The top ten biggest January transfers of 2020

Premier League teams have spent a staggering £230m during January – the second-highest ever. Two of the biggest arrivals were Bruno Fernandes and Sander Berge to Manchester United and Sheffield United.

Since transfers have been allowed during January way back in 1992, Premier League clubs have now spent close to 2 billion pounds on incoming transfers.

However, it’s not only teams from the Premier League that have been on a spending spree last month, let’s have a look at the 10 biggest winter transfers depending on their market value.

10. Reinier
Real Madrid announced the signing of Reinier from Flamengo on the 20th of January. Los Blancos paid around £30 million to acquire the 18-year old. The creative midfielder is supposed to be the latest big talent coming from Brazil as Real Madrid is trying to replenish the team amidst an ageing squad. Reinier has just turned 18 last month and is likely a choice for the future.

Reinier was a regular in the Brazil U17 but now will be given his chance in the Brazil U23 squad who is playing at the CONMEBOL pre-Olympics tournament where he made his debut on the day before signing his contract at Real Madrid. If he makes it to the final, he will only be presented at Santiago Bernabéu later this month.

9. Krzysztof Piatek
Krzysztof Piatek completed his transfer to Hertha Berlin from AC Milan during the recent January transfer window. Hertha Berlin confirmed the signing of Krzysztof Piatek from AC Milan on a permanent deal one day before the market was closing and paid £24.30m for Piatek.

Piatek will leave Milan just a year after his transfer from Genoa. The 24-year old has scored a total of 13 goals in 36 appearances with AC Milan. The Polish international struggled to make an impact and his market value was gradually falling. Now that Zlatan Ibrahimović made his comeback, the forward wasn’t needed anymore at Milan.

8. Steven Bergwijn
Steven Bergwijn left PSV for Tottenham, ending his nine-year stay with the club. The winger scored 29 goals in 112 appearances for the Light bulbs since he made it to the first team in 2014. The Dutch international had also been linked with a controversial move to Ajax Amsterdam but the deal never got concrete.

It was Bergwijn’s dream to one day play in the Premier League and the 22-year old was so dedicated to joining Tottenham that he even turned down a £6million bonus from PSV Eindhoven to complete the transfer. Tottenham reportedly paid £27.00m and the winger has already scored a goal in his first appearance at Spurs.

7. Dani Olmo
Dani Olmo completed his move from Dinamo Zagreb to RB Leipzig after being heavily linked with a move to Chelsea during the January window. The 21-year old is a Spain international since November 2019 and scored a goal in his first game for Spain.

Born in Terrassa, Barcelona, Olmo arrived in FC Barcelona’s youth academy aged 9, from neighbours RCD Espanyol but never made an appearance in the first team. He joined Dinamo Zagreb in 2015 and scored 20 goals in 80 appearances at Zagreb.

6. Dejan Kulusevski
During the January transfer window, Juventus agreed to a deal to sign Dejan Kulusevski from Atalanta. The 19-year old was currently on a loan with Parma where he was considered one of the best players in the team. The midfielder will remain at Parma till the end of the season before joining Juventus next summer.

5. Paco Alcácer
Paco Alcácer is joining Villarreal from Dortmund after a reported £19.4m deal was agreed. With the incoming transfer of Erling Haaland, the striker was not needed anymore at BVB. Villarreal have made a bit of a surprise signing of Paco Alcácer from Borussia Dortmund, with the Spanish club reportedly breaking their transfer record.

The 26-year old is a Spain international and has scored 12 goals in 19 appearances, though he’s not always a regular in the first team. Paco Alcácer scored on his debut against Osasuna, helping the hosts win 3–1. The former Barcelona player left Spain in 2019 after not getting enough time on the pitch with Barça.

4. Duván Zapata
Though Zapata’s market value stands at £40.50m, the centre forward moved to Atalanta for a meagre £10.80m transfer fee. Quite the bargain for the Italians. Zapata will now become a permanent player at Atalanta after being on a loan spell before.

The 28-year old scored 29 goals in 46 appearances during his loan spell in Bergamo, enough reasons for the club to make him an Atalanta player till 2023. With this acquisition, Atalanta hopes to finish the season in the top-4, playing Champions League football two seasons in a row.

3. Erling Haaland
Though it appeared Erling Haaland was going to be reunited with his former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær at Manchester United, the young Norwegian ultimately joined Borussia Dortmund for a transfer fee of £18.00m. Though, it is rumoured that Dortmund paid double of that because of commission fees to the manager Mino Raiola and the father of Haaland.

The 19-year old already showed he is worth what Dortmund paid for him as he has scored 7 goals in only 3 appearances. Haaland became the first Bundesliga player to score 5 goals in his opening 2 games, as well as the fastest player to reach that tally (56 minutes).

2. Bruno Fernandes
Fernandes had been linked with Man United for a while and finally signed Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon during the January transfer window. United reportedly paid £49.50m for the attacking midfielder who contributed 63 goals and 52 assists in 137 appearances for Sporting Clube de Portugal.

The Portugal international made his debut on the 1st of February, playing the full 90 minutes in a goalless draw at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Fernandes has been a fan of Manchester United since fellow Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo played for the club.

1. Christian Eriksen
As the contract of Christian Eriksen was ending this summer, Tottenham had to sell him during the January transfer window if they still wanted to receive a transfer fee. Eriksen was very public about his intention to leave this summer and he’s not started this season to his usual high standards. Christian Eriksen has joined Inter Milan after signing a contract until 2024 with the Serie A giants.

According to the Guardian, Inter agreed a £17 million fee with Spurs to sign the Denmark international. Eriksen was ready for a new challenge after having been at Spurs since 2013. The 27-year old needs to add more creativity to the Internazionale midfield and deliver assists to Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez.