Well, that was the January (and a bit of February) transfer window, 2026. We all had a laugh, didn’t we? Those 19 hours without anyone signing a player on deadline day were great.
Overall, though, it was a pretty big window. We saw quite a few players signed, some desperate additions, inflated fees and heartbreaking departures. And that was just at Crystal Palace.
Here at The Athletic, we realised from the comments section just how much you enjoyed us ranking every summer 2025 window in order from best to worst. You thought our opinions were unquestionably sensible and devastatingly accurate. Thank you.
So we’ve decided to do it again for January/a bit of February. Some house rules – not every signing is on here, with players who’ve just gone straight into youth setups disregarded (Brian Madjo at Aston Villa, James Wilson at Tottenham Hotspur and Mor Talla Ndiaye at Liverpool), while Jeremy Jacquet’s big move from Rennes to Liverpool doesn’t count as that’ll be a summer deal.
The following list of 32 transfers isn’t a ranking of the most talented to least talented players; it’s a weighted ranking based on cost-effectiveness, how important they will be to the team that has signed them, and whether they fill a dire and necessary need in a certain position.
Right, let’s get cracking. See you in the comments!
32. Fraser Forster, unattached to Bournemouth
Transfer fee: Free
Contract length: End of the season
In the absence of Harvey Elliott, it’s been hard to find a genuinely horrendous/whiffy deal this month, so we’re setting the low bar at ineffectiveness. Enter Fraser Forster, who is very unlikely to touch a football in a Bournemouth shirt/jersey.
An injury to Will Dennis (yeah, you know, Will Dennis?) pushed Bournemouth into the cheap-and-available-and-bored goalkeeper market. Forster was kicking his heels after leaving Spurs last summer. He’ll enjoy the beaches down there.
Forster has joined Bournemouth (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
31. Keiber Lamadrid, Deportivo La Guaira to West Ham United
Transfer fee: Loan
Contract length: End of the season
The 22-year-old Venezuelan winger is West Ham’s pre-subscription app download for the month, in what looks like an extended trial before a potential purchase in the summer. Don’t forget to hit cancel if he’s no good.
30. Christos Mandas, Lazio to Bournemouth
Transfer fee: Loan
Contract length: End of the season
Twice-capped Greek international goalkeeper and Fraster Forster’s worst nightmare, having pushed the 37-year-old down to third in the pecking order when arriving last week. Wasn’t playing at Lazio and presumably won’t play much at Bournemouth either, although Djordje Petrovic’s form hasn’t been great.
29. Lorenzo Lucca, Napoli to Nottingham Forest
Transfer fee: Loan
Contract length: End of the season
Will tower over his new team-mates and indeed the entire city of Nottingham at 6ft 7in, but is Lucca any good, having only scored once in the league for Napoli this season? Well, his numbers at Udinese (12 in 33 last season) were decent, but to be honest, the Italian striker could be absolute bobbins, the next Andrea Silenzi, and his addition will still have been worth it for the all-timer nickname he’s been given: Pizza Crouch.
28. Jocelin Ta Bi, Maccabi Netanya to Sunderland
Transfer fee: Undisclosed
Contract length: Four and a half years
Sunderland’s scouting network apparently extends to finding a 20-year-old Ivorian winger who was on loan at Hapoel Petah Tikva from Maccabi Netanya. Expect their next signing to be discovered on one of Saturn’s lesser-known moons. To be completely frank, we don’t know much about Ta Bi, other than he contributed two goals and two assists this season and has watched Sunderland ‘Til I Die, which is a prerequisite to moving to the Stadium of Light.
27. Melker Ellborg, Malmo to Sunderland
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £3m
Contract length: Three and a half years
Effectively replaces the former No 1 from the Championship, Anthony Patterson, who has been loaned out to Millwall. Unlikely to see much action behind Robin Roefs (that’s not a joke about the Dutchman’s height) and the 22-year-old Swede Ellborg was mostly back-up at Malmo, where he only played 17 times. But given Sunderland’s incredible recruitment success rate, he’ll probably end up being the next Thomas Ravelli.
