Given that it is the middle of the football season, clubs typically find it exceedingly difficult to sell their finest players during the January transfer window. Clubs prefer to sign players on loan rather than in a permanent deal, which has resulted in a lack of significant high-profile additions during the January transfer window in recent years.
Premier League teams spent a record-breaking £1.9 billion on player transfers last summer, while just £295 million was spent on transfers during the most recent winter transfer window, ranking second only to the £430 million spent in January 2018.
Despite the limited number of players available during the January transfer window, the Premier League has already surpassed its previous record for the amount of money spent during the January transfer window, spending £480 million as of this writing, including the £40 million deal reached between Everton and Newcastle for the transfer of Gordon. This is an increase of £50 million over the amount spent in January 2018.
This transfer window has already seen some high-profile arrivals, with Chelsea leading the pack as the team that has spent the most money on player acquisitions.
Players such as Mykhailo Mudryk, and Cody Gakpo have already make big money move this January.
However, in this article we will be writing on the player who is the most expensive January transfer signing in history.
1. Philippe Coutinho (€135 million move Barcelona)
Philippe Coutinho, who moved from Liverpool to Barcelona for €135 million in January 2018, is the most expensive January transfer acquisition in history. The transfer fee ranks fourth overall even though it is not the biggest transfer fee ever paid for a player.
At that price, Philippe Coutinho had a lot riding on him to succeed at Barcelona, but he fell short of expectations, and the move ended up being one of the worst ones the club has ever made.
It only became worse when Philippe Coutinho won the Champions League title while he was on loan to Bayern Munich and Barcelona was forced to pay more to Liverpool as a result of an add-on clause in his deal.
However, the €135 million Barcelona spent on Philippe Coutinho in 2018 remains the highest January transfer fee. Other pricey January transfers include the €100 million transfer of Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea, the €85 million transfer of Virgil Van Dijk from Southampton to Liverpool, the €82 million transfer of Dusan Vlahovic to Juventus, etc.
Do you think Mykhailo Mudryk would justify his big money transfer to Chelsea, or he could flop?
Drop your opinion in the comment section below.