Top Three January signings in the Premier League
It is no secret that Premier League teams are not averse to splashing the cash to sign new players and a combined £215 million was spent by the English top flight clubs on recruiting new talent during the 2017 January transfer window.
However, the January window that just passed was an anomaly due to the fact that Premier League clubs received more in transfer fees from overseas clubs and Football League clubs than they have paid out, mainly due to the rise to prominence of Chinese Super League teams in the transfer market.
With so much money being bandied about, there were a number of good deals that did take place last month and here is our pick of the top three transfers of the January window.
There is usually a lot of hype surrounding the emergence of any talented young footballer from Brazil, but perhaps for the first time since superstar Neymar that another player has managed to capture the imagination of the public in the football mad South American nation in the same vein. The player of course is new Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus.
Jesus broke into the Palmerias first team back in 2015 and it has to be said that the 19-year-old’s rise has been meteoric. Having impressed at Palmerias, the young man played a starring role in helping Brazil win their first ever Olympic Gold in 2016 and is now already a regular for the Selecao national team, having scored an impressive 4 goals in 6 international appearances.
Given Jesus’ exploits, Manchester City were ready to splash as much as £27 million without any hesitation to secure his services over the summer and despite the fans having to wait over six months to see him in action, the teenager already seems to have made his mark in England. A number of betting sites are offering
Jesus made an encouraging debut against Tottenham before putting in a stunning performance in his first start for the club recently, during a 4-0 triumph over West Ham United at the London Stadium.
It is believed that Jesus has already moved ahead of the established goal-machine Sergio Aguero as the first choice striker for Manchester City under Pep Guardiola and while this remains to be seen, there is little doubt as to whether the Brazilian sensation will succeed at the Etihad Stadium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqemskft0ag
West Ham United were handed a huge bombshell after star man Dimitri Payet refused to play for the club and reluctantly, the Hammers were forced to succumb to the demands of the Frenchman by allowing him to make a return back to Marseille.
Replacing a player of Payet’s immense qualities is clearly very difficult but the Hammers have made a good acquisition to potentially fill the void adequately by recruiting the services of Robert Snodgrass from Hull City.
Snodgrass is by no means a high-profile name in the same bracket as Payet but followers of the Premier League will be well aware of the qualities of the Scottish international. Only a couple of betting sites are now publically offering odds on him winning the Golden Boot.
Much like Payet, Snodgrass is a good passer as well as free-kick specialist but there is so much more to the 29-year-old’s game than just set-pieces as he is not against working hard for his team defensively when the backs are against the wall.
Despite playing in a struggling Hull City side, the ex-Norwich City man managed an impressive 7 goals during the first half of the campaign and he is statistically one of the most effective players in the Premier League this season.
West Ham perhaps did overpay by splashing £10 million for a 29-year-old who only had six months remaining on his deal at Hull but the Hammers desperately needed to replace Payet and having received around £25 million from the Frenchman’s sale, the deal for Snodgrass could well prove to be a bargain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDWFPxBYYA0
Premier League clubs have the propensity of splashing the cash during transfer windows but a loan move, especially in January, can prove to be an effective alternative as well and especially for teams struggling down the bottom of the table.
Hull City are one of the teams that have used the loan market extremely well during the January transfer window and arguably their best signing last month was of Inter Milan defender Andrea Ranocchia.
New Hull boss Marco Silva has brought back the feel good factor at the KCOM Stadium following a tumultuous first half to the campaign for the Tigers and in order to facilitate his philosophy, the Portuguese boss brought in no less than eight new players to the club during the winter window.
Ranocchia is probably the most high profile arrival to Hull in January and although the once promising Italian has struggled at Inter Milan in recent times, he is already looking like a very good acquisition for the Tigers.
Ranocchia made his debut in the 0-0 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford before putting in a strong performance during Hull City’s impressive 2-0 triumph over title contenders Liverpool just a few days later.
Classy on the ball and a very good tackler, Ranocchia has all of a sudden provided that much needed solidity at the back for Hull and if the Tigers are to survive this season, there is no doubting that the ex-Inter captain will have a huge role to play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM2V2UlrGJA
Honourable Mentions – Mamadou Sakho (Crystal Palace), Morgan Schneiderlin (Everton), Manolo Gabbiadini (Southampton), Bryan Oviedo (Sunderland), M’Baye Niang (Watford), Robbie Brady (Burnley), Wilfried N’Didi (Leicester City)
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