Ellborg on the pitch before Sunderland’s game against Burnley (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
26. Adam Armstrong, Southampton to Wolverhampton Wanderers
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £7m
Contract length: Three and a half years
The only thing that could scream ‘getting ready for the Championship’ more than this would be if Wolves started wearing the EFL logo on their sleeves and the groundsman painted ‘we’re getting ready for the Championship’ on the pitch. Armstrong is more EFL than David Prutton or Barnsley away on a Tuesday night. And yes, to be fair, Wolves are getting ready for the Championship. Good signing for that league, but this is a Premier League list.
25. Alysson, Gremio to Aston Villa
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £10.5m
The Athletic’s reported contract length: Five and a half years
The number of Brazilian footballers with the same name as your auntie has doubled with the arrival of the Premier League’s second Alysson. The 19-year-old pacey Brazilian winger is a raw talent but one who could fill a gap in Villa’s squad, i.e. he’s a dynamic wide player who likes cutting in from the right onto his left foot.
24. Souza, Santos to Tottenham Hotspur
Reported transfer fee: £13m
Contract length: “Long-term”
The latest Premier League addition to call his move a childhood dream (he can’t have watched too much of Spurs lately), 19-year-old Souza is the left-back Spurs have needed for a while, given Destiny Udogie has been their only orthodox left-back (and he’s not that orthodox). He’s pretty fresh, but also pretty fast and skilful. Lots to work with.
23. Jorgen Strand Larsen, Wolverhampton Wanderers to Crystal Palace
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £48m (with add-ons)
Contract length: Four and a half years
Surely it’s not just us; this is a bit nuts, isn’t it? And we don’t mean signing a potentially prolific striker who scored 14 Premier League goals in a struggling team in 2024-25. Spending up to £48m on a guy who netted a grand total of zero non-penalty league goals in 1,404 minutes (and 22 appearances) this season, though, is probably the window’s boldest deal, to put it nicely.
To be fair to Strand Larsen, he’s a player who relies on service and can rightly point to a desperate dearth of creativity around him at Molineux lately. He should certainly get more ammunition than he had at Wolves, but the fee feels unhinged for a player who cost Wolves an (admittedly thrifty) £23m just seven months ago.
22. Brennan Johnson, Tottenham Hotspur to Crystal Palace
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £35m
Contract length: Four and a half years
A decent addition to Palace’s dwindling squad if Johnson can rediscover his confidence and rhythm. If. In theory, a good fit for their current system as a late-arriving right winger with pace and he should fit better into their counter-attacking style than he did at Spurs. Fee feels steep given that he didn’t kick on at Spurs at all, albeit he’s still only 24. A risky one.
21. Kaye Furo, Club Brugge to Brentford
Reported transfer fee: £8m
Contract length: Five and a half years
Intriguing Belgian Under-21 international striker with an exceptional name which makes him sound like an up-and-coming welterweight. The 18-year-old broke into the Club Brugge squad this season. “I have no doubt he will be a big player for us,” Keith Andrews said of the 6ft 3in man, which you can’t really quibble with.
20. Axel Disasi, Chelsea to West Ham United
Transfer fee: Loan
Contract length: End of the season
A textbook January signing; unwanted at his club and fills a need at the buying/loaning club, who, as evidenced in the match between these two teams at the weekend, need to firm up their defence if they’re to stay in the Premier League. The 27-year-old Disasi played 27 times last year but hasn’t kicked a ball in senior football this year, so expectations may have to be tempered.
Disasi has joined West Ham (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
19. Facundo Buonanotte, Brighton to Leeds United
Transfer fee: Loan
Contract length: End of the season
One of the strangest deals of 2025-26 moves into a more orthodox space, with Buonanotte swapping Stamford Bridge — where he spent the first half of the season on loan — for Elland Road. Played just 45 minutes in the league at Chelsea but should be a more important player for Leeds, who wanted him last summer as a ball-carrying right-sided No 10.
