Chelsea were the league’s biggest spenders in January, with new owner Todd Boehly footing the bill for £323.3m worth of new talent, taking his total for the season over £500m. Chief among these new signings was the deadline day arrival of World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez from Benfica, which came less than two hours before the window’s close after days of intense negotiation for a record-setting £106m. The Argentinian addition will bring reinforcement and a boost in quality to a chronically underperforming Chelsea midfield, replacing the departing Jorginho and covering for the terminally injured N’Golo Kante.
Other additions include highly rated Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk, French centre back Benoît Badiashile, and attacking duo Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana, who will support loanee João Félix in the Blues’ new look strike force. Chelsea’s January signings bolster their weakest positions and have an average age of just 20 years old, with the Boehly regime making a loud statement of intent for their future at the club.
Looking across London, title favourites Arsenal have had a similarly successful window, boosting their midfield with the £12m signing of Chelsea’s Jorginho and their attack with the arrival of Brighton’s Leandro Trossard, who had recently fallen out with his new manager, Roberto De Zerbi. Jorginho brings much needed experience to a relatively young Arsenal side, and can supply the leadership skills needed to get the Gunners’ title charge over the line, while Trossard will provide important depth as fixtures pile up in the season’s latter stages.
Brighton, the club where Trossard spent the previous four years, have continued their tradition of finding diamonds in the rough, sifting through the bargain bins and turning up talented youngsters with nominal price tags. The Seagull’s have added the teenage duo of Argentinian midfielder Facundo Buonanotte and Swedish international Yasin Ayari for a combined fee of just £10m, continuing the teams habit for savvy shopping. Sitting just two points outside the European places and with a game in hand, the Brighton faithful will hope that these signings can bolster their push for a first ever continental campaign.
Newcastle United orchestrated their holiday shopping with similar goals in mind, but made purchases which left fans scratching their heads. The marquee signing was that of Everton’s Anthony Gordon for an eye watering £35m, a massive sum for a largely unproven player. The 21-year-old winger has netted just seven league goals in 65 appearances for the Toffees, leaving Newcastle supporters hoping that Eddie Howe can make the most of his evident potential and create a star for Newcastle’s future.
