There was little late drama as the January transfer window closed on Friday, but Premier League clubs still spent over £200 million ($261 million) over the past month on new players.
AFP Sports loos at five of the biggest moves of the January window.
Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United)
United’s long-running interest in the Portuguese international midfielder finally materialised in a 55 million euro (£47 million, $61 million) deal that could rise to as much as 80 million euros if performance-related add-ons are met.
Fernandes, 25, has been a prolific goalscorer for Sporting over the past two seasons and will offer a much-needed goal threat to a United side devoid of the creative talents of Paul Pogba and top scorer Marcus Rashford for the next few weeks due to injury.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed Fernandes will make his debut when Wolves visit Old Trafford on Saturday and the Red Devils need an instant impact from their latest big-money buy as they trail Chelsea by six points in the race for a top-four finish.
Steven Bergwijn (PSV Eindhoven to Tottenham)
Spurs’ manager Jose Mourinho did not get the striker he desired to deputise for Harry Kane, but he does have another option in attack with the arrival of Dutch winger Steven Bergwijn.
The highly-rated 22-year-old already has nine caps for the Netherlands and scored 31 goals for PSV in winning three Eredivisie titles.
Takumi Minamino (Red Bull Salzburg to Liverpool)
Liverpool is cruising towards a first Premier League title for 30 years in large part thanks to their smart recruitment over the past few years and Minamino could be another bargain for the European champions.
The Japanese international impressed Jurgen Klopp as Salzburg pushed Liverpool despite twice losing narrowly to the Reds in the Champions League group stages and was available for just £7.25 million due to a buyout clause in his contract with the Austrian champions.
Sander Berge (Genk to Sheffield United)
Sensing the chance to qualify for Europe for the first time in the club’s history, the Blades have splashed £22 million on talented Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge.
Chris Wilder’s men are eighth in the table, but just one point behind United in the Europa League places.
Mbwana Samatta (Genk to Aston Villa)
Also leaving the Belgian champions this month was Samatta, who will become the first Tanzanian to feature in the Premier League.
A season-ending injury to Brazilian Wesley left Villa without a natural striker and Samatta will be hoping to make a better impact at Bournemouth on Saturday than in his debut against Leicester on Tuesday when he missed a glorious chance as Dean Smith’s men progressed to the League Cup final.
Follow our socials Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google News.
