So the January transfer window of 2013 has come to an end and £127.8m has been spent. It wasn't so frantic, however, plenty happened over the course of the month and the final part will take a look at all that went on, including the infamous 'Deadline Day'.
There was a slight lull in events during mid-January as the window calmed down a bit. This was before Newcastle decided to raid France in order to turn around their season. They had been chasing Frenchman Loic Remy of Marseille and he looked destined for St. James', however QPR swooped and offered mega-bucks, luring him to West London. This seemed to spark some rage as they went on the offensive, signing a further 4 French players, on top of Debuchy in a foreign raid. First up was Montpellier's central defender, Mapou Yanga-M'Biwa for a fee believed to be around £6.7m. The big man was to be just the first player to cross the channel for football in the upcoming days. In between all this was the move of Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder. The midfield maestro had fallen out with Inter Milan months ago and hadn't really featured this season, leading to him wanting a move away from the club. The club he chose was Turkish giants, Galatasaray and they managed to pick him up for an incredible £8.4m! This was an absolute coup in my opinion for a world class player who was one of the only players who performed for the Netherland at EURO 2012. Many football fans were disappointed that he chose to go to Turkey as they wanted a chance to see him in the Premier League. For some time it had seemed like that might just happen after he was linked with Liverpool, however it just wasn't to be.
So the January transfer window of 2013 has come to an end and £127.8m has been spent. It wasn't so frantic, however, plenty happened over the course of the month and part 1 of 2 will dissect all the events that went on in the early stages.
The window got off to a flyer with a big money £12m deal taking place on just the second day of January. The deal involved Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge moving to the North and Liverpool FC. It had been a deal talked about for a while as it had been publicly known that Sturridge was unhappy at Chelsea and Liverpool were desperate for a forward to support Suarez. Sturridge managed to get off to a flyer too, scoring on his league and cup debut. He's now bagged 3 in his first 5 games, now that's what you call hitting the ground running!
Now that the January transfer window has reached it's climax, I thought I'd put together a team of players who have switched clubs in the window. Here's what I came up with!
Obviously it was extremely difficult to narrow down the choices as there were so many options, especially in attack with just 2 free slots!
Alan Hutton recently signed for Spanish side RCD Mallorca so guest blogger 'The Game On Paper' decided to evaluate - Why Britain Needs More Footballers Like Alan Hutton.
Lineker, Beckham, Owen, Woodgate, Carson, Mancienne - and
now Alan Hutton can join that list. If you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s a
list of British players who have played abroad. Of course there are more than
that, in fact at this moment in time there are 302 English players who are
playing for foreign clubs (note that this includes people playing for Swansea
and Cardiff as well due to them technically being Welsh). Out of those 302
English players, 130 of them play in the Welsh Premier League, the SPL, or the
Scottish 1st Division. Of the remaining pack, there is one player in
the Bundesliga (Michael Mancienne), one in Ligue 1 (Joey Barton) and well, as
for players in the major foreign leagues, that’s as far as it goes. Two players
playing in a standard considered high enough to be in the running for the
national team. 2.
This year has been a busy one in terms of transfers and they have a massive effect on the Premier League. The season is into it's second half now and the famous 'Honeymoon periods' are well and truly over. I've decided to make a shortlist of who I think the best signing of Summer 2012 has been this season.
Benteke
Benteke has been pretty explosive since signing for the Villains. His powerful forward played has scared many a defence and he has also been banging on some goals too. This is quite an achievement considering the team that are playing around him as he's got 11 goals in all competitions this season. That is not a bad return for someone who is just 22 years of age and is playing in the Premier League for the first time in his career. Villa paid £7m for the Belgian powerhouse and whilst not a bargain, it's not a bad price considering that many top clubs are monitoring him.
As we hit the all important mid season window and clubs are panicking after a worrying start to the season - we ask - who does your team need this January transfer window? A quick look at each Premier League team's necessities!
Arsenal
I think Arsenal could do with a solid centre back, one that turns in performances week in week out. Perhaps a move for Manchester City's Joleon Lescott who seems to be out of favour at the Etihad recently and is linked with a move away. He is an England international and when given a run of games is a good defender. If he was to be partnered with Vermaelen then I think that could be a great partnership. A rather unlikely solution would be Daniel Agger who I feel would definitely tighten up the gunners' defence however a transfer is extremely unlikely.
