Palace
Since the start of the 2016/17 season, Jordan Ayew has scored one Premier League goal every 525.8 minutes, Christian Benteke scored every 317.2 minutes, Connor Wickham scored every 234.5 minutes and Alexander Sorloth has not scored yet in 533 minutes.

At the same time, Michy Batshuayi scored a goal in the Premier League every 84 minutes. The Belgian has certainly enjoyed playing in a more offensive team surrounded by better players more creative, but his opportunities have become fewer and fewer and more distant from Chelsea.

Crystal Palace offers a new start for all parties. Batshuayi's loan spell in Valencia has been disastrous, but his nine goals in 14 games in six months with Dortmund last year are far more indicative of a player who tends to seize the odds. Chelsea found a home happier for an attacker he had bought once for 33 million pounds, and Palace is more than willing to accommodate him.

There is a reason why Roy Hodgson was desperate to add to his attack options. Palace scored more goals (24) than only Newcastle (21), Cardiff (20) and Huddersfield (13) this season, and Wilfried Zaha was just beginning to give way under pressure from expectations. Batshuayi will help share the burden.

"Bring people at the last moment? I do not know that an activity is planned, "said an involuntary Hodgson earlier this week," But I'm surprised to see that a lot is happening on the last day of the transfer windows when in fact between the summer and January 1, we have a lot of preparation time and suddenly, it takes 31 days before something happens. "

A beautiful feeling but the deadline was an opportunity that the palace could hardly refuse. Last year, they brought Sorloth on the last day for 9 million pounds; few people would say that this is not a big improvement.

Batshuayi will also take advantage of the chance to prove himself on these shores after just four Premier League matches for Chelsea since the summer of 2016. If Palace can master the frustration and exasperation that he felt each Once he was returned to the bench, they might have made the best sign of the window.

Bournemouth
No Premier League club has recruited more first team players this month and only Chelsea has spent more. Ask these two parties who are more satisfied with their belongings in this window and it would be a second emphatic victory over the Blues in a few days for Bournemouth.

Eddie Howe has long adopted a dispersed approach to the transfer market as a Premier League official. The first summer of Bournemouth as a leading club was disappointed by the bad habits of all the teams promoted. Artur Boruc (38), Sylvain Distin (37), Glenn Murray (31) and Adam Federici (30) joined the group. fabulous experience. 23-year-old Josh King, who had impressed in the lower leagues, embodied their philosophy more broadly.

It was felt that Howe was gradually turning away from the beaten path until Jermain Defoe (34) joined last summer. The fact that he is now with the Rangers after scoring four goals in 34 Premier League matches for the Cherries shows just how bad the deal was.

But Howe has finally returned to his roots and remembered what made him so successful on the south coast. Twenty-year-old David Brooks has enjoyed monumental success since arriving this summer. Dominic Solanke and Chris Mepham (both 21) will hope to follow his example of hungry young British players looking to prove their point.

Even the addition of Nathaniel Clyne makes perfect sense. He has extensive experience in the Premier League, but he is only 27 years old and has a lot to offer in a situation where Bournemouth desperately needed reinforcements.

It took a while, but Bournemouth finally refuses to spend money on an old rope. Howe has established a transfer philosophy and is in a club who are willing to invest to realize this vision.

Newcastle
That the arrival of Miguel Almiron, club record, does not mask what was a good transfer window for Newcastle. After a whole month to prove to their manager that they are ready to invest, they waited until the last day to remedy some of the club's shortcomings.

It may be enough to keep Rafael Benitez at the club beyond the expiration of his contract in the summer. The frustration of the Spaniard was palpable as the deadline indicated, and he would have been ready to leave the club if they did not sign at least two new players. Almiron and Antonio Barreca represent Mike Ashley, eliminating the absolute lowest score.

The MLS season ended in December and will resume later this month. It is therefore mysterious to know why Newcastle was so late in bringing Almiron from Atlanta United. But it is an exciting game maker that will fit the Benitez system.

Barreca finally gives Paul Dummett some competition on the left-back, but there is always the feeling that Newcastle has done the bare minimum to appease both his manager and his fans. This must be the beginning of the new rule, not just the exception that proves it.

Manchester United
On June 29, Marouane Fellaini sent "a special thank you" to José Mourinho, whatever that implies. The Portuguese, desperate to keep their preferred comfort blanket at the bedside, allowed Manchester United to be paid ransom by a limited midfielder who was awarded a two-year contract at £ 100,000 per month. week.

