January transfer window: The winners and losers of 2015
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How was the 2015 January transfer window for you?
Some £130m was spent by Premier League clubs in the past month, with title rivals Chelsea and Manchester City the biggest spenders.
But which club got the best deal? What was the biggest surprise? Who is the happiest club? And who will have the biggest regret?
We asked former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy, ex-Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas, BBC Radio 5 live's chief football reporter Ian Dennis and BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty to give their views.
Best deal
Murphy:
"It's Wilfried Bony to Manchester City for me - he's a one-goal-in-two-games striker. It gives City more firepower and eases the burden on Sergio Aguero. It might, just might, give them an extra boost as they go for the league title."
Jenas:
"I would say for the amount of money they recouped, it's Chelsea's sale of midfielder Andre Schurrle. The Blues have done great business in the last couple of windows, with David Luiz and Juan Mata leaving and Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa coming in. They've now managed to bring in winger Juan Cuadrado and sold Schurrle for barely any outlay."
McNulty:
"Manchester City's signing of Bony could be the one that swings the title their way. Expensive but a proven Premier League goalscorer who will give them something different. Everton might have pulled off a shrewd deal by signing winger Aaron Lennon from Spurs on loan."
Dennis:
"It's also Bony for me. He's proven at this level and could prove to be the difference in the title race when he returns from the Africa Cup of Nations. It's a very good acquisition for City."
Biggest surprise
McNulty:
"The biggest surprise has to be QPR manager Harry Redknapp not being able to do more business with the Hoops occupying such a lowly position in the league. He looked crestfallen as he told a tale of woe about his struggles to get deals over the line."
Dennis:
"Villa not being as proactive as they could have been. I know they brought in a couple of players, but two more might have given them more momentum. This is a team that is struggling to score. They came in late for Liverpool striker Rickie Lambert, but was it a question of too little, too late?"
Murphy:
"I'm a little surprised that Chelsea let Schurrle go. He's a talented player who scored goals for them. The fans also quite liked him I believe, and of course they're still involved in other competitions so they need a good squad. I guess when you look at Financial Fair Play (FFP) and how it impacts clubs, you understand why they had to do that."
Jenas:
"No surprises for me. A lot of clubs got into bad situations in the last couple of windows. That is the downfall of the whole situation. Because of FFP, a lot of hands are tied. This transfer window has been quite a disappointing spectacle."
Happiest club
McNulty:
"Chelsea will be delighted to bring in a player of Cuadrado's calibre for £23.3m and not getting hit in the pocket by virtually balancing the books with the sale of Schurrle to Wolfsburg for £22m. Manchester City will be delighted with the addition of Bony."
Murphy:
"I think West Brom will be reasonably pleased. They've got midfielders Darren Fletcher and Callum McManaman. They both know what it's like to play at this level. I didn't think they had a particularly poor team anyway, although more competition for places will improve the bunch, while Fletcher's knowhow will also help them."
Jenas:
"Newcastle keeping hold of midfielder Moussa Sissoko is a definite plus for them. The other team that should be happy is Everton for bringing in Lennon. He can turn their season around. Lennon will fit into the way manager Roberto Martinez wants his team to play."
Dennis:
"Southampton for me. They made two good additions in full-back Ryan Bertrand, on a permanent deal, and midfielder Filip Djuricic from Benfica. Palace will be the other club pleased, having brought in seven new faces. Manager Alan Pardew's key strength is his motivational skills and the way he generates spirit in a squad, which we have already seen since he arrived at Selhurst Park."
Club with the biggest regret
Murphy:
"I think QPR and Aston Villa will both be disappointed they haven't brought in strikers. For the Hoops, it would have been someone to share the burden with Charlie Austin, and for Villa, a player to help score goals and bring some confidence to the club."
Jenas:
"I don't think any of the struggling teams could have tried any harder. They are in a relegation battle so it's tough to attract players. On top of that, financially the likes of the Baggies and Burnley are not massive spenders. What I'm trying to say is that you can't have any regrets when you can't do anything about it."
McNulty:
"Remains to be seen but the likes of Hull City and QPR might live to regret not doing more business if the lack of activity plays a part in a failure to retain their Premier League status."
Dennis:
"Newcastle losing out on Dele Alli to Tottenham. They were in pole position to sign the MK Dons midfielder. I believe a deal could have been done last week. He's a part of a rare breed of goalscoring midfielders. At £5m, the Magpies might regret they didn't act sooner."
Premier League January signings | |
---|---|
Arsenal | Krystian Bielik (£2.4m), Gabriel Paulista (£11.2m) |
Aston Villa | Carles Gil (£3.2m), Scott Sinclair (Loan) |
Burnley | Michael Keane (Undisclosed) |
Chelsea | Juan Cuadrado (£23.3m) |
Crystal Palace | Shola Ameobi (Free), Yaya Sanogo (Loan), Pape Souare (Undisclosed), Jordon Mutch (Undisclosed), Lee Chung-yong (Undisclosed), Wilfried Zaha (Undisclosed), Keshi Anderson (Undisclosed), Andreas Breimyr (Undisclosed) |
Everton | Aaron Lennon (Loan) |
Hull | Dame N'Doye (Undisclosed) |
Leicester | Robert Huth (Loan), Andrej Kramaric (£9m), Mark Schwarzer (Free) |
Liverpool | None |
Manchester City | Wilfried Bony (£28m) |
Manchester United | Sadiq El Fitouri (Undisclosed), Victor Valdes (Free), Andy Kellett (Loan) |
Newcastle | None |
QPR | Mauro Zarate (Loan) |
Southampton | Filip Djuricic (Loan), Ryan Bertrand (Undisclosed) |
Stoke | Philipp Wollscheid (Loan) |
Sunderland | Jermain Defoe (Undisclosed) |
Swansea | Jack Cork (Undisclosed), Matt Grimes (£1.75m), Kyle Naughton (£5m) |
Tottenham | Dele Alli (Undisclosed) |
West Brom | Callum McManaman (£4.75m), Darren Fletcher (Free) |
West Ham | Doneil Henry (Undisclosed) |
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