5 Most successful January transfer signings in the Premier League

#3 Patrice Evra (AS Monaco to Manchester United)

Patrice Evra

The Frenchman first started playing as a forward but was converted into a winger after he joined the Paris Saint-Germain academy. After failing to make it through at the Ligue 1 side, Patrice Evra had short stints in the academies of quite a few clubs. However, it was at Nice that he first played as a left-back.

After making the move to Monaco in the summer of 2002, he permanently shifted to the left-back role, at the advice of the then Monaco coach, Didier Deschamps. The Frenchman showed great promise during his three and a half year stint with the Ligue 1 side and eventually caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson.

The legendary Scot was searching for a left-back to bolster his defence and Evra fit the bill perfectly. Manchester United signed the Frenchman for £5.5m from Monaco in January 2006 and he was handed the No. 3 shirt. Initially, Evra struggled to adapt to the new league and could only manage 14 appearances in the second half of the 2005/06 season.

He continued to be in the fringes of the first team the following year but showed signs of improvement with every passing game. By the start of the 2007/08 season, he had laid a permanent claim to the left-back role and became an important member of the team as well due to his leadership qualities.

Evra went on to play for Manchester United until the end of the 2013/14 season before he departed for Juventus. By then, the Frenchman had won numerous trophies and had etched his name in the United folklore.