THE BIG DEBATE: January saw Premier League clubs spend a whopping £404.1.million on new signings, with one club in particular set to be much stronger while another was weakened
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 24: Antoine Semenyo of Manchester City celebrates scoring their second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Etihad Stadium on January 24, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Antoine Semenyo was the most expensive signing of the window(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
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And there we have it. Thirty three days and £404.1million later, the January transfer window is closed.
All 20 Premier League teams did business, some much more than others. Manchester City spent the most by signing Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo for a combined £94m - edging out Crystal Palace by £11m - while only Manchester United and Newcastle failed to make a single signing.
We weren't short of sagas, though, whether it was the speculation over Mo Salah's future or Kobbie Mainoo going from outcast to undroppable. As ever, there was deadline-day drama involving the likes of Dwight McNeil, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Sandro Tonali.
John Cross
The transfer window produced one big winner and one obvious loser. Manchester City did outstanding business by signing Marc Guehi in a deal worth up to £30m, and to get Antoine Semenyo for £64m was amazing.
To sign a brilliant defender - England's best central defender right now - for a bargain fee and then to get a proven Premier League winger for that fee gives Pep Guardiola a huge boost. Two top players who could win them major trophies this season but are also in for the long haul, all for less than £100m is brilliant business.
But the biggest loser has to be Crystal Palace. They lost their captain when they sold Guehi to City.
Jean-Philippe Mateta then made it clear that he wanted to leave and would have gone to AC Milan but for medical checks which now throw up doubts about his availability. Yes, they brought in Jorgen Strand Larsen but the damage this month has done - with Oliver Glasner also announcing he is leaving in the summer - has been catastrophic.
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: Marc Guehi of Manchester City looks on during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 01, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Manchester City won the race for Marc Guehi(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
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To be brutally honest, the January transfer window was so lacking in notable moves that there is a compelling case for it to be scrapped. But as the only club that did really serious business, you would have to say Manchester City had the best window in that they signed Marc Guehi, a true international-class defender.
They also signed Antoine Semenyo but I'm not as convinced as most people seem to be that he will turn out to be a success at City. But Guehi can only be a good asset going forward, even if it might take him some time to get used to Pep Guardiola's way of thinking.
Crystal Palace have had the worst window, by some distance. Not only have they lost Guehi, their main striker, Jean-Philippe Mateta, does not want to play for them but they have not been able to sell him because of a physical issue. And the striker they have signed, Jorgen Strand Larsen, is massively overpriced at an initial £43m and has not been able to get into the worst team in the Premier League.
Jorgen Strand Larsen
Crystal Palace paid £43million plus £5m in add-ons for Jorgen Strand Larsen(Image: @CPFC/X)
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It might not have helped them close the gap on leaders Arsenal, but Manchester City's show of financial strength in the last transfer window made them the big winners when it came to new signings. The arrivals of Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo add youth and huge talent to Pep Guardiola's squad.
Guehi, in particular, will not cost more than £30m and must be one of the bargains of recent times. Guehi's move to Manchester made a huge contribution to former club Crystal Palace having a shocking month.
Aside from the furore surrounding manager Oliver Glasner, to lose a your captain and most influential member of the team for peanuts is damning on the Palace business model. Throw in the fact Jean-Philippe Mateta made it clear he wanted to leave, and would have gone to AC Milan but for failing a medical, and Palace, who have also overspent on Jorgen Strand Larsen, will be glad to see the window slam shut.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 7: Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace warms up before the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa at Selhurst Park on January 7, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by MB Media/Getty Images)
Jean-Philippe Mateta failed his medical with AC Milan on deadline day(Image: MB Media/Getty Images)
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It has been a strange window which ended with more questionable decisions than the usual excitement. Manchester City had the best month on paper with the signings of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi - probably the two best Premier League players not already at a Champions League club.
But Sunday's draw at Tottenham showed the pair have not solved all Pep Guardiola's problems. The biggest spenders of the window were Crystal Palace - the FA Cup holders splashed £83m after not investing enough in the summer - but have come out weaker.
The result only increases the chances of Oliver Glasner leaving before the end of the season. Losing Marc Guehi was a huge blow - and they have not signed a new defender. Breaking their club record for the first time to sign Brennan Johnson seemed to set out the South London club's early intent in the window.
Then still bringing in Jorgen Strand Larsen for £48m in a seller's market even though the Jean-Philippe Mateta deal to AC Milan had collapsed makes neither footballing or financial sense.
Brennan Johnson of Crystal Palace applauds his team's supporters during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace at the City Ground in Nottingham, England, on February 1, 2026. (Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Brennan Johnson cost Crystal Palace £35million(Image: Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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I'm not sure winning a transfer window is a great flex, but there's always a club who does the best business. The irony is if you'd asked the majority who had won the summer transfer window it could almost certainly have been Liverpool.
Their recruitment drive though has seen them go from champions to a team now in a battle to make the Champions League spots. Kind of underlining the fact you win nothing by winning a transfer window. But if any club has this January then it would be City, purely because they landed Semenyo and Guehi. The window was lacking in major deals but Pep Guardiola did add one of the league's best wingers and one of England's elite defenders. The irony of course being its taken them no closer to the title, they're probably as far off as they were when January kicked off. That said, the two signings are proper players and will certainly aid the team for years to come. So good business nevertheless.