January transfer window XI: Luis Suarez, Gary Cahill and Daniel Sturridge make the cut… But who else is in the team?
Sometimes clubs get the January transfer window right, with some of the Premier League’s best ever players being picked up mid-season
THE January window is synonymous with wasted money and transfer flops.
But sometimes clubs get it right, with some of the Premier League’s best ever players being picked up mid-season.
Here Football Whispers look at the best XI signed during the January transfer window and it’s fair to say this side in its prime would have been challenging for a spot in the top four.
Goalkeeper — Asmir Begovic — Portsmouth to Stoke City, £3.25million
BOASTING 172 appearances and 50 clean sheets in a five-and-a-half year spell at the Britannia, there was only one option for our No1 — Asmir Begovic.
The Bosnian cost just £3.25million from Portsmouth, but his performances at the perennially mid-table Stoke earned him a switch to Chelsea in 2015 where he remains arguably the best back-up keeper in the league.
Centre-back — Gary Cahill — Bolton Wanderers to Chelsea, £7million
ENGLAND centre-back Gary Cahill has spent almost four years at the heart of Chelsea’s defence, for much of that time forming a formidable partnership with John Terry.
Terry is on the fringes of the side nowadays but Cahill has played almost every minute of Antonio Conte’s side’s strong start to the season, and has been one third of their back-three since the Italian manager made the switch back in October.
Centre-back — Nemanja Vidic — Spartak Moscow to Manchester United, £7million
HE may have eventually become club captain but Nemanja Vidić made somewhat of an inauspicious start to life at Manchester United.
A number of mistakes and unsure performances in his first half season at Old Trafford led to many people thinking the signing of the Serbia international was a misstep by Sir Alex Ferguson.
But the partnership he built with Rio Ferdinand provided the platform for five Premier League titles and a Champions’ League triumph.
Centre-back — Patrice Evra — A.S. Monaco to Manchester United, £5.5million
IF Nemanja Vidić made an indifferent start to his United career, Patrice Evra’s was even worse.
The French left-back signed in the same window as Vidić, but was substituted on his debut at half-time, a 3-1 away defeat to rivals Manchester City.
For the rest of the 2005/06 season Evra alternated between the bench and the starting XI, but he went on to become an essential part of the back four in one of the most successful Manchester United teams of all time, as well as earning 81 international caps.
Right midfield — Wilfried Zaha — Manchester United to Crystal Palace, £undisclosed
AFTER dazzling in the Championship for Crystal Palace first time around, everyone expected the young winger Wilfried Zaha to shine at Man Utd.
But after failing to impress new manager David Moyes, he was sent out on loan to Cardiff City mid-way through the season, before returning to Selhurst Park on a season-long loan for the 2014/15 season.
That move was made permanent in the winter window of 2015, and since then he has started to look like the player Manchester United originally bought in 2013.
So far this season Zaha has been one of the few positives in a disappointing season that saw Alan Pardew sacked on 22nd December.
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Centre midfield — Juan Mata — Chelsea to Manchester United, £37.1million
MANY people thought Juan Mata’s time at Old Trafford would be coming to an end following the appointment of José Mourinho as Manchester United manager in the summer, considering it was the Portuguese manager who sold Mata to United in the first place.
However, in the first half of this season the Spaniard has been an important part of the United squad, scoring three goals and creating 21 chances in his 12 league appearances.
Mata has become a firm fan favourite too since his switch from Chelsea in January 2014, and looks set to remain with the club for the foreseeable future at least.
Central midfielder — Javier Mascherano — West Ham United to Liverpool, loan
ARGENTINIAN international Mascherano didn’t become a permanent Liverpool player until February 2008.
But before that he started out as a loan signing from West Ham, following on from the bizarre transfer saga involving Carlos Tevez which cost the Hammers a record fine.
The midfielder failed to make an impression at Upton Park, but following his transfer to Liverpool he started to look like the player everyone had been so excited about the previous summer.
Mascherano went on to make 94 appearances for the Reds, with his efforts for the club earning him a long-desired move to Barcelona where he continues to be an integral part of their squad.
Left midfield — Ashley Young — Watford to Aston Villa, £9.75million
ENGLAND winger Ashley Young has won a Premier League title and FA Cup with Manchester United, but it was his performances for Aston Villa that earned him that transfer in the summer of 2011.
Martin O’Neill had signed Young from Watford in January 2007 and his performances for the club earned him an England call-up a few months later.
In the 2007/08 season he finished second behind Cesc Fàbregas in assists, providing 17, while he was the only player outside of the ‘Big Four’ (Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea) to make it into the best XI for that season.
In total, Young appeared 184 times for the Villains, scoring 35 goals and providing 48 assists, helping the team to three consecutive sixth-place finishes in the Premier League.
Attacking midfield — Philippe Coutinho — Inter Milan to Liverpool, £8.5million
THE little Brazilian was struggling to make his mark at Inter Milan as the European powerhouse were not willing to give the inconsistent attacker the time to shine in Serie A.
So the 21-year-old was allowed to leave for Merseyside for a reported fee of £8.5million and he has since established himself as one of European football’s most exciting attacking players.
Coutinho has 34 goals and 34 assists in 159 outings for the Reds and it is no surprise that he has attracted the attention of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain - to name a few.
Striker — Daniel Sturridge — Chelsea to Liverpool, £12 million
ENGLAND striker Sturridge has found himself on the fringes of Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool side this season.
Fitness issues limited his appearances over the preview two seasons, but until then Sturridge was one third of an attacking trio that terrified Premier League defences, almost delivering the title to Anfield before blowing it in the closing weeks of the season.
The former Chelsea and Man City striker scored 21 goals and provided seven assists that season, adding to his ten goals and three assists from his first 14 appearances the previous campaign.
Striker — Luis Suárez — Ajax to Liverpool, £22.8million
DANIEL STURRIDGE would’ve been the star for Liverpool during the 2013/14 season if it hadn’t been for Luis Suárez.
During Brendan Rodgers’ side’s almost-title winning campaign, Suarez scored an incredible 31 goals and created 87 chances, despite missing the first five games of the season through suspension for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanović.
Had he been present for those five games, which included a draw at Swansea and a home defeat to Southampton, perhaps they would have ended the season as champions.
It was to be the Uruguayan’s last season with Liverpool before Barcelona paid £65million, where he has picked up where he left off with the Merseyside club, scoring 68 goals in La Liga and 22 in the Champions’ League.