The January transfer window is almost over. Just a few short days remain – let’s take a look back at some of the best deals completed by teams in the Premier League.
We’ll be looking at players snapped up by teams such as Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Manchester City for the purposes of this list – can you guess who they are?
Rayan
Rayan is one of the most coveted wonderkids in the world at the moment – and Bournemouth, of all teams, managed to snap him up for a meagre fee of just £24.7 million from Vasco da Gama.
A talented attacking player, Rayan can play on either wing or as an out-and-out striker. Given his goalscoring prowess, he might be best suited to centre-forward play, but it remains to be seen if he can handle the physicality of the Premier League.
At just 19 years of age, Rayan’s best years are well ahead of him – if his reputation is anything to go by, the Cherries have a struck a real plum deal here.
Conor Gallagher
Tottenham have been struggling in the Premier League this season – as such, it made perfect sense to bring in a player who is tailor-made for England’s top division.
Conor Gallagher is an energetic midfielder who can break up play and pick out clever passes to find his teammates – additionally, thanks to his intelligent movement, he’s also a decent goalscorer.
Gallagher will have some work to do to win over the Spurs faithful, being a former Chelsea player, but he seems like a very smart addition to their squad – if somewhat unspectacular.
Adama Traore
Adama Traore could be just what West Ham United need. He was a square peg in a round hole at Fulham – he didn’t suit Marco Silva’s possession-based style of play – but under a counter-attacking coach like Nuno Espirito Santo, he should be allowed to thrive.
We all know what Traore is all about. Technically, he’s far from the best in the league, but his superhuman pace and power make him a lethal threat against any team stupid enough to play a high line against him.
He’s the sort of player who defenders hate coming up against – he can be a real handful when used to his strengths.
Antoine Semenyo
Bringing Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City just made sense. They needed an explosive, chaotic winger to challenge Jeremy Doku – Semenyo fits the bill perfectly.
Furthermore, as expected, Semenyo has hit the ground running at the Etihad Stadium. Since joining the club, the former Bournemouth man has scored two goals in three games for the Sky Blues.
At £65 million, he’s the most expensive player in this list, but we’d suggest that he is worth the price that City paid – he has kept their title challenge alive.
Marc Guehi
If Antoine Semenyo gave City fans hope that they can reclaim the Premier League title, the addition of Marc Guehi made them truly believe.
Guehi is everything you could want from a centre-back. He’s fast, decent in the air and strong in the tackle – he can play, too. In many ways, Guehi is a complete defender.
City managed to snap up one of the best defenders in the world for a paltry fee of just £20 million – this could prove to be one of the shrewdest bargains in years.
We will see if there are any bigger deals made over the last couple of days of the window but as it stands it seems like the bulk of the major business has been completed.