JANUARY deadline day isn’t known for big deals going through – but it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.
The winter transfer window is notoriously the hardest to buy in.
Clubs are reluctant to part with their prized assets, and unless they have six months left on their contract, they will try to warn rivals off with big price tags.
Arsenal have spent the most on a single player on January transfer deadline day.
The Gunners bought Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund in a £55million transfer.
Chelsea are a close second when they pinched Fernando Torres from rivals Liverpool.
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Here SunSport takes a look at the top ten most expensive January deadline day transfers.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Dortmund to Arsenal – 2018 – £55m
Aubameyang, 33, arrived with a goalscoring reputation and scored 92 goals in 163 appearances for the Gunners in his four-year spell at the club.
He also captained Arsenal before leaving in disgrace in February after falling out with Mikel Arteta but has two FA Cup medals to show for his time in north London.
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Fernando Torres – Liverpool to Chelsea – 2011 – £50m
Chelsea broke the record for the most expensive signing by a British club when they stole Torres, 38, away from Anfield.
Despite helping the Blues win the Champions League in 2012 Torres never lived up to the heights he set as a Liverpool player, scoring just 45 goals in 172 games for Chelsea.
Andy Carroll – Newcastle to Liverpool – 2011 – £35m
The 33-year-old became the most expensive British player ever when he signed to replace Torres on January deadline day in 2011.
Like Torres he struggled for goals, scoring 11 in 58 games, and injury derailed his career – both at Anfield and West Ham, whom he joined from the Reds in 2013 on a permanent basis.
Carroll is now without a club following spells at Reading at West Brom last season – could another deadline day move be in the offing?
Willian – Shakhtar Donetsk to Anzhi – 2013 – £30m
Another free agent, the Brazilian will also be hoping for a deadline day move having been heavily linked to Fulham this summer.
In 2013 Willian, 34, made a very expensive move to former lavish spenders Anzhi Makhachkala, but made just 22 appearances for the Russian side before joining Chelsea the following summer.
Andre Schurrle – Chelsea to Wolfsburg – 2015 – £27m
The only player on the list to be sold abroad by a Prem club for big bucks, Chelsea will be chuffed they managed to bag £27m for Schurrle.
The German scored just 14 goals in 65 games for the Blues and at the grand old age of 31 is now two years retired, having followed up his 2018 World Cup win with a season at Fulham.
Juan Cuadrado – Fiorentina to Chelsea – 2015 – £26m
One of the weirder signings on the list since Juan Cuadrado, 34, was never really given a chance to prove himself at Stamford Bridge.
The Brazilian did not come cheap and Mo Salah joined Fiorentina in exchange, with Cuadrado going on to make just 13 appearances for Chelsea before joining Juventus for £25m.
Lucas Moura – PSG to Spurs – 2018 – £24m
Unlike the other nine players on the list Lucas Moura does still play for Tottenham and he will always have a place in the hearts’ of Spurs fans after his hat-trick to secure a place in the 2019 Champions League final.
But his Tottenham career has been a bit hit and miss with only 19 goals in 139 games -and the 30-year-old is now very much a squad player under Antonio Conte.
Luis Suarez – Ajax to Liverpool – 2011 – £23m
The Uruguayan made an instant impact at Anfield and went on to achieve legend status at the club before a £65m transfer to Barcelona.
The 35-year-old scored 82 goals in 133 games for the Reds, winning the League Cup in 2012 before playing a key role in Liverpool’s title push in 2014.
David Luiz – Benfica to Chelsea – 2011 – £21m
David Luiz, 35, enjoyed tremendous success in his first stint at Chelsea as he won the FA Cup, Europa League and the Champions League.
The Blues made an enormous profit when they sold the Brazilian to PSG for £50m in 2014. He then returned to help Chelsea to the Premier League title in 2017 before winning the FA Cup and Europa League again in 2018.
Giannelli Imbula – Porto to Stoke – 2016 – £21m
Perhaps the biggest flop on the list, which is saying something given Liverpool broke the British record to sign Carroll, Giannelli Imbula played just 26 games for Stoke.
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His time in the Potteries was effectively over once Stoke were relegated from the Prem, with Imbula joining several clubs on loan before leaving as a free agent.
The 29-year-old now plays for Portimonense in the Portuguese top flight.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
