5 of the most expensive players in the history of the January transfer window

The transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff. Usually, the January transfer window opens on the 1st of January and closes on the 31st of January.

This is a very crucial time for all the clubs to reassess their squads and bring in reinforcements to shore up all the weak areas.

However, teams are usually reluctant to spend big money on players during this time due to a variety of factors. Firstly, the players coming in get very little time to acclimatize themselves with the players and the style at their new club.

Also, many of the players are cup-tied - for example, a player who has played in the Champions League or the Europa League in the present season cannot play for any other club in the same European competition in the same season.

Still, there are exceptions and some of the biggest transfers in football history have taken place in the January transfer window. So, who are the most expensive signings in January over the years?

Here is a look at the top 5;

#5 Lucas Moura - Sao Paulo to Paris Saint-Germain (£38 million)

Moura joined the French champions in a big money move from Sao Paulo in the year 2013. He had established himself as a talented youngster having broken into the Brazilian first team. His time at Sao Paulo saw him play 86 matches which included 22 goals and 19 assists.

People might have expected a young player with the burden of a huge transfer fee to initially to struggle to adapt to new conditions but Lucas proved his detractors wrong and soon established himself as an integral part of PSG's first eleven.

However, with the arrival of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, Lucas has found games hard to come by this season and might soon be on his way out of the French capital.

He has performed reasonably well during his time at Paris scoring 46 goals and providing 50 assists in the 229 matches he has played so far.

#4 Fernando Torres - Liverpool to Chelsea (£50 million)

Torres made a big money move from Liverpool to Chelsea in 2011.

Fernando Torres will forever be remembered as a Chelsea flop by those not associated with the club, but he will always have a place in the heart of every Chelsea fan.

Roman Abramovich paid close to £50 million to secure his transfer from rivals Liverpool in January 2011.

Having scored 81 goals in 141 games for Liverpool big things were expected from 'El Nino'. This was a player who had single-handedly destroyed Manchester United but his tally of 33 goals in five and a half seasons at the club was certainly not what Chelsea was looking for.

Nevertheless, he scored some very important goals, including the equalizer at the Nou Camp against Barcelona in Chelsea's 2012 Champions League winning run and also played a major role in Chelsea's 2013 Europa League triumph.

He spent his last two seasons on loan away from the club before finally returning back to boyhood club Atletico Madrid.

#3 Oscar - Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG (£60 million)

Oscar in action for Shanghai SIPG.

Oscar, the young Brazilian was signed by Chelsea in 2012 and was immediately given the number 11 shirt, which was previously worn by Didier Drogba - naturally expectations were sky high.

He announced himself at Stamford Bridge after scoring two wonderful goals against Juventus in a Champions League group stage match.

He stayed at Chelsea for four years but never quite justified his talent. He showed occasional flashes of brilliance, but inconsistency always proved to be Oscar's bane. He played a total of 203 games for Chelsea scoring 38 goals and supplying 37 assists.

He was tempted by the big money offered in the Chinese Super League and Shanghai SIPG snapped him up in January 2016 for a fee of £60 million. During his time at Shanghai till now he has played a total of 40 matches contributing 9 goals and 17 assists.

#2 Virgil Van Dijk - Southampton to Liverpool (£75 million)

Van Dijk is Liverpool's most expensive defender.

Defending has been Liverpool's shortfall over the past few seasons and they had identified the Holland international to solve their frailties at the back.

Liverpool spent the entire summer of 2017 trying to sign him. He even handed in a transfer request which was rejected by the Southampton board. The Reds finally cooled off their interest after Southampton complained that the Reds had made an illegal approach for the centre-back.

Come January 2018, they were determined to get their man. They did just that and paid £75 million to secure his services, making him the world's costliest defender.

The centre-back made a perfect start to his Liverpool career after he netted the winner in the FA Cup tie against Everton.

#1 Philippe Coutinho - Liverpool to Barcelona (£142 million)

Coutinho finally got his dream move to FC Barcelona

The Coutinho saga was almost similar to Van Dijk - Barcelona spent the entire summer of 2017 in trying to sign him, Coutinho even-handed in a transfer request, but Liverpool was unrelenting.

The Brazilian magician was signed by the Reds from Inter Milan for a paltry sum of £8.5 million in January 2013.

His time at Merseyside was characterized by his brilliant dribbling skills and his precise strikes from outside the box. In a total of 201 matches for the club, he scored 54 goals and provided 46 assists. The entire Liverpool fraternity tried their best to persuade him to stay at Anfield.

However, he had his heart set on moving to the Camp Nou and when Barcelona came calling with a bid of £142m, Liverpool had no option other than to let him go.