January transfer window: Top 10 transfers by value

Borussia Dortmund v SV Werder Bremen - Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund v SV Werder Bremen - Bundesliga

The January transfer window of 2019 has finally come to a close - and although it wasn't as exciting as the previous one, we saw some pretty big deals go through.

Last year saw several big-money transfers - Coutinho to Barcelona, van Dijk to Liverpool, Aubameyang to Arsenal, and Laporte to Manchester City to name a few.

Most of the top six clubs in England have been relatively quiet in the transfer window this season, with Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham choosing not to recruit any new players.

Speaking of Spurs, they created yet another unwanted record by becoming the first English team not to sign any players in consecutive transfer windows. That may well come back to haunt them later this season, with injuries to Dele Alli and Harry Kane, coupled with the departure of Moussa Dembele leaving them with a threadbare squad.

Elsewhere, Barcelona have been active with the signings of Frenkie de Jong and Kevin-Prince Boateng, although the former deal will technically go through only in the summer.

Deadline day saw a lot of exciting moves - Denis Suarez to Arsenal, Miguel Almiron to Newcastle, Michy Batshuayi to Crystal Palace, Peter Crouch to Burnley, and Youri Tielemans to Leicester.

Let's take a look at the five biggest January signings in terms of transfer fees:

#5 Paco Alcacer to Dortmund (£22.7m)

Considering that Alcacer has been on loan with Borussia Dortmund since last summer, the Germans' decision to make his move permanent flew under the radar following a frantic deadline day.

The 25-year-old joined Barcelona in 2016, but he never quite managed to be as prolific as he was at Valencia, scoring just 10 league goals over two seasons.

From just 5 Bundesliga starts, and 14 appearances overall, Alcacer has scored a mind-blowing 12 goals already. Earlier in the season, he shot into the spotlight when he made a 30-minute cameo against Augsburg and scored a match-winning hattrick.

If his performances so far are anything to go by, £22.7 million will be an absolute bargain.

Dortmund are currently 6 points clear of Bayern at the top of the league, and are in prime position to break the latter's 6 year dominance in Germany.

Alcacer never really looked like he was going to break through in Spain, so this looks like the perfect deal for all parties involved.

#4 Krzysztof Piatek to AC Milan (£30.9m)

AC Milan v SSC Napoli - Coppa Italia
AC Milan v SSC Napoli - Coppa Italia

The man meant to be Gonzalo Higuain's replacement at Milan has hit the ground running, scoring twice as they shocked Napoli to progress to the Coppa Italia semi-finals.

Piatek spent barely half a season at Genoa, whom he joined from Cracovia last summer. He scored 13 goals for them from 19 appearances, attracting the interest of several clubs across Europe.

With Chelsea stepping up their pursuit of Higuain, Milan quickly needed to bring in offensive cover for him, and Piatek was available on the cheap. £30.9m in the current market is a great deal for a player with the potential of Piatek.

The 23-year-old has a wide range of abilities. He's excellent in the air, and thrives in finding spaces inside the penalty box. With Milan having brilliant playmakers like Calhanoglu and Suso, Piatek will benefit from the chances they create for him.

He still has only 2 caps for Poland, scoring his first goal for them against Portugal in October. He's naturally viewed by many as his country's long-term successor for Robert Lewandowski.

#3 Lucas Paqueta to AC Milan (£31.4m)

AC Milan v SSC Napoli - Serie A
AC Milan v SSC Napoli - Serie A

Lucas Paqueta might low-key be one of the best signings of the January transfer window.

The 21-year-old Brazilian is a youth graduate of Flamengo. An incredibly versatile midfielder, Paqueta is capable of playing in defensive or attacking midfield, as well as out wide.

Although he plays his best football in a number 10 role, he's also received praise for his defensive work rate.

He's already established himself as a regular starter at Milan, mostly as part of a midfield 3 alongside Tiemoue Bakayoko and Franck Kessie.

Thanks to his brilliant performances, he attracted interest from several European giants, including PSG, Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona and Juventus. AC Milan will view their signing of him as a huge coup, and hopefully a sign that they're once again ready to compete with the European elite.

Having failed to finish above 6th place since 2013, Paqueta can play a huge role in helping Milan secure Champions League qualification for next season (they're currently 1 point clear of Roma in 5th place).

#2 Leandro Paredes to PSG (£40m)

Argentina v Mexico - International Friendly
Argentina v Mexico - International Friendly

After missing out on Frenkie de Jong, Idrissa Gueye, and Paqueta, PSG had to sign a midfielder thanks to an injury to Marco Verratti and the inevitable departure of Adrien Rabiot.

Paredes made a name for himself in Serie A, where he spent loan spells with Chievo and Empoli, before becoming a first-team star for Roma, before he joined Zenit St. Petersburg for €23 million in 2017.

PSG faced competition from Chelsea to sign Paredes, who wanted him as a long term replacement for Cesc Fabregas.

The 24-year-old Argentine may be exactly the kind of player that PSG need right now. He's known equally for the defensive and offensive side of his game, particularly for his excellent long passing.

Brazilian centre back Marquinhos has often played in defensive midfield this season, and the arrival of Paredes might finally allow him to move back to his preferred position.

Thomas Tuchel will be glad to have at least one problematic position solved in January, with the French champions harbouring lofty continental ambitions this season.

#1 Christian Pulisic to Chelsea (£58m)

Borussia Dortmund v Club Brugge - UEFA Champions League Group A
Borussia Dortmund v Club Brugge - UEFA Champions League Group A

In what is quickly turning out to be a disastrous season for Maurizio Sarri and Chelsea, the signing of Pulisic from Dortmund might turn out to be a silver lining.

Chelsea currently have Willian, Pedro, Hudson-Odoi and Hazard as options out wide. But Willian and Pedro are already in their 30's, Hazard is still a target for Real Madrid, and Bayern are hell-bent on signing 18-year-old Hudson-Odoi to replace Robben in the summer.

Signing a winger would have been on top of Sarri's wish list for the winter transfer window. They were, however, forced to loan Pulisic back to Dortmund till the summer.

This is also a great piece of business by the Germans. With the emergence of youngsters like Jadon Sancho and Jacob Bruun Larsen, and the brilliant form of more experienced stars like Raphael Guerrero and Marco Reus, Pulisic has been reduced to making just 5 starts this season in the Bundesliga.

He's still only 20 though, which gave Dortmund enough bargaining power to extract a sizeable fee from Chelsea.

Pulisic will add some much-needed pace, skill and trickery to a Chelsea attack that has been overly reliant on Eden Hazard for goals this season.

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Edited by Aaditya Narayan
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