Anthony Martial's expiring contract was relegated to the background when United was caught trying to repair the broken marriage with his former manager. By the time the French finally had a little attention, it seemed that the horse had taken off: he would have rejected the contract offers as late as in October.

But, as with their form, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sought to immediately redress the wrongs of his predecessor. In one month without transfer, United has rediscovered its identity, sending to China a medium and aging vestige of an unfortunate past and giving priority to a promising and promising future.

wolves
Nuno Espirito Santo kept his team tight despite constant speculation, adding Jonny Castro Otto to a permanent £ 18m contract almost entirely offset by the departure of Benik Afobe, Danny Batth and Dominic Iorfa to 15.5m pounds sterling. Not bad at all.

Claude Puel
That Leicester allowed almost twice as many minutes Players under 21, like any other Premier League club this season, suggest swapping Yuri Tielemans, 21, against Adrien Silva, 29, is a wonderful decision.

With Vicente Iborra also selling for £ 9m, Claude Puel made a profit while bringing in a midfielder he desperately wanted and dislodged two that he had not signed. And he will always have two games to save his job and prove it was the right decision.

Maurizio Sarri
More than any other Premier League club, the winter window at Chelsea is the one you can only really judge in the summer. When you spend 57 million pounds and only add a 31-year-old loan striker to your team without any experience in the Premier League, it's hard to draw immediate conclusions.

At first glance, Chelsea made two dedications for statements. Christian Pulisic is the best player in his country for many generations and has only recently been one of the Bundesliga summits. Gonzalo Higuain is a proven striker whose seminal season has pbaded under his new manager.

But that says a lot about the fact that both players were available, exceeding the needs of their previous clubs. Pulisic was written on the history of Borussia Dortmund by Jadon Sancho a long time ago, only starting a Bundesliga match since October. Higuain starts his second loan, not desired by Juventus and Milan.

It could be that both movements, one or the other of the movements, work. But Maurizio Sarri can not echo the complaints of his predecessors Stamford Bridge by stating that he was not supported. He personally sought out Higuain and, although Pulisic does not arrive until next summer, this gives the Italian the opportunity to continue to overhang Callum Hudson-Odoi.

The suggestions that he needs someone to replace the 175 minutes of Cesc Fabregas in the Premier League this season will fall right in the ear of a deaf man. Sarri himself admitted that he was "Bored by the transfer market" during his unveiling at Chelsea, and that he prefers to improve the players already at his disposal. It is time to offer evidence.

Oumar Nibade
The 2017 emergency loan for Hull becomes Rescue mission in Cardiff in 2019. Oumar Nibade's record, with 12 goals in the Premier League out of 28 starts, deserves a much more flattering reputation than the £ 13 million record. But if he manages to improve the four goals he scored in vain since Hull was relegated two years ago, Cardiff is likely to stay up.

Liverpool
It seems that they probably should not have needed a specialist when they have to play against Jordan Henderson 26 days later. Just a thought.

Remember, they sold a player who had not trained a single Premier League player all season for £ 19 million. And they finally pushed Lazar Markovic out the door. This more than compensates.

Huddersfield
Premier League clubs bogged down in a relegation battle often panic and spend beyond their means. Dean Hoyle has never been a danger, and getting ready for a probable return to the Championship is an unfortunate but sensual approach.

Alexis Mac Allister
What bloody name
.

Everton, Southampton and Watford
Congratulations to all for simply refusing to participate. But mainly in Southampton, which still has about half a right-back and managed to sell Manolo Gabbiadini for £ 12 million.

Peter Crouch
Nice to see you again, big man.

losers

The January transfer window
A total Premier League expense of * only * £ 180m, and a first drop from the previous year.

Arsenal
They came in January with a half-center, a creative midfielder and a winger. They ended up needing a right back, their first choice being ruled out for the rest of the season. They handled the situation in the most arsenal possible: by signing a player who described his favorite role as "midfielder … in a similar position" to Andres Iniesta during his first interview, while Unai Emery seems to Consider it as a player in its own right.

Denis Suarez could be a valuable badet for the team. Barcelona signed it first for one reason after all, but it plugged a hole in the boat as water continues to flow through a gaping hole on the other end.

If Arsenal's defense of not strengthening their defense is a lack of money, it is a problem of their own creation. And there were 174 days between the closure of the summer and winter transfer windows, which was more than enough to identify and pursue achievable goals.

Instead, Arsenal acted as Arsenal: rumors of interest were revealed about Ivan Perisic, Yannick Carrasco, Christopher Nkunku, Idrissa Gueye, Yuri Tielemans, Malcom and many others until a deadline summarized by their decision. send a player with 18 minutes of Premier League – it's a career, not a season – on loan because they felt that they needed him.

