The winter transfer window has now been shut for a number of days now and the dust is settling on a number of the Premier League’s new signings.
With 14 matches left in the season, clubs will be looking to get the most of out their investments in order to push higher up the ladder.
Note that all financial figures are in AUD.
10. Tom Ince to Crystal Palace on loan
Ince was linked with a number of permanent deals with clubs including Swansea City and AS Monaco. In the end Ince signed on for rejuvenated Crystal Palace who will be looking to avoid relegation.
With Blackpool sacking his father, Paul as manager, this loan could pave the way for a permanent deal in the summer.
9. Marcos Alonso to Sunderland on loan
Gus Poyet brought in the wingback early in January and has already featured in some big games including the League Cup semi final against Manchester United and the Tyne-Wear Derby.
The Fiorentina defender has struggled for game time since signing from Bolton and may look for a permanent switch since becoming an instant Stadium of Light favourite.
8. Jonas Gutierrez to Norwich City on loan
Gutierrez played a significant role in Newcastle’s successful 2011-12 season but since then has found himself on the way out with a number of high profile players signing for the Magpies.
The 30-year-old is a hard working winger who has enough quality to expend in an effort to keep Norwich from going down.
With his contract running out he may also be looking for a new club in the summer, so the incentive is definitely there.
7. Wilfried Zaha to Cardiff City on loan
One of the biggest mysteries at Manchester United this season is the absence of Sir Alex Ferguson’s last major signing from any significant role in the first team.
Zaha has found himself sitting on the bench for the reserves and will be looking to be a shining light in the Welsh capital to convince David Moyes of his obvious talent.
Zaha came off the bench for the final half hour of the game against Norwich to set up Craig Bellamy with a neatly crafted ball.
Manchester United fan’s hope that this loan remains just that and that he will be starting for the Red Devils in the coming seasons.
6. Aiden McGeady to Everton
Mcgeady built his careers as a winger for Celtic before moving to Spartak Moscow in 2010.
Now at the age of 27, the Irish international is set for his first opportunity in the English Premier League. So far he has three appearances for the Toffees and is yet to show the ability that made him a promising up and comer back in the mid 2000s.
One hopes to see the Scottish born wide man light it up for the strongly performing Everton as the push for a European birth.
5. Shane Long to Hull City
It was rumoured that Shane Long was on the look out for a transfer since the beginning of the season however it is a little surprising that West Brom Albion were willing to sell arguably their biggest goal threat.
Shane Long is going into the best years of his career so for $12 million, Hull might have pulled of a good bit of business as they will need goals to avoid relegation.
Hull supporters will be hoping Long and fellow recruit Nikica Jelavic will combine to become a potent strike force.
4. Lewis Holtby to Fulham
Holtby has been of the same bracket of German player makers as the likes of Mario Gotze and Marco Reus, though since his move to Tottenham Hotspur he has struggled for a consistent role in the team.
He is a fully capped German international as well as captaining at the youth level on numerous occasions so he is certainly no mug.
His be attribute would have to be his work rate which makes for good reading for the fans of Fulham who have been victims of supporting a team starting the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Bryan Ruiz and Adel Taarabt, all good players but only in first gear.
This loan deal like the previously mentioned could well become a permanent switch on the proviso that Fulham somehow avoid the drop.
3. Konstantinos “Kostas” Mitroglou
Mitroglou move to Fulham seems strange in the sense that playing for Olympiacos at the current time would be better than playing for Premier League strugglers Fulham.
The Greek giants are sitting pretty at the top of the Greek Super League and are in the knock stages of the Champions League.
It is a credit to the magnitude of the Premier League and its attraction to players. $22 million is a big figure to pay for a player unproven in the Premier League despite his goal scoring pedigree, having been the top scorer in Greece for the last season and this current campaign.
If Mitroglou does not continue that form he and his new club could find themselves in the Championship.
2. Mohammad Salah to Chelsea
The crafty Egyptian winger scored two goals in two games against his new club while playing for Swiss heavy weights, FC Basel.
Outside of those two games not much is known about the Egyptian who figures in a more central role for his national side having scored 15 goals in 26 appearances.
Chelsea outbid rivals Liverpool to the tune for $22 million for the 21 year old.
Salah obviously has something to offer the title challengers but whether it is this year we can not be so sure.
1. Juan Mata to Manchester United
Easily the biggest transfer of the whole window both in terms of money and in terms of player.
Financially Manchester United had to front up with $70 million for the Spaniard who has been Chelsea’s player of the season for two years running.
What they received was a player with enormous talent but one who is perhaps down on confidence having been only used as a bit player under Chelsea gaffer, Jose Mourinho.
A lot went into how Mourinho could sell such a high quality player to United, including the notion that Mourinho no longer saw United as a threat.
That idea is partly true but the signing of Mata is something the Red Devils can build on for the future.
The actually reason that Chelsea sold the former Real Madrid player was that he simply did not fit into the playing style of the new Jose Mourinho Chelsea.
Just think if a club offered United $50 million for Shinji Kagawa, a player clearly not in David Moyes strategy, it would be stupid for United not to accept the bid.
Mata probably won’t have the same effect that Mesut Ozil has had on Arsenal even though he may be just as good of a player purely down to the situation Manchester United at the present time, for the coming season though, $70 million might prove to be a bargain.
Notable others include Fabio to Cardiff City, Kim Kallstrom to Arsenal, Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino to West Ham and Luuk de Jong to Newcastle.
With the transfer window shut until the end of the season, who are you glad to see come to the Premier League and who do you think your club missed out on this winter?
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