10 Most Expensive January Signings In Premier League History (Ranked)

10 Most Expensive January Signings In Premier League History (Ranked)

The Premier League January transfer window has seen some massive deals come through over the last decade. Some of these have been hits, but others have certainly been under a lot of scrutiny during their time at their respective clubs. With Antoine Semenyo just making a huge switch over to Manchester City from Bournemouth for a large fee just yesterday, it got me thinking, who are the 10 most expensive January transfers? Were they successful?

10: Nico Gonzalez - £49.8 million

FC Porto to Manchester City - (2025)

The first of a few entries for Manchester City on this list. The midfielder signed for City just last season after Rodri secured a long-term injury. Ever since then, he has slotted into the City midfield and has been a consistent starter in his first year at the club, but with Pep as manager, rotation is expected. He has made 30 appearances for the club so far in his career (scoring twice) and has looked like a solid coup.

9: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - £55 million

Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal - (2018)

The prolific striker was a massive hit in North London. From minute one at the club, he brought class and was the main striker throughout his time at Arsenal. He brought home an FA Cup trophy for Arsenal during his time, after scoring a brace in the Semi-Final and finding the back of the net in the final as well. He appeared 163 times for Arsenal, with 113 goals and assists to his name in this time. He was definitely worth the price and was a fantastic signing, even if it did turn sour at the end.

8: Christian Pulisic - £58 million

Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea - (2019)

Another incoming from Dortmund into London. This time to Chelsea. The American forward didn't quite have the impact that Chelsea had hoped for, but he still was a solid member of the squad throughout his time at the club, maybe just not worth the high fee. He appeared 145 times for Chelsea, with 47 goals and assists throughout this time. He was a part of Tuchel's Champions League winning squad, but he never quite hit his potential in London.

7: Bruno Fernandes - £60 million

Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United - (2020)

Coming from his home country of Portugal, Bruno Fernandes instantly transformed Manchester United and became a fan favourite at the club. Currently the club captain, Bruno has grown throughout his time in Manchester and is consistently one of the best midfielders in the world each season. He has very impressive numbers despite playing in multiple different midfield positions throughout his time and playing through multiple different managers! Bruno has featured 309 times for the club, with 197 goals and assists. A fantastic return for the player and a fantastic January transfer.

6: Aymeric Laporte - £60 million

Athletic Club to Manchester City - (2018)

The first defender to feature on the list! Laporte was a huge signing for Manchester City and was a big part of their long standing period of dominance over English football. He won the Premier League a whopping 6 times in his career at City, as well as the Champions League, this being City's only European Cup ever. He made 180 appearances during his time in Manchester, with 16 goals and assists to his name, but a whole lot of achievements during a fantastic period.

5: Mykhaylo Mudryk - £62 million

Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea - (2023)

Now this transfer has definitely been a miss for all involved. After a fantastic period at Shakhtar, with Arsenal working hard to sign him, Chelsea swooped in and brought in the winger in 2023. However from this point onwards, all talent seem to leave Mudryk. He had a poor start and never managed to gain any confidence in the Premier League. To make things even worse, he has been banned from football for the last year due to consuming banned substances. He has made 73 appearances for Chelsea, with 21 goals and assists. As of right now and I expect it to stay this way, this signing has been a very very expensive mistake.

4: Antoine Semenyo - £62.5 million

Bournemouth to Manchester City - (2026)

Manchester City feature for a third time, and it's not the last time either! Now this transfer has only just gone through so we are yet to know the outcome. What we do know however is that Semenyo is a fantastic player who should provide plenty of quality going forward for Manchester City. Coming from Bournemouth, he has already spent half of this season in the Premier League with great stats. He has featured 20 times with 13 goals and assists. His final goal for Bournemouth was a 94th minute winner vs Tottenham in front of the home fans, a perfect way to end his time in Bournemouth and announce himself to City!

Antoine Semenyo is a Blue! ✅🩵 pic.twitter.com/RmW5if0Ljj

— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 9, 2026

3: Omar Marmoush - £65 million

Eintracht Frankfurt to Manchester City - (2025)

The final time City feature on this list! The Egyptian forward is currently away at the AFCON, however his time at City so far has been an interesting on. From the minute he joined he looked like he would be an absolute star. He was getting minutes scoring goals and looking like a great signing despite the large fee. Things have certainly changed however as he has barely started a single game for City this season. He missed a few weeks due to a knee injury but he hasn't seemed to be in Pep's plans since then. Especially with this Semenyo signing, it will be hard for him to make it back starting week in week out post AFCON. He has featured 40 times for City, with only 13 goals and assists. For this amount of money, you would be wanting more, he still has time however.

2: Virgil Van Dijk - £75 million

Southampton to Liverpool - (2018)

This may well be the greatest January signing of all time. The Dutch defender and legend of the game completely transformed the Liverpool defence from the moment he came in. He has spent 8 years at Liverpool so far in his career, with the Liverpool captain being the number one defender in the Premier League for almost every single season. The level of consistency that he shows is incredible, he truly is one of the all time greats. He has two Premier League titles and a Champions League title to his name. He has featured 347 times for the reds and has an incredible 43 goals and assists which is incredible for a centre back. Despite the large fee, this signing has definitely been a hit.

Happy birthday, Virgil van Dijk. 🥳

He's scored more Premier League goals than any other defender since he made his debut in the competition (25).

He's won a higher % of his duels than any PL player to contest 200+ since he joined Liverpool in 2018 (73.12%) and he's contested… pic.twitter.com/SJ6tkSBaKw

— Squawka (@Squawka) July 8, 2025

1: Enzo Fernández - £106.8 million

Benfica to Chelsea - (2023)

A huge jump in price as Enzo is the number one on the list. It is pretty hard to be a worthwhile signing for that kind of money, but Enzo has still been quite a successful signing. The Argentine has put in many great performances for Chelsea and is a real leader for the club, even captaining the side on many occasions due to the absence of Reece James. He may not have had the impact you might expect for this price, but I would still say he has been a success. He has made 143 appearances for Chelsea, with 48 goals and assists to his name.