Top 5 departures from the Premier League during the current transfer window

#3 Conor Hourihane – Aston Villa to Swansea City

Conor Hourihane is thriving after moving from Aston Villa to Swansea City this month

A number of Premier League players have made the move down to the EFL Championship during this window. However, one of the more interesting of those moves has seen midfielder Conor Hourihane switch from Aston Villa to Swansea City in a loan deal.

Despite Villa’s massive struggles in the 2019-20 campaign, Hourihane was one of the few performers to come away from the season with some credit.

He made 27 appearances in the Premier League, scoring three goals and registering five assists, usually thanks to his pinpoint left-footed delivery from set-piece situations. In fact, he set up three of the goals that kept Villa in the top flight.

Hourihane even started the current campaign as a first XI mainstay, scoring in Villa’s second match against Fulham.

However, the arrival of Ross Barkley on a loan deal meant that he lost his place. When Barkley was shelved due to an injury, both Marvelous Nakamba and Jacob Ramsey somehow moved in front of the Ireland international in the pecking order.

When Villa then parted with £14 million to bring in Morgan Sanson from Marseille last week, the writing was on the wall for Hourihane, and his loan to Swansea was finalised quickly.

The Irishman has already taken to his new surroundings well. He’s scored two goals in his first two games and was named Man of the Match in the weekend’s win over Rotherham. A permanent move in the summer definitely seems likely.

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#4 Sebastien Haller – West Ham to Ajax

Ajax parted with a large fee to bring in Sebastien Haller from West Ham United

One of the few Premier League stars to make a move away from the league for an actual transfer fee during the current window was Sebastien Haller. The striker made a €22.5 million move from West Ham to Ajax on January 8th in the early part of the window.

While it was surprising to see any club throw around a semi-large fee during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was hardly a surprise to see Haller leave the London Stadium.

Signed from Frankfurt in the summer of 2019 for a club-record fee of around £45m, the Ivorian struggled throughout his time with the Hammers and ended his first campaign with the club with just seven Premier League goals to his name.

Fans had gotten used to the odd flash of brilliance from Haller – like his overhead kick goal against Crystal Palace in December – but overall, he simply didn’t seem to fit into boss David Moyes’ gameplan all that well.

West Ham have taken a financial hit on the striker with this transfer, but thankfully, things seem to be going well for Haller thus far.

Since arriving at Ajax, he’s made six appearances and has already scored twice while registering four assists. With West Ham also flying high in the Premier League in his absence, this looks like a move that’s suited all parties.

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#5 Demarai Gray – Leicester City to Bayer Leverkusen

Demarai Gray has become the latest Englishman to move to the Bundesliga, in this case with Bayer Leverkusen

Over the last few seasons, we’ve seen more and more English players heading abroad in search of success. With the likes of Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham and Stephy Mavididi already playing in Europe, they are now joined by winger Demarai Gray.

A former England U-21 international, Gray was once considered one of the hottest prospects in English football.

However, over the last couple of seasons, he’d fallen out of favour with Brendan Rodgers, and his spot as Leicester City’s young, exciting winger had been usurped by Harvey Barnes.

While Gray made 21 appearances in the Premier League in 2019-20 – primarily from the bench – this season had seen him restricted to appearing in just 18 minutes of action. So, with his 25th birthday approaching this year, it was definitely time for a change.

Gray has moved to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for around £2 million and should be with his new club until the summer of 2022. If he can reignite his career there, he’ll definitely be a player worth watching.

Coincidentally, Gray wasn’t the only Premier League player to move to Leverkusen during this window. The Bundesliga side also signed Manchester United defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah for a fee of £1.75 million.