The greatest January transfer window signings in Premier League history

January transfers in the Premier League almost always come from necessity, making them essential risks for teams trying to keep pace with their opposition.

Sometimes they are big mistakes, and other times pay off more than the highest expectations.

We look back on the best ever January transfers the Premier League has ever seen.

Luis Suarez

Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez was transferred from Ajax to Liverpool for £22.8 million in January 2011. In his first season at Anfield, he scored four goals in 13 games, elevating Liverpool six places in the Premier League table, but the best was yet to come.

In 2014 he nearly led the club to their first league title since 1990, before making a £65 million move to Barcelona. Suarez has won 19 trophies in his career so far and, in 2014, got the Premier League Golden Boot. Not bad for a player – the fourth of seven sons – who learned to play on the streets. He will always be remembered as a superb January signing on Merseyside.

Patrice Evra

French left-back Patrice Evra transferred from Monaco to Manchester United in January 2006 for £5.5 million. After a poor start – ignominiously removed to the bench at half-time in a Manchester derby – he went on to storm five Premier League trophies and one Champions League title in the space of eight years.

He captained both United and France. Unusually for a footballer, he is the son of a diplomat, and even more unusually, speaks five languages. He even made a stab at Korean so he could talk in private to teammate Park Ji-sung. A hero at Old Trafford.

Bruno Guimaraes

More than landing on his feet, Bruno Guimaraes arrived in Newcastle with high expectations on his shoulders after his 37.9 million price tag saw him released from Lyon. Since his first game in the north of England, Guimaraes has been one of the standout players for the Magpies and sees them incredibly sitting in 2nd place halfway through the 2022/23 season and on course for one of their best-ever Premier League campaigns.

Fitting straight into the midfield and acting as one of the main catalysts for the Newcastle resurgence, Guimaraes will surely be considered a Newcastle legend for years to come and less than a year into his career, there can only be more to come.

Nemanja Vidic

Serbian centre-back Nemanja Vidic moved from Spartak Moscow to Manchester United for £7.5 million in January 2006 and went on to form arguably the Premier League’s best ever defensive partnership with Rio Ferdinand. He went on to win five Premier League titles and one Champions League while at Old Trafford and will be remembered as one of the best defender’s in the history of the division.

Virgil van Dijk

It’s only been a few years, but Liverpool’s Ballon d’Or finalist has already touched the sky. Following his £75 million move to Anfield in early 2018, the centre-back has guided the Reds to Champions League glory in 2019 before inspiring them to a first ever Premier League title in 2020. The Reds suffered a hammer blow when losing Van Dijk to injury last season, with the club unable to secure another title in his absence.

It may still be too early to call Virgil van Dijk the best January signing of the Premier League era, but Liverpool fans will nonetheless be praying for more of the same from him as time goes on now he is back to full fitness.

Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United may have splashed out an initial £47 million to bring Bruno Fernandes to Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon during the 2020 January window, but nearly two years on and he’s proved to be worth every penny.

Such was the impact that Fernandes had at United in his first half a season at the club, with a stunning eight goals and seven assists in just 14 appearances, it’s fair to say that the Red Devils would not have secured their top-four spot that campaign without him.

Fernandes’ goals and assists for United have continued to flourish, with the Red Devils arguably relying on the Portugal international a tad too much at certain times. As the second half of this season unfolds, again he will be key to where United finish come the end of the campaign.

Jesse Lingard

Has any player ever made such a short but sweet impact as Jesse Lingard did for West Ham during his six-month loan from Manchester United last season? In just 16 appearances, the England international managed an impressive nine goals and a further four assists for the Hammers. In that time, he also inspired the club to nine victories and was a major reason for them securing Europa League football this term. How West Ham will have wished they could have signed him permanently.

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