18. Adama Traore, Fulham to West Ham United
Reported transfer fee: £2m (including add-ons)
Reported contract length: End of the season
They said you never know what you’re going to get with the unpredictable Adama Traore. Unless, of course, you mean ridiculous pace, insane power and pitiful levels of end product. To be fair to Traore, he is, at his best, the ultimate football wildcard, a winger who draws opposition players to him like a magnet via his unmatched physicality. Or, in Joao Pedro’s case, he forces players away from him via his unmatched physicality.
17. Tammy Abraham, Besiktas to Aston Villa
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £18.1m
The Athletic’s reported contract length: Four and a half years
The first of two back-to-the-future additions for Villa. Doesn’t feel like the most natural fit for Unai Emery style-wise, but was in good form for Besiktas and getting a body through the door who could lead the line and provide back-up to Ollie Watkins was crucial in January.
16. Tyrique George, Chelsea to Everton
Transfer fee: Loan
Contract length: End of the season
The 19-year-old, who was so close to moving to Fulham in the summer, effectively replaces the injured Jack Grealish as a versatile forward option for Everton. Had three goals and an assist in his 11 appearances for Chelsea this season. Time to show what he can really do in the Premier League (which should be a lot).
15. Nilson Angulo, Anderlecht to Sunderland
Reported transfer fee: £17.5m
Contract length: Four and a half years
Ecuadorian international winger who replaces the departing Simon Adringra in the squad. Angulo, 22, played 94 times for Anderlecht (10 goals, 11 assists) and has 12 Ecuador caps, in keeping with Sunderland’s model of buying young but fairly experienced players. Quick, creative and exciting, Angulo was arguably Anderlecht’s best player this season, with six goals and seven assists.
14. Luca Netz, Borussia Monchengladbach to Nottingham Forest
Reported transfer fee: £2m
Contract length: Four and a half years
The 22-year-old arrives with plenty of Bundesliga experience and fills a hole in terms of left-back competition after Oleksandr Zinchenko, who, to be fair, didn’t provide much competition, had his loan move from Arsenal cut short. Netz played 124 times for Gladbach and provided 18 assists. He was out of contract at the end of the season, making this a low-risk, potentially high-reward deal for a player who was being linked with Chelsea not so long ago.
13. James Ward-Prowse, West Ham United to Burnley
Transfer fee: Loan
Contract length: End of the season
The only West Ham player hoping for relegation and therefore a new manager. The reasons behind Nuno Espirito Santo’s exiling of James Ward-Prowse remain unclear (did the midfielder say he doesn’t rate the chicken wings at Nando’s? Did he tickle Nuno’s beard and call him daddy?). Burnley are duly the beneficiaries of an experienced, stylish midfielder with a penchant for scoring worldie free kicks, albeit not in the Premier League for almost three years.
Ward-Prowse has joined Burnley on loan (George Wood/Getty Images)
12. Stefan Ortega, Manchester City to Nottingham Forest
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £500,000
Contract length: End of the season
A short-term deal to cover John Victor, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. Ortega was twiddling his thumbs at City after the arrival of James Trafford in the summer, but had always done pretty well when called upon at the Etihad. Likely to go straight into the team, with Matz Sels having picked up an injury at the weekend.
11. Pascal Gross, Borussia Dortmund to Brighton
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £1.7m
Contract length: 18 months
Nostalgia is back in fashion in the Premier League with Gross one of three players to rejoin their former club this month. Now 34, Gross is the ultimate utility man who adds class and experience to a squad that has lacked consistency for a while. For the fee, this is a great deal.
10. Valentin Castellanos, Lazio to West Ham United
Reported transfer fee: £26m
Contract length: Four and a half years
The man known as Taty is an energetic, hard-working forward in the Nuno Espirito Santo mould. He and fellow new signing Pablo have transformed West Ham’s attack so far, helping Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville to thrive. Given West Ham’s perilous position, though, it’s hard not to see the 27-year-old Argentine being loaned to Espanyol in the summer (option to buy, £28m). Good addition for now, though.
9. Pablo Felipe, Gil Vicente to West Ham United
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £17.4m
Contract length: Four and a half years
The 22-year-old, who was born in Portugal and raised in Brazil, had been one of the form strikers in the Primeira Liga with 10 goals in 13 matches for high-flying Gil Vicente. He scored an 11-minute hat-trick against Boavista last season. On early evidence, West Ham have signed a terrier-like forward, but they’ll want goals too.
