January 2025 Transfer Signings: Remarkable and Unexpected Successes

The January transfer window has often been a time for Premier League clubs to secure transformative signings that help them in the second half of the Premier League season. This January has been a quiet one for Premier League teams. Clubs have been relatively quiet this window with Man City being the busiest, securing 3 signings.
Currently, nine of the 20 Premier League teams have not yet signed any new players, while the remaining 11 teams have collectively signed 19 players. Several players, such as Marcus Rashford and Kyle Walker, are rumored to be considering moves away, but no deals have been confirmed so far. With the transfer window relatively quiet, let's take a moment to highlight the five most surprising January signings made by Premier League clubs, as well as the five best January signings of all time.
5 Surprising Signings
The January transfer window has seen its fair share of surprising and unexpected signings throughout the Premier League era. Here we will look at 5 of these surprising and unexpected signings in no particular order.
- 1️⃣ Odion Ighalo to Manchester United (2020)
- 2️⃣ Fernando Torres to Chelsea (2011)
- 3️⃣ Andy Carroll to Liverpool (2011)
- 4️⃣ Ben Davies to Liverpool (2021)
- 5️⃣ Juan Mata to Man United (2014)
In a surprising deadline day move in 2020 Manchester United signed Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo on loan from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua. The move was unexpected, given Ighalo's stint in the Chinese Super League prior to joining United. Ighalo had previously played in the Premier League with Watford. Ighalo made 12 appearances for United but failed to score a goal.
In a dramatic deadline-day move, Chelsea signed Fernando Torres from Liverpool for £50 million, a British transfer record at the time. The transfer shocked fans, especially given Torres's iconic status at Liverpool. Torres struggled for a large part of his time at Chelsea but did score an iconic goal in the semi final of the 2012 Champions League to send Chelsea to the final. Torres scored 20 goals in 110 Chelsea appearances.
In response to the sale of Torres to Chelsea, Liverpool signed Andy Carroll for £35 million, making him the most expensive British player at the time. Carroll struggled to justify this surprising price tag, scoring just 6 goals in 44 appearances.
In a surprising move, Liverpool signed Ben Davies from Preston North End for £500,000. Despite the defensive injury crisis that was affecting Liverpool greatly at the time, Davies never made a competitive appearance for Liverpool before being sold to Rangers in 2022 after a loan period with Sheffield Utd.
Juan Mata made the switch from Chelsea to Man United in 2014 in a surprising turn of events. Mata had been a key player for Chelsea, winning player of the year twice, so it was a surprise to see Chelsea sell him for £37.1 million while in the middle of a title race.
Best 5 Signings
The January transfer window has also seen transformative signings. Here are 5 of these signings in no particular order.
- 2️⃣ Virgil Van Dijk - Southampton to Liverpool 2018
- 3️⃣ Nemanja Vidic - Spartak Moscow to Manchester United 2006
- 4️⃣ Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Dortmund to Arsenal 2018
- 5️⃣ Phillipe Coutinho - Inter Milan to Liverpool (2013)
1️⃣ Luis Suarez - Ajax to Liverpool 2011
Suarez was signed for Liverpool from Ajax in 2011 for £22.8 million. Suarez became one of the most prolific forwards in Liverpool's history, scoring 82 goals in 133 appearances. His incredible 2013-14 season nearly led Liverpool to a Premier League title.
Van Dijk signed for Liverpool in 2018 for a then record fee for a defender of £75 million. Van Dijk transformed Liverpool’s defense, becoming a key figure in their Champions League and Premier League triumphs. He was named PFA Player of the Year in 2019.
Vidic signed for United in 2006 for a fee of £7 million. Vidic formed a formidable partnership with Rio Ferdinand and won five Premier League titles and the Champions League with Manchester United.
Aubameyang signed for Arsenal in 2018 for a fee of £56 million. Aubameyang won the Premier League golden boot in 2019 and was key to Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph in 2020.
Coutinho became a fan favorite at Liverpool. His performances helped Liverpool challenge for titles, and his eventual big-money move to Barcelona in 2018 also in January funded key signings like Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.
The January transfer window is a difficult window to get deals done but not impossible as seen in the past. It will be interesting to see if there are any late deals.
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✒️ Jack Guing – Football and GAA Sports Expert
Jack Guing has a strong knowledge of the sport of GAA through the lens of performance analysis with multiple GAA teams. He holds a master's degree in sports performance. He has a huge love of all things sports, especially golf, soccer and GAA. He uses statistics and performance analysis in order to predict the outcome of matches and events.
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