Transfer window winners and losers: How Man City, Liverpool, PSG, others fared

The 2026 January transfer window has closed. The time has come and gone to strike the deals that will bolster teams for the second half of the season.

Some clubs enjoyed success over the last month, spending serious money to improve their XI, adding numbers to squads that were clearly flagging, or just generally maneuvering smartly. Others were less fortunate, either failing in their attempts to add or, in some extreme cases, losing huge talents against their will.

Here’s who nailed this notoriously tough window, and who fell foul of it.

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WINNERS

Manchester City

Just like last year, City entered the January market in need of a few high quality players to bolster their trophy charges — and just like last year, they got the deals done.

Winger Antoine Semenyo arrived early from AFC Bournemouth for an initial £62.5 million. He had scored 20 league goals in the previous 18 months for the Cherries, so naturally seemed like a good bet to help diversify an attacking threat that was way too reliant on Erling Haaland. The Ghana international already has four goals for the club.

Then injury struck at the heart of the defence, ruling out Joško Gvardiol out for months and Rúben Dias for weeks, so Marc Guéhi‘s signature was secured in short order. A fee of £20 million for the Crystal Palace captain and England starter is a relative bargain, though somewhat offset by his reported wages of £250,000-300,000.

– January transfer grades: Rating every major completed move
– Deadline Day as it happened: All the final deals, late news
– Scouting report: What Jacquet will bring to Liverpool

The £27 million departure of Oscar Bobb to Fulham, who has huge potential but rarely plays, helped level out their net spend.

Aston Villa

Every move Villa make in the transfer market has to be very carefully considered, as the UEFA settlement agreement they entered into last summer effectively dictates that they have to at least break even on spending. That makes the fact they were able to replace Donyell Malen, who moved to Roma in a deal that could reach €27m, with Tammy Abraham (for €21m) all the more impressive. Abraham is a better fit as a striker in Unai Emery’s system and took a wage cut to return to the Premier League.

While that move was executed with precision, there was more urgency to the club’s other big move, with Douglas Luiz joining on loan with a €25m option. This was in direct response to three Villa midfielders sustaining serious injuries in the space of two weeks: first Boubacar Kamara was ruled out for the season, then John McGinn for six weeks, then Youri Tielemans for at least eight. Luiz played more than 200 times for Villa between 2019-2024 and was eager to return, but it was still impressive they were able to get the deal done so fast that the Brazilian has already made his second full debut.

Emery also recalled Leon Bailey from his loan at Roma, who takes Evann Guessand‘s place in the squad following his loan to Crystal Palace. Teenagers Alysson (19) and Brian Madjo (17) were also signed with the future in mind.

AFC Bournemouth

It was clear heading into the January transfer window that multiple big clubs wanted Semenyo. Bournemouth were powerless to lose him due to his release clause, but credit to them for doing the departure on their terms, as the Ghanaian left early in the month, allowing them time to sign a replacement. That replacement is Rayan, a Brazilian wonderkid who has already bagged his first assist for the club, showcasing the power and directness with which he plays.

Could he ascend to Semenyo’s level? The Cherries have bet on that, and have also covered themselves by inserting a €100m release clause into the contract.

Alex Tóth also signed from Ferencvaros for an initial £10.4m. He has some eerily similar attributes to their current midfield marvel, Alex Scott, who is expected to attract interest from top teams very soon. This is clever future-proofing.

They also entered the market for a friendly deal on a new goalkeeper, Christos Mandas. The Greek joined on loan with an option, and will offer an alternative to Djordje Petrovic, who has really struggled since signing last summer. The Serbian has the worst goals prevented (-3.93) record of any starting Premier League goalkeeper, has been particularly vulnerable from range, and no one has dropped more crosses (6) than him.

Paris Saint-Germain

PSG made just one move this winter, for a player who likely won’t feature too much in the short term, for around €8 million. At face value it doesn’t seem groundbreaking, but the nature of the deal lands them in the winners column. The player in question, Dro Fernández, was the jewel of Barcelona‘s academy. The Blaugrana had taken careful steps to integrate him into the first-team this season, exposing him to LaLiga and Champions League action. Now he’s gone.

PSG paid a little more than the 18-year-old’s €6m release clause, perhaps to try and maintain relations between the two clubs after nicking their bluechip prospect for what is effectively peanuts in the modern game.

Atlético Madrid

Atleti almost single-handedly brought the transfer excitement on behalf of LaLiga in January, actively pursuing ins and outs to shake up their squad. They were happy to sanction the departure of Conor Gallagher for €40m to Tottenham Hotspur given he’d fallen out of the first-team picture. They also moved Giacomo Raspadori onto Atalanta for €25m, which is the exact fee he’d joined Atleti for six months earlier. (If it’s not working, fair enough: find a solution.)