8. Angel Gomes, Marseille to Wolverhampton Wanderers
Transfer fee: Loan
Contract length: End of the season
Sorry, what? One minute, you’re earning four caps in three months for England. The next time you’re signing for one of the worst Premier League teams in history, who are almost certainly relegated. And yet, this isn’t just a coup for Wolves, it kind of makes sense for all parties. Gomes wasn’t playing for Marseille, and at the very least, this puts him back in the shop window, one step closer to a permanent return to England and/or the Premier League if he wants that. It’s low-risk, it’s low-money, it just works.
7. Rayan, Vasco da Gama to Bournemouth
Transfer fee: £24.7m (plus add-ons)
Contract length: Five and a half years
Bournemouth have high hopes for the 19-year-old forward, who scored 20 goals in 57 games in the 2025 Brazilian season. The left-footed right winger previously became Vasco da Gama’s youngest ever player, aged 16, in 2023. All-action, shoots a lot, plenty of potential here. May need time to bed in, but his physical attributes will help. Set up a goal on his debut at Wolves after coming on from the bench.
Rayan provided an assist on his Bournemouth debut (Jack Thomas/Getty Images)
6. Conor Gallagher, Atletico Madrid to Tottenham Hotspur
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £34.7m
Reported contract length: Five and a half years
Another ex-Chelsea man joins Spurs, but can Gallagher avoid being the next Timo Werner? Yes, he almost certainly can. In fact, his second-half performance against Manchester City on Sunday already outstrips anything Werner did in a Spurs shirt (sorry, Timo). Gallagher is the mobile, long-term No 6 that Spurs have been chasing for some time, and it’s difficult to envisage him not being a success, given the 25-year-old’s character and leadership skills. Just needs to avoid contracting Spurs-itis.
5. Alex Toth, Ferencvaros to Bournemouth
Reported transfer fee: £10.4m
Contract length: Five and a half years
The 20-year-old Hungarian’s YouTube compilations include highlights of his best tackles and elite goals, which means he must be incredible. Comes very highly rated, received a Golden Boy nomination last year and is a tall, silky, roaming midfielder who ticks plenty of ‘another Bournemouth unearthed gem’ boxes. Brought manager Robbie Keane to tears when he left Ferencvaros.
4. Oscar Bobb, Manchester City to Fulham
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £27m
Contract length: Five and a half years
A broken leg completely curtailed his progress at the Etihad, where he had appeared set for a breakthrough season at the start of 2024-25. Still playing his way back to his former self, but this is potentially an outstanding signing for Fulham for a bargain price. The 22-year-old Norway international forward feels like a good fit for the west London club. And his name sounds like a silent movie star from the 1920s.
3. Antoine Semenyo, Bournemouth to Manchester City
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £62.5m
Contract length: Five and a half years
Big money, yes, but also perhaps not really, given the talent, given the fact he’s coming into his prime at the age of 26 and given how he hit the ground running with four goals and an assist in his first five appearances. A ready-made star.
2. Douglas Luiz, Juventus to Aston Villa
Transfer fee: Loan
Contract length: End of the season
Hard to fault anything about this deal. Villa have an injury crisis in midfield, and their former player perfectly fills the gap temporarily vacated by Youri Tielemans. The Brazilian wasn’t really doing much at Forest, and Villa claw back a player they sold for more than £40m only 18 months ago. Lovely stuff.
1. Marc Guehi, Crystal Palace to Manchester City
The Athletic’s reported transfer fee: £20m
Contract length: Five and a half years
Fantastic ability, great age (25), exceptional fee, homegrown, excellent temperament and the potential to get better… what can you question about this deal? Other than the fact that, if you’re in 99 per cent of the country, he’s gone to Manchester City.
Guehi, surely a future England captain, has excelled for Palace and England for some time now and, if Pep Guardiola doesn’t frazzle his brain with too many instructions, he could blossom into one of the best centre-backs this country has produced in recent decades.
