The January transfer window has finally come to an end and as always there are players who have joined new sides. While the moves have excited new fans, the old faithfuls have been left to hope for the arrival of a new star. Here are the three best signings of this January window.
Philippe Coutinho
Over the last few years, the Premier League saw Philippe Coutinho become one of the most dangerous attacking players in the world which lead the Brazilian to become a subject of interest from many clubs around the world. He has played out of his skin for the last few years at Anfield. His electric form helped Liverpool maintain a high quality of attacking display and it is worrying for Liverpool fans to think the state of the team now that he is gone.
The story of Coutinho’s rise to stardom greatly interested the Barcelona board in Catalonia when the Catalan club lost his compatriot Neymar this season to Paris Saint Germain. The French club shocked the world by paying out the Brazilian’s release clause, a whopping £198m.
After losing Neymar, Barcelona looked for replacements for the Brazilian attacker. Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele and Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho emerged as the top targets and they ended up signing both.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Aubameyang has added a completely different dimension to the number nine role during his time with the Bundesliga giants. Standing at 6 feet 2 inches tall, the Gabon international has a turn of pace which is second to none. And his goal scoring tally of 141 goals in 213 total appearances for BVB will give you a picture of what he is capable of.
A healthy rivalry with Bayern Munich’s, Robert Lewandowski has turned him into the lethal threat that he is today in front of goal and that will come as a huge boost to the Gunners – a side whose leading goal scorer is Lacazette with just 9 goals this season.
Aubameyang is capable of playing in the wide and the former Saint-Étienne forward, who does not replicate the exact talents of Alexis Sanchez, might just add a whole new dimension to their attack.
Aymeric Laporte
Pep Guardiola’s first choice centre-back John Stones recent injury, that ruled him out for weeks, had Manchester City worried and City made further additions at the back in January to provide insurance for the latter part of the season. Pep believed the squad was too thin to challenge for all four trophies and bringing in more talent was necessary to keep City competitive.
Such a situation has led to Manchester City signing Athletic Bilbao centre-back Aymeric Laporte. The player has reportedly made a £57million move. He had been an integral part of the Athletic Bilbao team ever since the days of Ernesto Valverde. He had made 30 appearances for the Spanish outfit this season and was a mainstay in their defence. Laporte has been a trusted defender in La Liga and having a player of his calibre and a Spanish league experience could be an ideal deal for a Pep Guardiola team.