They used this cash to replenish the attack and midfield. Ademola Lookman is an eyecatching addition for €35 million, while young midfielders Obed Vargas (Seattle Sounders) and Rodrigo Mendoza (Elche) are expected to join and future-proof the squad.

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LOSERS

Liverpool

Liverpool made the biggest splash on transfer deadline day, signing center back Jérémy Jacquet from Rennes in a £55m deal that could rise to £60m. It’s a great signing and he’ll be a massive help to an understaffed defensive line when he joins … in July.

That timeframe is key, as it means the Reds will have to press on with what they’ve got until the end of the season. Questions were raised over their defensive depth in the summer after the Guéhi deal collapsed, and if anything they’re in an even weaker spot now, as Giovanni Leoni is out for the season with a torn ACL.

They tried and failed to sign right-back cover following Conor Bradley‘s season-ending knee injury and Jeremie Frimpong‘s latest strain. A pursuit of Lutsharel Geetruida, currently on loan at Sunderland, hit the rocks and there were seemingly no other strings to pull.

At one stage of the window they looked set to say goodbye to stalwart Andy Robertson, but they couldn’t recall Kostas Tsimikas from his loan at Roma to cover the absence, so that fell through. All in all, it seems like the Reds tried to make several moves in January, from a position of immediate need, and nothing came off.

Chelsea

The 2026 January transfer window was quiet. Chelsea were quiet. A coincidence? Probably not.

The Blues tried to sign Jacquet, initially for this month and then for the summer, but lost out to Liverpool, who could offer a clearer path to first-team football. They attempted once again to find a taker for Raheem Sterling and his massive £325,000-per-week contract, but there were no offers, so they agreed to a mutual termination. (It usually means the club eats the majority of the cost of the remaining deal, which had another 18 months to run.)

They looked for a permanent exit for Axel Disasi, who spent the first half of the season in exile with Sterling, but could only get West Ham to bite on a loan offer.

Worst of all, they made one of their players cry. Genuinely. Aaron Anselmino was clearly very happy out on loan at Borussia Dortmund, because when he learned he’d been recalled, he shed tears. He’s since been loaned out to Strasbourg, where he’ll replace Mamadou Sarr, who was recalled to play for Chelsea. Striker David Datro Fofana was also recalled from his loan and will join Anselmino in France.

It’s like watching the staff rearrange the furniture at a department store.

Crystal Palace

In under a year, Palace have gone from their greatest-ever period — winning the FA Cup and the Community Shield — to complete turmoil. This January window nearly ripped the club in half.

After just about hanging onto Guéhi last summer, there was no denying him a move this winter given his contract had entered the final six months. Receiving just £20m in return for their captain and best player is bleak.

Manager Oliver Glasner announced Guéhi’s departure in a press conference on Jan. 16, then a couple of minutes later dropped another bomb: that he himself would depart at the end of the season. This led to star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta all but handing in a transfer request.

Nottingham Forest placed a bid for Mateta, but due to a poor relationship between the two clubs, there was reluctance to strike a deal. AC Milan then struck a deal that could reach €35m only for the medical to reveal the Frenchman has a serious knee injury. Reports suggest he requires surgery and 3-4 months of recovery time, so they’re stuck with their want-away striker until the summer.

Meanwhile, Palace did not sign any defenders to replace Guéhi, leaving them short in quality and quantity at the back. They did secure the signatures of four new attackers — Dwight McNeil for £25m, Brennan Johnson for £35m, Evann Guessand on loan and Jørgen Strand Larsen for £43m rising to £48m — but whether they got good value out of the three permanent moves is debatable to say the least.

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs are in the midst of a terrible domestic season, caused in part by a dreadful injury crisis. Fans expected big moves in the January window to compensate and while they did complete some deals, it simply wasn’t enough.

Starting with the positives, promising Brazilian full-back Souza joined for £13m. He may need some time to get up to speed with Premier League life, but he will bring some depth to an injury-hit position. Young Hearts striker James Wilson will join on loan with a future option attached if he impresses too, while the big one was Conor Gallagher, signed for €40m from Atlético Madrid to breathe life into the midfield.

In a vacuum, there’s nothing wrong with any of these deals. The problem is they only help Spurs so much in the present, as Souza and Wilson aren’t ready and Gallagher isn’t the right midfield profile to fix the progressive passing issues Tottenham are experiencing in there.

What could have moved the needle was a new winger, helping to cover for the litany of injuries in that position, but despite chasing after a handful of targets that reportedly included Moussa Diaby, they signed no one.