5 Premier League players who should have switched clubs in the January window

Another transfer window has been and gone and inevitably, it broke the record for more spent for January.

A whopping £419m was splashed by Premier League teams as they tried to ready themselves for the second half of the season. Some players who were expected to leave their clubs departed: Philippe Coutinho finally got his wish and moved to Barcelona; Virgil van Dijk also got his awaited transfer from Southampton to usual business partners Liverpool.

Even as of the final day of the transfer window, Premier League teams were frantically trying to get transfers over the line.

There was the almost comical and complex business between Arsenal, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund, as they all tried to swap Olivier Giroud, Michy Batshuayi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang respectively; that they actually managed it is remarkable.

Despite the incredible amount of money spent, some players didn't make the move elsewhere, and some players were very unfortunate not do so.

This slideshow looks at five players who could have, and probably should have, signed for another club during last month.

#5 Joe Hart (West Ham United)

Since being dropped by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, Joe Hart's fall from grace has come quickly.

He moved on loan last season to Torino in Italy, was greeted with much fanfare for a goalkeeper, and proceeded to play consistently poorly for his new club, with mistakes leading to loss of points on several occasions.

He returned to Manchester City but still wasn't fancied so another loan, this time staying in England with West Ham, followed. It has only led to Hart being recently dropped to the bench by manager David Moyes, replaced by Adrian.

At 30 years old, the Englishman should be at his absolute peak for a player in his position. Hart was arguably one of Europe's strongest goalkeepers 4 seasons ago; his sharp decline in form is incredible.

Perhaps his confidence has suffered and is influencing his performances, but whatever it is, he needs to recover fast. There was some talk about him leaving West Ham in January to go on loan elsewhere but Moyes ultimately blocked this from happening.

This must have been frustrating for Hart because he needs to be playing regularly if he's to stand any chance of making England's World Cup squad this summer: for their current number 1 to be sitting on a substitute's bench for the rest of the season is unthinkable.

Any number of Premier League suitors would have lined up to try and resurrect his ailing form, but for now, Hart will just have to battle Adrian to retake his starting position.

#4 Jonny Evans (West Bromwich Albion)

Evans has the talent to play for a 'Top 6' team

After leaving Manchester United for the lower half of the Premier League table, Evans could perhaps not be judged for thinking that a move to a bigger club would never come again.

Then, his name started getting linked with teams like Manchester City and Arsenal, and he must have been as surprised as anyone.

Evans was always a capable defender during his time at Old Trafford, a good backup to the world-class pair of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. He just didn't play spectacularly enough for Louis van Gaal.

Since joining West Bromwich, though, Evans has been colossal at the back, marshaling their defense to the best of his abilities.

Perhaps it took joining a lesser team and becoming the main man in defence before his talents could really be noticed.

Pep Guardiola is said to have taken an interest in bringing the Northern Irishman to Manchester over the summer but the move never materialized; Arsene Wenger seemed keen to bring in Evans to shore up his problematic defense.

Neither happened and one can only think that Evans would have liked the idea of signing for Arsenal, and would have performed well if given the chance.

He's currently in the midst of a tight relegation battle with his current club, and the feeling is that if they do succumb to relegation, Evans won't stick around at West Bromwich for too long afterward.

If the transfer didn't happen this January, it almost certainly will come summertime.

#3 Anthony Martial (Manchester United)

The Frenchman has been in scintillating form for the Red Devils

Perhaps a controversial choice, Martial must have been the only one at Manchester United not particularly happy with Alexis Sanchez arriving during the transfer window.

The two both operate in the same position, from the left flank, and it's unthinkable that Mourinho will not play his new star signing any week he's fit.

This fact must be frustrating to Martial because the Frenchman has been in stunning form when given the chance this season: he's scored 9 goals from 23 appearances.

He struggled for game time under his manager last season also but whenever he played, he dazzled on the left wing.

There are few players better at dribbling in the whole of European football than Martial right now.

Whatever problems the player may have off the pitch with Mourinho, the fact remains that Martial is simply too excellent a footballer to be left on the substitutes bench for most games.

Which is all to say that perhaps a player of such extraordinary ability should have taken stock of the direction his team were going in and moved on.

Martial will be aiming to make France's World Cup squad and the French are extremely well-stocked in the attacking positions, almost unfairly so; if he's not regularly appearing for Manchester United, Martial has no chance of making it.

The suspicion is that a queue would have formed around Europe if he had made it clear that he wanted to leave Old Trafford but it wasn't to be.

#2 David Luiz (Chelsea)

The defender will feel unlucky to not have played so much this season

It has been a difficult season for Chelsea after winning the league in 2017, and it's been a difficult one personally for David Luiz too.

The Brazilian was the defensive mainstay of the team last campaign, a player vastly improved from his first spell at Chelsea.

Gone were the silly and needless mistakes, in its place, a world-class defender who almost never put a foot wrong emerged

Luiz struggled with minor injuries over the summer and youngster Andreas Christensen took his place and has performed admirably well.

Manager, Antonio Conte has rarely given Luiz a chance to wrestle his first team place back.

This is not to say that Christensen should have been put back on the substitutes bench, for his form has been too excellent for this to happen; rather, Luiz is too excellent a player to not be included in the starting XI either.

Most Chelsea fans seem to want him to replace the waning Gary Cahill, who has looked short of quality this season so far, but Conte has remained strong in his convictions.

There were murmurings of Luiz being used in the deal to bring Olivier Giroud to Stamford Bridge but the striker ended up arriving alone.

Arsenal could have used a player like Luiz, too, and one must wonder why the player didn't agitate for a move, given his playing situation.

#1 Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City)

Mahrez has returned to his best this season

Perhaps the most obvious choice, Mahrez came closest to signing for another club during the transfer window, but his move to Manchester City failed on the last day.

Guardiola fancied the Algerian as a fast replacement for the injured winger Leroy Sane and Mahrez's performances this season merited a move as well.

His form so far this campaign been brilliant as the silky winger of Leicester's amazing 2016 league win has returned and he's linked up superbly with Jamie Vardy up front.

Mahrez has been understandably frustrated at the transfer falling through as he's at the right age to make the move to a bigger club, something which has been discussed for a few seasons now.

While a different player in style to Sane, the expectation was that Mahrez would have brought a different but equally devastating form of play to Manchester City's team, utilizing his trickery and dribbling ability on a larger stage.

Playing in a team dominating most of their opponents would have been a dream for an attacking talent like Mahrez. It seems like the winger has gone as far as he possibly could with Leicester and it's only fair that he gets the opportunity to try his luck elsewhere.