The start of the new year is a time for hope, change and ambition. You might want to travel more in the year ahead, lose weight, run your first 5k or perhaps learn a language. Football fans may have very different feelings about January. The big change they hope for might well be signing a new striker, or getting a defender who can help them stop leaking goals and maybe, just maybe, assist their club in an unlikely promotion push.
The January transfer window is a notoriously tricky time to do meaningful business. But that doesn’t stop clubs from trying and fans dreaming. Getting hold of the right player – particularly at the right price – is so hard because, after all, who wants to let a good player go midway through the campaign when their own options are just as limited in terms of finding a replacement?
The one exception to this rule can be a player approaching the end of their contract. Clubs may have tried to play hardball in the summer, both with the footballer and any prospective purchasers. But if January arrives with no new contract signed, many clubs may choose to accept a lower fee and sell, rather than keep their man for a few more months and then see them leave on a free transfer in the summer.
Despite the difficulties of the January market, there have been some huge deals over the years. Last year Premier League clubs spent just £100m in January – or about the cost of a Jack Grealish. However, in the January window of 2023 they splashed out a colossal total of £815m. There is almost always at least one big deal at this time of year but let’s take a look back at the biggest January transfers (into the Premier League) up to and including the 2024 window.
1) Enzo Fernandez, Benfica to Chelsea, £107m

As with many of the figures listed, the £107m Chelsea paid at the start of 2023 for Argentine midfielder Fernandez may be quoted differently elsewhere. Exchange rates, secrecy and complex add-on payments, plus payments made in instalments, all mean that often we cannot be quite sure of the exact fee. Nonetheless, it was a lot!
Fernandez, 24 years old on the 17th of January 2025, has already won the World Cup and Copa America. He has also won club trophies with all three of his previous sides, so will be eager to complete the set with the Blues. He took a little while to settle in at his new club, which was no real surprise given it was a new country, the huge fee meant lots of pressure, and perhaps most tellingly, his new team was hardly a stable, easy environment in which to establish himself. Time will tell if he truly justifies the massive price tag but the omens are looking decent.
2) Virgil van Dijk, Southampton to Liverpool, £75m

One signing that we can categorically confirm as a hit is Liverpool’s purchase of Van Dijk in January 2018. The Dutchman has been colossal for the Reds and helped them transition from a very good side into a great one, capable of winning all the biggest trophies. Jurgen Klopp knew he needed a commanding central defender and whilst the fee was huge, with selling club Southampton claiming it was a world record for a defender at the time, it has proved excellent value.
Van Dijk’s form for just about his entire spell with the Reds has been sensational but he was unquestionably the best defender in the world for a spell. In 2018/19 he won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, the Premier League Player of the Year, the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year and the Champions League Defender of the Season. In 2019 he was runner-up in the Ballon d’Or too and around this time many (albeit largely wearing red shirts with a liver bird on) suggested he was the best defender of all time.
That may be over-egging things somewhat but he is certainly a complete defender. He leads his team both by example and through his vocal presence, he is fast, strong, unbeatable in a one-v-one situation, reads the game well, is comfortable on the ball and chips in with goals. He has helped the Reds win the PL, Champions League, FA Cup and two League Cups and if anyone ever says you can’t make a good signing in January, he is the player you should use as evidence to the contrary.
3) Mykhaylo Mudryk, Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea, £62m

The fee for Mudryk, signed by the Stamford Bridge outfit in January 2023 when they were throwing the cash around like confetti, could rise to £89m if all add-ons are triggered but the initial £62m still makes him the third-most expensive addition to the Premier League in any January window.
The pacy winger made an excellent debut and looked like a real talent but since then has not shown enough to justify that big price tag. He failed to score in 17 games in his first season with the Blues, then added seven in 41 in 2023/24. In the current campaign he has featured sporadically and boasts three goals at the time of writing, though all have come in the Europa Conference League. We would not be surprised to see him leave west London before too long and Chelsea seem sure to take a hit on the deal, though Mudryk still has time on his side, having turned 24 on the 5th of January 2025.
Other Big-Money January Deals
The three players above are the costliest in Premier League history outside of the summer window. With one deal a hit, one a miss and one that is perhaps too early to call, the perils of January transfers are clear. The list below shows the next seven most expensive transfers.
- Bruno Fernandes – In 2020, Man United paid an initial £47m to Sporting Lisbon for Bruno. He has been a hit but add-ons may take the fee close to £70m.
- Aymeric Laporte – Defender Laporte cost City closer to £60m than £50m in 2018, from Athletic Bilbao.
- Christian Pulisic – Another Chelsea flop, Pulisic was signed for a similar fee as Laporte, the Blues buying the American in 2019 from Dortmund.
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Auba also came from Dortmund, signing for Arsenal in 2018 for about £56m. 92 goals from 163 games was a good return but he left on a sour note.
- Fernando Torres – Yet another Chelsea failure, Torres cost the club £50m in 2011.
- Luis Diaz – Diaz cost £37.5m, potentially increasing to £50m when Liverpool bought him from Porto in 2022 and he has done very well at Anfield.
- Anthony Gordon – Everton needed to balance the books and Gordon was sold to Newcastle for up to £45m in 2023, proving a hit.