With the imminent departure of the head of recruitment, Sven Mislintat, also confirmed this month that the post-Arsene Wenger revolution of Arsenal seems already quite transparent. They are fourth, they have two viable paths to qualify for the Champions League and Emery is already half-wonders working with a half-team. But, as always with the gunners, one has the persistent feeling of half-done work.

Fulham
The reason why football clubs are desperate to employ a football director, recruiter or recruiting boss is a headache. Why not act as if you are a team of five and ask your best player if one of his teammates is available?

"The club is delighted to confirm the signing of the free transfer of 24-year-old Lazar Markovic from Liverpool on a contract until the end of the season," said Fulham in the early hours of the morning Friday morning, adding that he had good recommendations from Aleksandar Mitrović regarding the player.

A whole month of testing to meet Claudio Ranieri's demand for "leaders" has resulted in the arrival of a player who has started five first-team games in all competitions since May 2017, and scouts and scouts. badysts rendered unimportant by the word of an attacker.

The reaction said it all: the only ones celebrating the move were Liverpool, fans of Fulham really wondering how this little winger could solve their problems right back.

With winger Ryan Babel and midfielder Havard Nordtveit, the worst defense in the Premier League remains intact. Good luck, Claudio.

Callum Hudson-Odoi
What a shame that a young man of 18 can be punished for his ambition. The misguided hope is that Chelsea refused to let Callum Hudson-Odoi leave for Bayern Munich because they plan to use it, but the winger played a little more minutes than Gary Cahill and Willy Caballero this season.

If only six months of his fledgling career are squandered on club pride, Chelsea should re-evaluate their priorities. Either keep the player and use it, or sell and reinvest. The Blues were the masters of the market to their advantage until this month.

West Ham and Marko Arnautovic
The mask slipped: the West Ham, which seemed so stable and regulated, returned to the mental average in record time.

Hammers should be used to being used as a stepping stone for bigger or more lucrative things. Whole seasons have derailed before the distractions of players lacking sensations before. But Marko Arnautovic is not Dimitri Payet; This is a solid to mediocre Premier League striker who has been placed on an explainable pedestal that far surpbades its value and quality for the club.

Yet West Ham rejected a ridiculous offer for a replaceable 29-year-old man in his desperation of not being considered a sales club. They will have the chance to receive a similar offer in the summer and they would be stupid to refuse it once again.

That the club then offered to the Austrian a new contract after it was reported that they told him that he can leave summed up all the confused mess – and the sight of him leaving Molineux on crutches after the Wolves' defeat added an injury to an insult. It will take more than a few references to bubbles and a few gestures crossed to save face.

Tottenham
The main statistic, as shown by Sky Sports News, is that they are the first Premier League team to sign no players in consecutive transfer windows, which is hardly surprising when you think they were the First Premier League team to sign a contract with no one. summer transfer window. Jim White had been sitting on it for months, bless him.

The truth is that the potential disadvantages of a new signature far outweigh the potential benefits. That Tottenham spent the last days of the window trying desperately to unload Vincent Janssen tells the story of a club that can no longer afford to panic to buy the wrong player to appease a base of disgruntled fans who just want to see a new face.

The main mistake of Tottenham was not made in the winter, but in the summer, when they had not recruited anyone, while they had more time to identify the areas they needed to improve. Their problems would have been aggravated by half-term solutions, which the January transfer window tends to offer. The end of the season is a much more appropriate goal for long-term planning.

Mauricio Pochettino has made three appearances seven times in January as manager of the Premier League. if he acts, he would prefer to wait patiently for Dele Alli or Lucas Moura to fall on his lap rather than subject him to Vegard Forren.

That said, an already stretched team has been weakened needlessly. Mousa Dembele and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou played 11 minutes in the Premier League between them since the beginning of November, but they were an option in a team increasingly mowed.

It was not a disastrous, nor a positive month.

Vincent Janssen
Poor bastard.

Manchester City
You can sell the departures of Brahim Diaz and Rabbi Matondo at the price of 25.5 million pounds as positive or negative, depending on the allegiances of your club. But Pep Guardiola's legitimate decision not to yield to exorbitant wage demands and wait until summer to fix his central midfield problem could eventually cost them the Premier League title. The margins are really thin.

Rafael Benitez
Wait until the woman reads her bank statement to see the £ 20 million that he paid to Atlanta United.

Matt Stead


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