Premier League Transfers January 2023: The Big Winner and Loser

It was an eventful January transfer window for Premier League clubs, with many strengthening their squads significantly ahead of the second half of the campaign.

The January transfer window was an intriguing period that saw many movements. But most of them were concentrated towards the final days of the month. And deadline day saw some typically frenetic activity as the 11 pm cutoff approached in the Premier League.

While clubs like Chelsea shattered transfer records last month, there are clubs like Everton that have failed to bring in players and improve their squad heading into the business end of the season. Here at The Hard Tackle, we run the rule over the big winner and the loser of the 2023 January transfer window.

The Big Winners – Chelsea

Chelsea were the most active Premier League club during the January transfer window, bringing in a number of players to transform their squad.

Co-owner Todd Boehly backed Graham Potter spent considerable money during the summer transfer window. And he has gone above and beyond to support his manager once again. Chelsea spent a sum of £319 million on eight new players to transform their fortunes this season.

The Blues are currently tenth in the league table and will be desperate to secure UEFA Champions League football. Potter will be hoping that the new arrivals can transform Chelsea on the pitch and help them finish the season strongly.

Chelsea desperately needed midfield reinforcements, and they have splashed out a British transfer record sum of £105 million on Argentine World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez. The 22-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best young prospects in world football, and he has all the attributes to develop into a future superstar.

Apart from being an exceptional passer, Fernandez is adept at controlling the tempo of the play and will provide defensive cover to the Chelsea midfield as well. The Argentine international is the complete midfielder Chelsea have been crying out for.

Meanwhile, the Blues needed to add more cutting-edge and quality to their attack. Summer signings Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have been largely underwhelming. And Potter has now addressed those concerns with the signing of Mykhaylo Mudryk and Joao Felix.

Mudryk was exceptional for Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk during the first half of the season. Meanwhile, Felix will be hungry to prove himself in the Premier League after an underwhelming spell with Atletico Madrid.

The Blues needed to add more depth to their defence as well, especially with the number of injury concerns they have. Benoit Badiashile seems to have settled in well since arriving from AS Monaco, and the young centre-half could be a key player for Chelsea during the second half of the campaign.

Summer signing Kalidou Koulibaly has not been able to adapt to the Premier League completely, and Badiashile’s arrival will certainly offset that problem. Meanwhile, Chelsea invested in their future as well with the signings of Malo Gusto, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos, and David Fofana. Overall it has been an exceptional window for Chelsea who have completed years of rebuilding in just one month.

The Big Losers – Everton

Everton failed to bring in a single new player last month, and it was a catastrophic January transfer window for them given their current situation.

The Toffees are currently 19th in the Premier League table, and they desperately needed reinforcements last month. Newly-appointed manager Sean Dyche has now been left needing a miracle to save Everton from going down this season.

Everton have been abysmal going forward this season. And a quality striker this month could have made a world of difference for them. The Toffees have scored just 15 goals in the Premier League, with only Wolverhampton Wanderers scoring fewer goals than them.

Instead of bringing in a reliable attacker, Everton weakened their squad further with the sale of Anthony Gordon to Newcastle United. The Toffees were linked with a number of players in recent weeks but failed to get a single deal over the line.

The club hierarchy have clearly let the manager and the fans down with their incompetence this month. And Everton are undoubtedly the big losers of the January transfer window as far as we are concerned. It will now take a miracle for Sean Dyche to help Everton stave off relegation from the Premier League.