Revisiting the 10 most expensive January signings of 2022 one year on

Quick Reads
Luis Diaz of Liverpool FC looks on during the UEFA Champions League match between Napoli and Liverpool at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy on 7 September 2022.
  • Ben Stewart
  • 5th January 2023

The January transfer window is officially open and the rumour mill is already in full swing as several big names are being linked with a big-money move this month.

January often presents itself as a chance for clubs to make emergency signings and so there are often quite a few misses along with the hits when it comes to January deals.

We’ve turned back the clocks to the start of 2022 and have checked out the top 10 most expensive deals from January and assessed how they have done since.

Rodrigo Bentancur

Since Antonio Conte’s arrival at Spurs, they have dipped into the Serie A market on multiple occasions. Bentancur joined the North London club in January for a fee of around £16.5million.

So far, the deal has represented excellent value for Spurs as Bentancur has been one of their most consistent performers this season. He has an eye for goal with five strikes so far this season and he looks to be a popular figure in the Tottenham camp.

Julian Alvarez

Manchester City completed the signing of Alvarez in the January window and then immediately sent him back on loan with River Plate for the remainder of the 2021-22 season.

City have a real knack for signing strikers and Alvarez looks like he could be the next big thing. While Erling Haaland has grabbed plenty of the headlines at the Etihad this season, Alvarez has also chipped in with his fair share of goals.

The World Cup winner has scored seven goals for City in just 895 minutes of football. That means he is averaging a goal every 127 minutes which is a great sign of what’s still to come.

Julian Alvarez (L) of Argentina celebrates with Enzo Fernandez after scoring during the Group C match between Poland and Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Stadium 974 in Doha, Qatar, Nov. 30, 2022.

READ: A remarkable XI of players sold by River Plate in recent years

Vitaliy Mykolenko

Mykolenko started life at Goodison Park brightly, but as a result of their recent run of form, he seems to have somewhat gone off the boil recently.

The Ukrainian full-back was signed for around £20million in January and he has started in all 18 of their Premier League matches this season. If Everton are to turn around their fortunes this season, Mykolenko will surely have a role to play.

Yuri Alberto

Alberto’s stint at Zenit Saint Petersburg has been fairly short-lived. The Brazilian striker was signed in a deal worth £22million in January, but he now finds himself back in Brazil with Corinthians on loan.

The Brazilian club now appear to be close to striking a permanent deal for Alberto who only played 11 matches for Zenit.

Lucas Digne

Digne had fallen out of favour at Everton under Rafael Benitez and so he was keen on a fresh challenge elsewhere. Aston Villa soon snapped him up in a deal worth around £26million.

The Frenchman has been a regular in the Villa starting lineup since his arrival, although he hasn’t quite managed to hit the heights that he did at Everton. Time will tell if Unai Emery sees Digne as his left-back going forward.

Chris Wood

It’s crazy to think that when Newcastle signed Wood, they were sat 19th in the Premier League and had just 12 points to show from their opening 20 matches.

While Wood wasn’t the most glamorous of signings under the new ownership, he has played a role in their revival. Often used as an impact sub these days, the striker has scored five goals since his arrival 12 months ago.

Bruno Guimaraes

Guimaraes took a gamble signing for a relegation-threatened Newcastle side in January, but boy has it paid off for both him and the club. The Brazilian has been the face of this new-look Newcastle side who are now flying high in the league.

Newcastle got an excellent deal with this one as they were able to strike a deal with Lyon for around £37million. The 25-year-old is now regarded as one of the best midfielders in the league and is a testament to Newcastle’s stellar recruitment.

Luis Diaz 

Liverpool had the foresight to bring in Sadio Mane’s replacement before they even lost him and Diaz has so far proven to be worthy of being Liverpool’s left-winger.

The 25-year-old has scored 10 goals in 38 appearances for the Reds so far and we still think there’s plenty more to come from him. A knee injury has sidelined him for a chunk of this season and he has been a notable miss from Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Ferran Torres

After only featuring in four Premier League matches during the first half of 2021-22, Man City did well to get £48million from Barcelona for Torres in January last year.

Considering the strength in depth Barcelona have in the final third, Torres has been in and out of Xavi’s side so far this season. The majority of his appearances this season have come from the bench and there are some doubts over his long-term future at the club.

Dusan Vlahovic

The Premier League clubs splashed plenty of money in January, but it was actually Juventus who paid the biggest fee to land Vlahovic. In the end, they paid around £61million to land the Serbian forward.

Vlahovic had been in fine form for Fiorentina prior to his move, scoring 20 goals in 24 appearances. His goalscoring streak has somewhat slowed down since joining Juventus, but he is still hitting the back of the net on a regular basis.

The 22-year-old has scored 16 goals since arriving at Juventus, with seven of those goals coming this season. He’s even being eyed up by a few English clubs in this window.

READ NEXT: Ranking the 20 PL clubs by how much their squad cost to assemble

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Man Utd’s 25 most expensive transfers in history?

Bruno Guimaraes Dusan Vlahovic Ferran Torres Julian Alvarez Luis Diaz Premier League