Active Villa, splurging City, fallow Foxes? Transfer window winners and losers

There were plenty of deals done over a busy January transfer window as Premier League clubs looked to bolster their squads for the second half of the campaign.

As always there were some big spends as well as some potential bargains – and perhaps the odd panic buy.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the winners and losers from the winter window in the English top flight.

Winners

Aston Villa

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Villa boss Unai Emery looks to have pulled off some shrewd business, notably bringing in England international striker Marcus Rashford –  frozen out at Manchester United by Ruben Amorim – before another loan deal saw three-time Champions League winner Marco Asensio arrive from Paris St Germain on deadline day.

Netherlands forward Donyell Malen also came in from Borussia Dortmund in a permanent £20million switch along with defender Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea.

Villa offset their spending with the sales of Jhon Duran (£71m to Al-Nassr) and Jaden Philogene (£20m to Ipswich), making it overall a strong window as the club look to push on again, both towards the top four and in Europe.

Manchester City

With City’s season stalling on several fronts, Pep Guardiola will at least have some more options as he looks to kickstart the campaign – albeit coming at significant cost, spending £180m which is the second highest outlay for a January window.

Porto midfielder Nico Gonzalez was a late arrival in a £50m swoop, with Egypt forward Omar Marmoush, Brazilian defender Vitor Reis and Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov also having completed transfers earlier in January, while Kyle Walker left for AC Milan.

It could, though, prove money well spent if City can build some momentum, as the squad look to regroup following a crushing 5-1 defeat at Arsenal.

Tottenham

With the amount of injuries which Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has been dealing with, a couple of new faces will certainly come as welcome additions.

Austria defender Kevin Danso should not need much settling-in time back in England, having come through the youth ranks at Reading and MK Dons, along with a loan spell at Southampton, while goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky will provide additional strength in depth.

It is, though, the deadline-day deal for Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel which is likely to have Spurs fans feeling positive. The France Under-21 international was also reportedly on the radar for Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United before the 19-year-old performed a late U-turn and opted to join Postecoglou’s squad.

Losers

Arsenal

While some would argue the thrashing of Manchester City showed Arsenal are not lacking goals, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta came up short in his bid to bring in another striker during January.

Arsenal were determined to get the right player rather than just signing a forward for the sake of it, with a move for Aston Villa’s England forward Ollie Watkins failing to get off the ground.

That left them having to make do and mend while Bukayo Saka continues his recovery from a torn hamstring, and with Gabriel Jesus a long-term absentee. It is a stance which Gunners fans will be hoping does not come back to haunt them over the run-in.

Manchester United

Although forward duo Rashford and Antony left on loan, United did not bring in any attacking reinforcements ahead of the window closing with potential deals for Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku and Tel coming to nothing.

However, the arrival of Denmark international Patrick Dorgu in a £25m deal from Lecce will at least bolster the defence along with 18-year-old Ayden Heaven from Arsenal.

United fans, though, will be expecting much more in the summer, as the club look to balance the books alongside supporting boss Ruben Amorim’s on-going squad rebuild project.

Leicester

Joining a club in their battle for Premier League survival was always going to be a tough sell during the January window – as Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy found out.

While the Foxes remain within striking distance of safety, relegation rivals Wolves, Southampton and Ipswich all got a fair bit of transfer business done.

Leicester, though, were only able to bring in defender Woyo Coulibaly from Parma, which could just leave them a bit light in the scrap for points at the wrong end of the table.