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With big-money signings being made with alarming regularity in modern football, finding value in the transfer market has become something of an art. Football clubs all over Europe are not just scouring the globe for the best players but also working tirelessly to sign the player(s) in question at a bargain.
However, while this is difficult as it is during the summer transfer window, striking a deal that offers great value for money is almost impossible in January, a month when clubs are looking to hold on to their top talent so as not to affect their own season.
Despite all that, the January transfer window always throws up a few gems that prove themselves to be really astute pieces of business, and 2020 was no different. With some clubs looking to push for European qualification and others looking to beat the drop, a number of exciting deals were struck.
While only time will tell how successful the deals included on this list proved to be, here’s a look at what could potentially be the top 5 bargain buys from the January transfer window 2020.
#5. Takumi Minamino, Red Bull Salzburg to Liverpool, £7.25m
Not just content with being (by far) the best team on the pitch this season, Liverpool stole a march on their Premier League and European opponents by signing Takumi Minamino from Red Bull Salzburg this January. Minamino rose to prominence this season during an impressive campaign in the Champions League, which included him scoring against Liverpool in a 4-3 defeat at Anfield in October.
So impressed were the Reds by what they saw from the Japanese that they had no hesitation in paying his incredibly low £7.25m release clause, which in today’s inflated market is almost as good as a free transfer.
Minamino joined Liverpool on a four-and-a-half-year deal when the window opened on January 1 and made his debut four days later in Liverpool’s FA Cup third-round tie against local rivals Everton. Before the move, he had scored nine goals and provided 11 assists in 22 appearances for the Austrian side this season, which means that Liverpool have made a quality addition in an absolute steal of a deal!
4. Erling Braut Haaland, Red Bull Salzburg to Borussia Dortmund, €22.5m
While the deal for Minamino had been agreed even before the January transfer window opened, the future of his Red Bull Salzburg teammate Erling Braut Haaland was perhaps the most talked-about topic in January.
Fleet of foot, quick of mind, and with a killer instinct in front of goal, Haaland scored 17 goals in just 16 league appearances to go with his eight goals in six Champions League matches for Salzburg and had been courted by the likes of Manchester United, Juventus, Barcelona, Chelsea, in the months leading up to January.
However, the 19-year-old Norwegian eventually signed for Borussia Dortmund, putting an end to months of speculation.
His much-awaited Bundesliga debut didn’t disappoint either - a hat-trick on his first appearance against Augsburg was followed up by a brace against Koln, another against Union Berlin, and one more for good measure in the Pokal against Werder Bremen. Suddenly, paying €22.5m for a teenage striker seemed like a great idea, as Haaland has almost single-handedly brought Dortmund’s faltering title challenge back on track.
Add to that the fact that Haaland is replacing Paco Alcacer in the Dortmund squad, with the injury-prone Spaniard moving back to Spain with Villareal in a deal reportedly worth €23m, and you realise that Dortmund have actually made money on the Haaland deal and have arguably ended up with an upgrade in the striker department!
Having made most of his appearances off the bench due to a knee complaint, one can only imagine the heights Haaland will reach once fully-fit and starting regularly for Die Schwarzgelben!
3. Sander Berge, Genk to Sheffield United, £22m
Haaland wasn’t the only highly-rated Norwegian on the move in January, with 21-year-old Sander Berge arriving in the Premier League. The towering central midfielder joined newly-promoted high-flyers Sheffield United from Belgian side Genk on a four-and-a-half-year deal reportedly worth £22m, making him the Blades’ club-record signing.
Despite still being quite young, Berge brings with him bundles of Champions League experience, having featured regularly in the competition during his time in Belgium. He is also a full Norway international with 20 caps to his name and arrives at Bramall Lane amidst interest from a whole host of clubs in Europe, a real statement of intent from Chris Wilder’s side as they look to make a push for a European place in the second half of the season.
A powerful central midfielder equally adept at retaining possession and carrying the ball up the field by gliding past opponents, Wilder and Sheffield United will no doubt see Berge’s £22m price tag as one well-worth paying, especially considering how hot a prospect he was before this move.
It’ll also be interesting to see how Berge slots into a midfield that has been near-faultless this season. Oliver Norwood, John Lundstram, and Jon Fleck have been in fine form over the first half of the campaign, and Berge’s arrival will no doubt force them to raise their game if they want to retain their place in the starting eleven over the next few months.
2. Lucas Tousart, Lyon to Hertha Berlin, €25m
Jurgen Klinsmann’s appointment as head coach has coincided with a number of new arrivals at Hertha Berlin, and France U-21 international Lucas Tousart was one of the more prominent ones. The Frenchman has joined from Lyon for a fee of €25m, but fans in the German capital must wait till the summer to see their new midfielder in action, as he has been loaned back to Lyon for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
In over 150 competitive appearances for Lyon, Tousart has scored five goals and six assists, operating mainly as a deep-lying playmaker who sets things up for his more attack-minded teammates. Besides his excellent short-passing game, Tousart is also strong in the air and uncompromising in the tackle, and will definitely add a bit of bite to the Hertha midfield once he arrives in Germany.
Having also added the likes of Krzysztof Piatek, Matheus Cunha, and Santiago Ascacíbar to their ranks, Hertha seems to be building up quite the talented squad, and it will definitely be interesting to see how their Bundesliga campaign shapes up next year.
1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, LA Galaxy to AC Milan, free
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of those players whose next move is the subject of intense scrutiny and speculation, and it so happens that he made a particularly interesting one in the January transfer window.
Having racked up an impressive tally of 52 goals in just 56 games in the MLS for LA Galaxy, the 38-year-old Swede has rejoined one of his former clubs in AC Milan on a free transfer till the end of the season, with the option to extend the contract for another year. Zlatan, who last played for Milan between 2010 and 2012, scored 56 goals in 85 appearances for the Rossoneri, helping them to an 18th Scudetto title as well as an Italian Super Cup win.
Ibra may be in the twilight of a hugely impressive career now, but his time in the States showed that he is still extremely capable of putting the ball in the back of the net.
It’s not just the number of goals, but the familiar flamboyance with which he scored most of them that prompted Milan to bring him back to Italy, as they have had problems with goal-scoring this season.
In fact, his arrival has already started to pay off, with an improvement in Milan’s goal return (Ibra has already contributed a couple himself) as well as his infectious presence and winning mentality resulting in improved performances from the likes of Rafael Leao and Ante Rebic.
