The January transfer window officially ended and it was one for the history books. Chelsea, at the helm with their new owner, decided to splash the cash and rebuild the entire squad. This resulted in a lot of transfer activity, especially in the Premier League. Let’s examine the top 10 transfers of the winter mercato, 2023!
10. Marcel Sabitzer
| Central Midfielder | From Bayern | To Man Utd | Loan |
The 28 years old Austrian midfielder joins Man United on a loan transfer, after the announcement that Christian Eriksen is out until May, basically ending his season. Sabitzer had a tough first year at Bayern, however he did get more game time this season. He is has great shooting, passing and aggressive in general. He will be very useful for Erik ten Haag’s pressing system.
9. Malo Gusto
| Right Back | From Lyon | To Chelsea | €30mil* |
*Note: Gusto will stay at Lyon until the summer
One of the most highly rated young right backs will join the revolution at Chelsea, from the next season. Gusto, 19, has been reportedly followed by some of the biggest clubs in Europe, but ultimately he has decided to join Chelsea. Definitely one for the future, even though Chelsea employs Reece James, who is one of the most highly rated fullbacks in the world.
8. Weston McKennie
| Central Midfielder | From Juventus | To Leeds Utd | Loan |
McKennie joins Jesse Marsch and the rest of the American squadron at Leeds. Weston has been a key player for Juventus for a part of his stay in Italy, however he was suffering from injuries for quite a long period at the end of last season. An athletic 24 years old midfielder, McKennie can form a great partnership with fellow American, Tyler Adams at the heart of Leeds’ midfield.
7. Joao Felix
| Forward | From Atletico | To Chelsea | Loan |
The 23 years old Portuguese forward, comfortable on the wings or as a second striker, joins the London Blues for a 11 million loan fee, with no agreed permanent fee. This might look like a lot of money for a loan transfer, and it is, however Felix is still considered to be one of the most talented attackers around and there is a general consensus that he is being “held back” by Simeone’s tactics at Atletico. Whether that will turn out to be true or not, remains to be seen, however this is a very ambitious transfer.
6. Cody Gakpo
| Left Winger | From PSV | To Liverpool | €42mil |
With so much happening in the winter mercato, you would be excused if you thought the 23 years old Dutch winger joined Liverpool ages ago. After a great World Cup, Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool board decided to splash the cash on the highly rated footballer, even though there were rumours that a midfielder would be higher priority. Nonetheless, Gakpo is young and talented, he can be important for the team in the future.
5. Benoît Badiashile
| Centre Back | From Monaco | To Chelsea | €38mil |
You might be wondering how could one of the lower profile Chelsea transfers rank this high in our list, even before the likes of Gakpo. The answer is simple, Badiashile has really impressed in his two matches for Chelsea. He played against Palace and against Liverpool, being rock solid at the back for Potter and his men. At only 21 years old, Chelsea might have found themselves a super CB for a very long time.
4. Pedro Porro
| Right Wingback | From Sporting | To Tottenham | Loan* |
*Note: With obligation to buy and + 5mil loan fee.
It was a long and drown out saga, but Antonio Conte got his man at the end. The 23 years old wingback joins on loan, but Tottenham has an obligation to buy. Spurs really needed a new player for the right side and Porro does possess a lot of qualities, especially going forward. Whether he will turn out to be a new Regullion or not, remains to be seen. For now, Tottenham fans have all the right to be happy about this transfer.
3. Joao Cancelo
| Fullback | From Man City | To Bayern | Loan* |
Since joining Manchester City from Juventus, Cancelo has been very good for City, playing both as a left and a right back. He provided that extra offensive capability from the fullback position, helping Guardiola’s team with giving them more attacking options. However something happened recently and the relationship between Guardiola just hasn’t been the same since the World Cup. Bayern acted fast and decisively and got the 70mil valued player on a loan. The transfer came out of nowhere, but it is a huge one.
2. Mykhaylo Mudrik
| Left Winger | From Shakhtar | To Chelsea | €70mil |
Arsenal, erm sorry… Chelsea finally got their man! The 22 years old Ukrainian winger, compared quite often to Cristiano Ronaldo, joins the Premier League. Despite Mikel Arteta insisting on his transfer to Arsenal, the young attacker ultimately joined Chelsea, after the Blues submitted a huge, 70mil offer to the Ukrainian club. He might not become as successful as his Portuguese idol, however he is fast, has good shooting, good passing and excellent dribbling. He should probably be more careful with his Tiktoks though…
1. Enzo Fernandes
| Central Midfielder | From Benfica | To Chelsea | €121mil |
The crown jewel on Chelsea’s transfer market, Todd Boehly and co finally got their man, on the last day of the mercato. Chosen as the best young player at the World Cup, Enzo joined Benfica only 6 months ago, however Chelsea decided to splash the cash on him and pay 120 million for the 22 years old midfielder. There is a lot to say about this transfer saga, lots of controversy, however at the end of the day, one of the best young midfielders joins the Premier League.
Honorable mentions
In other circumstances, our honorable mentions would have been some of the marquee signings of the transfer window, however this time around, we witnessed some absolute huge deals between the top clubs of the Europe.
- Anthony Gordon: from Everton to Newcastle for €45.6mil
- Noni Madueke: from PSV to Chelsea for €35mil
- Jorginho: from Chelsea to Arsenal for €12
- Leandro Trossard: from Brighton to Arsenal for €24
- Arnaut Danjuma: from Villareal to Tottenham on loan
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