The winter transfer window has a one-month duration that begins and ends in January. This short transfer window offers the football clubs a valuable opportunity to bolster their squads, ensuring they are well-equipped for the business end of the season. As teams prepare for crucial stages of the campaign, making shrewd quality signings in January can prove to be the difference. Over the years, some of the most memorable and successful transfers have occurred during this window, with certain players going on to become true legends for their respective clubs.
However, this season there hasn’t been a lot of incomings or outgoings in the winter transfer window and barring a few exceptions, it has been a relatively quiet window.
P.S. The transfer fee details have been taken from www.transfermrkt.com .
In this article, we will take a look at the ten most expensive signings from the January transfer window –
Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes arrived at Old Trafford as a January signing in January 2020 from Sporting CP on a five-and-a-half-year contract. The reported initial fee was €55 million which could rise to €80 million if all conditions were met. The €65 million value is as per transfrmrkt.com.
Fernandes has since been the lynchpin of the United attack. He is currently the captain of the Man United team and has already won trophies with the club including the EFL Cup, the FA Cup and also led the club to the 2024/25 Europa League final.
Ukrainian winger Mykhaylo Mudryk made a big money move to Chelsea in January 2023 on reported fee of €70 million on an eight-and-a-half-year contract. With massive interest from their London rivals Arsenal who were initially the favourites for the winger, the Shakhtar Donetsk player decided to move to Stamford Bridge.
This was not only one of the costliest transfers in the winter transfer window but also the most expensive sale made by the Ukrainian Premier League club, Shakhtar.
Despite costing Chelsea the big bucks, Mudryk’s Chelsea tenure has been in turmoil. In December 2024, he was charged with a provisional suspension by the FA after testing positive for doping and with investigation ongoing, he could be facing the prospect of a four-year ban.
Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was bought by PSG in January 2025 from Italian Serie A club Napoli for a reported €70 million. His contract was signed until the 2029 season.
Kvaratskhelia had already helped Napoli win the Scudetto in the 2022/23 season and was brought in by PSG to bolster their attack ahead of the crucial part of the season and it proved to be a massive game-changer for Le Parisiens. Kvaratskhelia helped transform the PSG team with PSG ending the season with an unprecedented intercontinental treble.
Ghanaian winger Antoine Semenyo made a huge €72 million move from Bournemouth to Manchester City in January 2026. The contract has been signed for a five-and-a-half -year duration until 2031. He was also the subject of interest from Liverpool and Arsenal but it was the Cityzens who activated his release clause to bring him to the Etihad.
Semenyo is a versatile player who can play on either wings and has already hit the ground running at Manchester City as he helped them progress to the FA Cup fourth round and the final of the EFL Cup.
Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt to Manchester City in January 2025 for a reported fee of €70 million + €5 million in bonuses. While other top clubs were interested in the Egyptian forward, he decided to make the big money move to the Etihad.
Marmoush was having a fabulous season at Frankfurt, already having scored 15 goals and bagged 10 assists in 17 games before City decided to move for him. Man City added him to their struggling attacking line which was far too dependent on Erling Haaland. However, he hasn’t really found ample opportunities to prove his worth due to the lack of game time, injuries and the team’s overall inconsistent form.
Columbian striker Jhon Durán was the surprise signing of the winter transfer window in 2025. The 21-year-old made a massive €77 million move to Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr. With this signing, Durán became the second most expensive transfer of the Saudi Pro League. He had been the centre of attraction in Europe having scored 12 goals in 29 appearances for Aston Villa last season. In a baffling move though, he decided to take a transfer to the Saudi Pro League instead of a top European club.
His big money move didn’t work out as per expectation and he is currently on a six-month loan to Turkish club Fenerbahçe SK.
Serbian striker Dušan Vlahovi? was signed by Italian giants Juventus in January 2022 for a staggering €83.50 million from Fiorentina. Vlahovi? joined the Old Lady on a four-and-a-half-year deal amongst interest from English clubs like Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Vlahovi? rose to prominence with his exceptional performances for Fiorentina, scoring 21 goals in 40 appearances in the 2020/21 campaign and continued his goal-scoring form having scored 20 goals in 24 games in the 2021/22 campaign before Juve came calling. Since then, he has won the 2023/24 Coppa Italia with them also becoming their top-scorer that season.
Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk made a move from Southampton to Liverpool for a huge €84.65 million transfer fee in December 2017. This made him the most expensive centre-back signing in the world before the record was broken by Manchester United signing Harry Maguire from Leicester City.
Van Dijk was also at the centre of the storm when Southampton complained about Liverpool’s illegal approach towards the player in the summer without taking consent from Southampton for which Liverpool had to offer an apology to the Saints. When Liverpool came calling again in the winter transfer window, Saints agreed the massive deal.
Since joining the Reds, Van Dijk completely transformed the Liverpool backline, helping them win the Champions League, Premier League x 2, FA Cup and the EFL Cup x 2, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup – every club level trophy possible. He is currently the captain of the Liverpool Men’s team and also renewed his contract in 2025 for another two years.
English Premier League club Chelsea’s signing of Enzo Fernández from Portuguese club Benfica for an ey e-watering €121 million in Jan 2023 is rated as the second most expensive January signing. Fernández’s signing at the time was a British record transfer fee with the Blues surpassing Manchester City’s €117 million paid for Jack Grealish.
Since joining Chelsea, Fernández has been crucial to Chelsea winning the UEFA Conference League and the Club World Cup, also helping Chelsea return to the Champions League for the 2025/26 season after missing the premier tournament for a couple of seasons.
Liverpool’s midfield maestro Philippe Coutinho made the most expensive January transfer of all time when Barcelona agreed an unbelievable €135 million (plus add-ons) for the Brazilian in January 2018. The deal was for a five-and-a-half-year duration.
Coutinho was one of the best players in the Premier League when Barça came calling. However, his tenure was nothing like the impact he had at Liverpool with his Camp Nou stay marred by inconsistent performances and injuries though he was part of two title-winning campaigns for the Catalans before being loaned out to Bayern Munich for the 2019/20 season before being permanently sold to Aston Villa in May 2022.
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