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The winter transfer season has unfairly hogged all the limelight, as it tends to do since its inception in 2002-03 when the widespread introduction of the synchronized transfer window concept in the game came about in response to political pressure and a desire to meet international trading standards.
Fans and managers of under-performing teams often look forward to the transfer season more favourably than the weekly matchday.
The whole club machinery is put into motion during the transfer windows, to try and solidify the squad by adding quality and losing excesses, to completely alter the core of the squad, or to bring in that marquee signing who is likely to propel the team upwards in the table and help the club win some silverware.
We take a look at the players that have been invaluable to their new clubs, considering the management paid only the wages (or slightly more), for the players' services, as they headed away from their mother clubs, in loan deals done in the past year.
Here is the list, in no particular order. See if you can find the order - in the chaos of the complexity of what loan moves have now become.
#5 Serge Gnabry (Weder Bremen to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim)
Arsene Wenger is often credited with having a keen eye when it comes to spotting talent with unfulfilled potential, and by providing opportunities to these youngsters in top level games, the Frenchmen has given the world a host of quality players, having mentored the likes of Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and Aaron Ramsey
Not a bad list of mentees that, is it?
Therefore, the failure to truly get the best out of Serge Gnabry will hurt the Arsenal fans a bit, but 'The Professor' might take it a little more personally. The Arsenal manager has held on to players for long periods, choosing to loan out potential starters, rather than making a profit, but this wasn't the case with Gnabry.
Having moved on from London to his home country Germany, after Weder Bremen agreed terms with Arsenal for a £4.5 million move, the German enjoyed a purple patch scoring 11 goals in 27 matches for his country's double winners in 2004.
What resulted, was even more asinine thinking on the part of the Bremen management which somehow managed to convince itself that 11 goals from a player worth less than the board's parking space, should be sold to get the rest of the management parking space as well.
Bayern got him for £7.2 million.
Hoffenheim placed themselves in the perfect position, by anticipating his subsequent season away on loan, where the German (3 goals in 2 international caps) has come good again. He's been involved in 7 goals in 13 appearances for his new side in the Bundesliga, scoring 3 goals, including this scorcher from 45 yards out.
This was the good-old loan martini of the season with the modern buy-and-loan-out twist. All the German side did, was get the rocks.
#4 James Rodríguez (Real Madrid to Bayern Munich)
The World Cup star from 2014, had a breakout season on the world's biggest stage. Anyone who had seen Colombia's participation in Brazil had noticed the gifted James Rodríguez, who bagged 6 goals and helped out with 2 assists, scoring in each of the 5 games in which he featured for his national side.
Real Madrid went for the former AS Monaco man who cost them a whopping £67.5 million in transfer fees. The now 26-year-old, had a fine start to his career with the most decorated football club on the planet. He was involved in 26 goals in 29 appearances for the Los Blancos, half of those ending with his name on the score sheet.
The Colombian's form dipped over the two subsequent seasons and was surplus to requirements for Madrid's new manager, Zinedine Zidane. As a result of which, he was loaned out to Bayern Munich over two years for a fee of £11.7 million (plus wages), with the option to make the deal permanent for £31 million.
Rodriguez initially took some time settling in, but since has found his mojo and has been heavily involved in Bayern Munich's attacks this season, assisting 6 and scoring 4 in 16 matches in the league for the German side.
Come the summer of 2019, the team from Munich might have themselves the Colombian - whose form may be suspect, but his talent certainly isn't, for as little as £42 million in total. Peanuts in the current transfer market scenario.
#3 Douglas Costa (Bayern Munich to Juventus)
On the same day that James Rodriguez made his way in, Douglas Costa made his way out of Munich and into Turin. A similar deal to the Colombian's saw him move away on loan (fee totalling £5.4 million), with a permanent deal already in place for the summer (for an additional £36 million).
The Brazilian has great ball control and an even more impressive acceleration from a standing start position. He has tormented the Italian defences, who must've gotten sick of the sight of him, in the limited time he has had to impress in the Serie A.
Costa has been impressive in the league, taking part in 7 goals in 17 appearances for Juventus, and has also notched up another goal in the Coppa Italia.
His latest exploits came in the Champions League round of 16 tie against Tottenham Hotspur when he made Serge Aurier and Davinson Sánchez Mina look like amateurs as he flew past them without any difficulty whatsoever before he was brought down in the box by the former. The resulting penalty was whacked against the bar by Gonzalo Higuain.
The speedster is still only 27 and has another 5 or 6 years on the top. Stay still and the sounds of groans by the defenders will certainly reach your ears.
#2 Kylian Mbappé (AS Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain)
Every time we remind ourselves that this kid is only 19, the hair on the back of our necks, stands up. This French prodigy is a scintillating talent and is well on his way to becoming the best footballer of his generation.
Amidst all the fuss surrounding the Neymar transfer saga, the Qatari led management in the French capital, brought Kylian Mbappe in under the radar. The utter disdain shown towards the FIFA and UEFA regulations by Paris Saint-Germain to land the French forward is fast becoming the central theme in the transfer windows.
Restricted (if we can use that word) by the Financial Fair Play regulations, PSG got their way by signing the striker on a one-year loan move which will be made permanent in the summer, with all of £108 million going to AS Monaco.
Far from being overshadowed by the Prince of Paris, Neymar, and what would seem like the King of Paris in Edinson Cavani, the local lad has fast emerged as one of the talents in the French League. He has a staggering record to lean on.
In 18 league appearances for the Paris side, he has provided 8 assists and averages a goal every other game. A European U-19 champion with France, he also has 2 goals in 2 matches in the league cup and a staggering 4 goals and 3 assists in just 7 appearances in the Champions League.
Beat that with a stick!
#1 Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea to Borussia Dortmund)
Germany's Gotham City has found it's new Batman. Michy Batshuayi. The Belgian is enjoying life in Dortmund. Used as dead-weight in the transfer deadline-day saga of the season by parent club Chelsea, Batshuayi is alive and kicking in Germany.
After falling behind Alvaro Morata and new entrant Olivier Giroud from Arsenal - who themselves had landed Dortmund's main man Pierre-Emerick Aubamenyang, the 24-year-old eventually moved to Germany, after Borussia Dortmund paid the loan fee by selling off an old rusted broken lawn-mower on eBay, and replaced the Gabon international superstar.
He was off to a flier. Netting on his debut and scoring a brace, which included a stoppage-time winner, in the two matches he has played in the league since his arrival.
And it was as if the striker sensed that we were going to be talking about him today, has upped his game further since, and scored another brace with a stoppage-time winner against Atalanta in the Europa League, just last night.
Easy Michy. You were our number 1 loanee from the start!
