5 most expensive January transfers in football history
The winter transfer window might not have seen the same amount of business taking place when compared to the summer transfer window, but there have been some high profile transfers take place in the recent past.
Here, we take a look at the five most expensive winter transfers in football history.
1. Philippe Coutinho - Liverpool to Barcelona - €135m
Philippe Coutinho established himself as one of the best players in the world during his time at Liverpool, with his performances leading Barcelona to pay €135million for his services in January 2018.
However, it is safe to say that the Brazilian has failed to live up to his price tag and has struggled at the Nou Camp as seen by the 26 goals he has scored in more than 100 appearances for them.
Such has been his poor form that the Catalan giants sent him out on loan to Bayern Munich in 2019/20 and are now actively looking to sell him, though they know they will have to take a big financial hit in order to get him off their financial books.
2. Virgil van Dijk - Southampton to Liverpool - €84.7m
Liverpool paid Southampton €84.7m for the services of Virgil van Dijk and it is safe to say that the defender has been worth every penny, with the Dutchman completely revolutionising the Reds defence.
The 30-year-old quickly became the talisman of the side and played a key role in their recent Premier League and Champions League title wins.
3. Aymeric Laporte - Athletic Bilbao to Manchester City - €65m
Manchester City paid the release clause of Aymeric Laporte in January 2018 to sign the centre-back and the Frenchman made an immediate impact, helping the Cityzens win the league title that season.
He suffered a knee injury in August 2019 and since then he has been in and out of the side due to the Pep Guardiola's preference of using Ruben Dias and John Stones in defence.
4. Christian Pulisic - Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea - €64m
Christian Pulisic was signed by Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund in January 2019, with the winger making his Blues debut the following season and he has had a mixed time at Stamford Bridge so far.
The 23-year-old has suffered from form and fitness issues at Chelsea, but has still managed to make 92 appearances in which he has netted 19 goals.
5. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal - €63.8m
Another player who has made a big impact in the Premier League has been Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who joined Arsenal in January 2018 for a fee of €63.8million.
The Gabonese established himself as the main man at Arsenal, playing a key role in their 2020 FA Cup win and has so far scored 92 goals in 163 appearances for them.
However, this season has seen his relationship with Mikel Arteta break down, with it being reported that the club are keen to sell him either in January or in the summer.