Premier League teams spend big in action-packed January transfer window

The Premier League once again enjoyed the highest spending January transfer window in world football this year, with a total expenditure of £370m – some distance ahead of the £237m spent by German clubs in the Bundesliga.

Manchester City alone accumulated a total spend of £180m, not only amassing 44% of the league’s total expenditure, but also surpassing the overall spend of Serie A (£178 million), Ligue 1 (£167 million) and the Saudi Pro League (£162 million). The pick of the bunch seems to be £59 million signing Omar Marmoush, a versatile forward who has totted up 34 goal contributions in 29 games for Eintracht Frankfurt this season.

The 26-year-old forward is City’s oldest acquisition, but numbers amongst four other promising signings: Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Nico Gonzalez and Claudio Echeverri. With City’s January arrivals averaging an age of just 20.5, it seems that Guardiola, aware of the poor performances of his aging squad, has targeted funds towards cultivating the next generation. As part of Pep’s reshuffle, the transfer window also saw Manchester City veteran Kyle Walker depart on loan to AC Milan – a deal which leaves the core leadership group at the club sparse. Such a narrow brand of transfer activity begs the question as to whether Guardiola is simply focusing on next season already.

Arsenal fans will be disappointed once again at the failure of the club to sign a much sought after number nine

Another team who enjoyed a fruitful window was Aston Villa. The Villains suffered the departure of prolific striker Jhon Duran to the temptation of Saudi Arabia, but the £67m they received from Al Nassr, as well as a further £20m which the club received from the sale of Jaden Philogene to Ipswich Town, has swiftly been reinvested. The club invested £20m in the signing of Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund, and have secured the loans of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford, two brilliantly talented footballers eager for game time that Emery can give them.

Rashford struggled to find game time at Manchester United under the new leadership of Ruben Amorim, who insisted repeatedly that the England international struggled to adapt to his new system. If Villa can get Rashford right, they will unlock a forward who has previously managed 24 goal contributions in one Premier League season, and scored 138 goals for Manchester United, who at present seem to have forgotten his tireless devotion to the club.

For Manchester United, loaning out Rashford alongside fellow struggler Antony, who joins Real Betis, has left them with only four attackers, a decision which fans of the Red Devils fear the club may come to regret. At the other end of the pitch, United have signed promising talent Patrick Dorgu from Lecce for £30m, a wing-back who could slot perfectly into Amorim’s system of five at the back.

On the other end of the transfer spectrum are Arsenal, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, and Newcastle, all of whom have not spent a penny. Arsenal fans will be disappointed once again at the failure of the club to sign a much sought after number nine. Despite links to Aleksander Isak and Ollie Watkins, nothing has materialised for the Gunners, whose forward line is struggling due to the injuries of both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus.

Spurs fans will be resting their hopes on Tel as they look to ward off a bottom half finish

One club who have managed to sign a natural finisher are West Ham. The Hammers desperately need reinforcements in the absence of Michail Antonio and Nicholas Fullkrug to injury, and Evan Ferguson caught their eye. The Irishman has shown talent in the past, scoring a hat-trick against Newcastle at the start of the 23/24 season; West Ham will be hoping for a return to that sort of form from the young forward in their pursuit of a charge back up the table.

For Spurs, the signing of Mathys Tel aims to fill a gaping hole caused by their still ongoing injury crisis. The Frenchman was also courted by Manchester United, but with Bayern endorsing a simple loan move, the club felt as if there was little point in making the signing without an option to buy. In the absence of injured Dominic Solanke, and with Son Heung-Min is underperforming massively, Spurs fans will be resting their hopes on Tel as they look to ward off a bottom half finish.

While their league rivals scrambled for reinforcements, Arne Slot’s Liverpool held their fire. They seem unruffled despite being knocked out of the FA Cup, and continue to command a comfortable lead at the top of the table. Now that the Premier League’s top sides now having had the opportunity to shuffle their packs, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season will pan out, not only for Liverpool, but also for Manchester City, Arsenal, Aston Villa, and the entire chasing pack.