The winners
1. Shane Long
Although it’s somewhat of a disappointment, given how the Tipperary native was linked with the likes of Lazio and Liverpool not so long ago, that he has ended up in the decidedly unglamorous surrounds of Hull, he will nonetheless be relieved to leave West Brom. While it’s hardly a step up, the Tigers aren’t much worse off than the Baggies — in fact, they are currently one point ahead of them in the Premier League table. Moreover, at the KC Stadium, he is more than likely to receive regular first-team football — a factor that rendered the move a no-brainer from Long’s perspective.
2. Man United
Granted, they only signed one player, but what a player. Juan Mata can hardly be blamed for the fact that Jose Mourinho never really placed faith in him, and his Chelsea feats prior to the return of the Special One remain undiminished. Furthermore, his rate of assists since arriving in the Premier League is simply exceptional, as underlined by the fact that he has won Player of the Season for the Blues in the past two consecutive campaigns. Accordingly, there is nothing to suggest that the Spanish international cannot have a similarly seismic impact to previous big-name signings at United, such as Eric Cantona and Robin van Persie.
3. Aiden McGeady
Few players during the January transfer window will have been more relieved to have moved club than Aiden McGeady. After he refused to sign a new deal, Spartak froze him out of the first team, and he faced another six months in limbo with his contract winding down, before Roberto Martinez’s Champions League contenders decided to purchase the 27-year-old winger, much to the delight of most Irish fans.
4. Dimitar Berbatov
The Bulgarian striker has hardly been an unequivocal success at Fulham, while he previously failed at United despite showing significant promise at times. And given his notoriously erratic nature, it was a surprise that he landed a loan move to one of Europe’s top clubs in Monaco, while also attracting interest from the relatively prestigious likes of Arsenal and Spurs. So can Berba rejuvenate his career in France, or will it all end in tears once again? Watch this space.
5. Chelsea’s strikers
Samuel Eto’o, Demba Ba and Fernando Torres have all been highly inconsistent this season, while surely the Stamford Bridge outfit’s best striker — Romelu Lukaku — is on loan at Everton. Therefore, although Chelsea invested heavily in other areas of the field, signing players such as the £21m Benfica midfielder Nemanja Matic, they refrained from buying a high-profile forward despite many commentators urging them to do so. Consequently, should their title bid falter, Mourinho and co are leaving themselves open to considerable criticism on this matter.
The losers
1. Tottenham
Tottenham failed to sign anyone of note during the January transfer window, and on the one hand, it’s easy to see why. The club spent heavily in the summer, bringing in numerous new faces, and perhaps Tim Sherwood felt it would be unwise to risk unsettling the group dynamic midway through the season, when their inexperienced players are presumably only just starting to form an understanding with one another. That said, Jermain Defoe’s imminent departure to Toronto has left them looking a little light up front. They will soon only have three recognised strikers to utilise within their squad — Emmanuel Adebayor, Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane — all of whom have been, at best, only sporadically impressive this season, which is a situation that’s hardly good enough for a team with top-four aspirations to find themselves in.
2. Arsenal
Another club who could do with a top-class striker, Arsenal did, however, sign Kim Kallstrom. Yet at 31, the experienced Swedish international looks nothing more than a stop gap brought in to cover for the injury-prone Aaron Ramsey. While the Gunners still undoubtedly have a very strong squad, their January dealings do not make them look like a side desperate to win the Premier League.
3. Wes Hoolahan
Reports of Hoolahan being highly frustrated recently were no surprise. The Ireland international has been used sparingly by Chris Hughton’s Norwich side this season, and consequently, he put in a transfer request in an attempt to force through a move that could have seen him afforded an opportunity to play first-team football on a regular basis. Nevertheless, the Canaries stubbornly refused to let him leave, denying his request to depart and rejecting three bids from Aston Villa. Rumoured last-minute interest from both Newcastle and West Brom also came to nothing, leaving the ex-Shels man stuck at Carrow Road.
4. Liverpool
The Reds have been so impressive lately that some people might be forgiven for thinking they are fine as they are. Yet having obviously tried so hard to sign Ukrainian winger Yevhen Konoplyanka, reportedly activating his £15million release clause and agreeing terms with the player, for the deal to fall through at the last minute leaves a bad taste and is somewhat embarrassing for all concerned. A minor issue, thought to be a refusal on the part of Dnipro’s chairman to sign the appropriate paperwork, is supposedly what stopped the deal from happening — an awkward predicament that invokes the commonly asked question: why do clubs leave it so late to conduct such important business?
5. Sky Sports News
In contrast with the relatively exciting end to this season’s summer transfer window, the final day’s proceedings this time around were what a Sky pundit might describe as ‘a damp squib’. Not one big-name player moved to any of the high-profile Premier League clubs, and Jim White and co were consequently forced to devote much of their time to making pizza-related jokes and focusing considerably on speculation surrounding the future of relatively low-key players, such as Leeds United’s Ross McCormack. The next Deadline Day won’t be until the end of the summer transfer window — invariably a time when clubs are far more eager to buy and sell — so Sky executives will be praying it can deliver a degree of drama and excitement worthy of the immense hype that the channel specialises in promulgating.
