The 10 best January transfer window signings in the Premier League ever – ranked
These players arrived mid-season with no time to bed in, but proved to be transformational acquisitions for their clubs
January is often described as the grimmest month of the year but it can also be a time of renewal, a moment to make a fresh start. And for football clubs, the opening of the January transfer window is an opportunity for clubs to breathe new life into their disappointing campaigns and invest for the future.
Flailing Premier League champions Manchester City are expected to be active as they try to salvage their disastrous season, while Manchester United should use the window to begin their cultural reset by selling Marcus Rashford. Arsenal, meanwhile, can use the window to bolster their injury-ravaged squad and boost their chances of catching runaway leaders Liverpool.
Managers often complain that the winter window offers little value compared to the summer, when the bulk of business is done. And yet some of the most shrewd transfer moves have been made in the first month of the year. Here, GOAL breaks down the best January transfer window signings in Premier League history…
Getty Images10Seamus Coleman (Sligo Rovers to Everton, £60,000)
In terms of value for money, you could make the case that Coleman is the best signing in Premier League history. After receiving a tip off, David Moyes plucked the full-back from League of Ireland side Sligo Rovers in January 2009 for £60,000 ($76,000). And no, we haven't missed out a zero or two.
Coleman could not have an instant impact as he had to undergo surgery on an infected blister on his toe almost immediately after joining Everton, and he later joined Blackpool on loan for half a season. But he has remained a Toffee since August 2010, playing under 11 managers.
He has made 426 appearances for Everton while contributing to 56 goals, breaking down to £140 per appearance and little more than £1,000 per goal or assist. He has also been one of their most consistent performers as well as their most loyal and passionate, resisting no small amount of big moves to stay with the club, which he has captained since 2019, and is still going strong aged 36.
AdvertisementGetty9Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal, £56m)
It was always expected that Aubameyang would end up at Real Madrid when he left Borussia Dortmund, but Arsenal were the willing beneficiaries when he left the German side in January 2018. He was the Gunners' record signing at the time, but quickly set about repaying the fee with a stunning 10 goals in 13 Premier League games.
He kept it up in the next two seasons, scoring 60 times in all competitions and almost single-handedly firing Arsenal to win the FA Cup in 2020, netting twice both against Manchester City in the semi-final and Chelsea in the final.
Things started to go wrong, however, after he signed a lucrative new contract, and just 16 months later he saw that deal torn up after falling foul of Mikel Arteta's disciplinary regime. He joined Barcelona for free then had a miserable time at Chelsea, but has revitalised a stalling career with Marseille.
Despite the ugly end to his time at the Emirates Stadium, he still goes down as one of the most impactful January signings.
Getty Images8Gary Cahill (Bolton Wanderers to Chelsea, £7m)
Cahill left relegation-fighting Bolton for Chelsea in January 2012, but he first must have thought he had swapped one crisis club for another when Andre Villas-Boas was sacked less than two months after he had arrived. Cahill, however, started to shine under successor Roberto Di Matteo and came into his own in the Champions League. He helped Chelsea pull off a dramatic comeback win over Napoli, knock out Barcelona at Camp Nou – after John Terry had been sent off – and then see off Bayern Munich in their own stadium to win the trophy for the first time.
Cahill was no one-season wonder, though, and he was crucial to Chelsea's league title successes under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. He won a total of eight trophies with the Blues and was named in the PFA Team of the Year on three occasions. Not bad at all for £7m.
Getty Images7Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid to Newcastle, £12m)
Many people questioned Trippier's motives when he left La Liga champions Atletico in January 2022 to join struggling Newcastle just weeks after the club's Saudi takeover. And he had a nightmare debut as Cambridge United knocked his new side out of the FA Cup.
Trippier, however, has proved to be a transformative figure for Newcastle, an inspirational leader who continued to travel with the team to matches in his first season even after sustaining a serious ankle injury.
Once recovered, he spearheaded Newcastle's charge to the Carabao Cup final and to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. He has contributed to 25 goals for the Magpies, outstanding numbers for a defender, while his experience and defensive qualities have helped sustain Eddie Howe's side's rise to become one of the top teams in the league again after decades in the wilderness.