5 players you probably didn't know are still at a top club

The winter transfer window has finally slammed shut after a month of humongous deals that saw a massive £420 million being spent by Premier League clubs alone.

The trend of obscenely inflated player valuations has kicked on as Philippe Coutinho, Virgil van Dijk, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Aymeric Laporte all made big money moves, but we did see a few bargain buys as well.

Manchester United snagged Alexis Sanchez on a free, with Arsenal getting Henrikh Mkhitaryan on an equally good deal. Chelsea signed Giroud for £18 million, significantly lower than his market value.

While most of these players have already had impressive debuts at their new clubs, there are inevitably a few who will fail.

Every club has that one player they signed four or five years ago who's been loaned out a couple of times, but never really made it to the first team.

Or there's the occasional academy graduate always on the fringes, who's been loaned out a couple of times, but never really making much of an impact.

Here are five players you didn't know were still at a top club:

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#5 Vlad Chiriches (Napoli)

Chiriches is best known for his two seasons with Tottenham in the Premier League, during which he managed only 25 appearances.

For the player who was voted Man of the Match on his Premier League debut, its been quite the fall from grace.

After he made only 17 appearances across all competitions in the 2014/15 season, Spurs agreed to sell him to Napoli for £4.5 million.

His form hasn't been great in Italy either, having made only 6 appearances so far this season, and he's unlikely to replace Raul Albiol or Kalidou Koulibali on the teamsheet in the near future.

#4 Lucas Piazon (Chelsea, on loan at Fulham)

Piazon's latest loan spell hasn't gone according to plan

While Chelsea are somewhat infamous for sending their young club graduates out on loan, Piazon is kind of an extreme case.

He was a sensation during his youth career in Brazil when he played for Coritiba, Atletico Paranaense and Sao Paulo. Chelsea came calling in 2011, offering him a pre-contract after fending off interest from several European giants, including Juventus.

After being named Chelsea's Young Player of the Year in 2012, it seemed as though nothing could go wrong. Six years and five loan spells later, he's still nowhere close to breaking into the first team at the age of 24.

To make matters worse, he suffered a fracture in his right ankle during a match against Leeds that has ruled him out of action indefinitely.

#3 Calum Chambers (Arsenal)

Chambers impressed on loan at Boro last season

Chambers, like several of his teammates at Southampton, attracted the attention of Premier League giants after his breakout season in 2013/14.

£16 million was supposed to be a bargain for a defender who was one of England's most promising youngsters. And he had a good start to his life in North London too - he made 23 appearances and even scored a goal in his first season.

But its been all downhill from there. A loan move to Middlesborough was supposed to revive his career, and he did well for them in their one season back in the top flight.

Following his return to Arsenal in the current season, he's made only 9 appearances for the Gunners. Wenger clearly trusts the experienced trio of Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal to youngsters like Holding and Chambers, even though Monreal isn't even a natural centre back.

But Chambers is still only 23, and he might yet have a future with Arsenal, maybe after a loan move next season.

#2 Lazar Markovic (Liverpool, on loan at Anderlecht)

Liverpool's worst ever signing?

Serbian winger Markovic was an exciting young talent with Partizan and Benfica. His performances eventually caught the eye of Liverpool, who signed him for £20 million in 2014.

He made 19 league appearances for them in his debut season and hasn't played for them since then.

It's difficult to see him having any kind of a future at the club, with Mane, Salah and Firmino being in the form of their lives.

Having spent loan spells at Fenerbahce, Sporting CP and Hull City, he failed to make much of an impact at any of those clubs. A string of injuries has severely limited his playing opportunities.

Klopp actually chose to keep him at the club at the start of this season, but there was virtually no chance of him making the first team. He eventually joined Anderlecht on loan last month but is apparently set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to his low fitness.

#1 Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus)

Asamoah has made only 10 appearances this season

The Ghanaian utility player was one of Juve's most popular assets during Antonio Conte's reign in Turin.

Asamoah was a versatile player who was as comfortable in midfield as he was at left back or as a left winger. He was an extremely important player for Juve when they were just beginning to reassert their dominance in Serie A.

His performances with Udinese and with Ghana had caught the attention of several big clubs before Juventus signed him in 2012 on a co-ownership contract.

He was a mainstay in the first team for his first couple of seasons at the club. But over the last four seasons, he's made only 46 league appearances.

The signing of left-back Alex Sandro and midfielders like Sami Khedira and Paul Pogba limited his opportunities, and he has gradually faded into obscurity.