Most Premier League clubs were active on the last day of the transfer window, with a number of high-profile deals signed and sealed.
As late transfer activity saw a record £815m spent by top-flight clubs in January, Football Mad takes a look at some of the best moves to beat the deadline.
Enzo Fernandez – Benfica to Chelsea (£106.8million)
Chelsea broke the British transfer record to sign Fernandez, with the deal announced by Benfica after midnight. The previous British transfer record was set by Manchester City with the signing of Jack Grealish for £100m in August 2021, while the Argentina World Cup winner’s arrival at Stamford Bridge took the Blues’ spending since last summer past the £550m barrier. Fernandez, 22, who featured in all seven games for his country at Qatar 2022, has signed an eight-and-a-half-year deal.
Jorginho – Chelsea to Arsenal (£12million)
Mikel Arteta had made no secret of his desire to bring in a midfielder after it was confirmed that Mohamed Elneny will be out for the rest of the season. Thomas Partey, lynchpin alongside Granit Xhaka in the heart of the Premier League leaders’ side this season, went off with a rib injury against Manchester City on Friday, and with the club having seemingly got the message that Brighton will not part with Moises Caicedo before the summer, agreeing an 18-month deal for Jorginho for a fraction of the price quoted for the Ecuador international looks shrewd business.
Joao Cancelo – Manchester City to Bayern Munich (loan with £61.5m option in the summer)
No defender has played more minutes for the champions so far this season, but something clearly changed for the Portugal international since he returned from the World Cup and he made just two Premier League starts in that time. A sudden demotion from defensive mainstay to squad player has reportedly affected his relationship with boss Pep Guardiola, and for that reason Bayern Munich have found themselves with a transfer coup and City with just 19 senior outfield players as they seek to chase down Arsenal.
Pedro Porro – Sporting Lisbon to Tottenham (loan with £40m obligation in the summer)
The Spain international only left Manchester City permanently last summer having failed to play a game for the first team. Since moving to Sporting on a two-season loan, Porro has built a reputation as an intrepid full-back and showed Spurs just what an effective operator he can be as a more advanced wide player during his side’s 2-0 win over Antonio Conte’s men last September.
Marcel Sabitzer – Bayern Munich to Man Utd (loan)
United wasted no time in drafting in Austria midfielder Sabitzer after announcing Christian Eriksen has been ruled out for three months with an ankle injury. Sabitzer’s arrival at Old Trafford was confirmed over an hour after the 11pm deadline. He has made 68 appearances for his country and was captain of Leipzig before joining Bayern in the summer of 2021. United were already without Donny Van De Beek due to a season-ending knee injury.
