Host of the EPL Roundtable podcast Kevin De Vries hands out the grades to Premier League teams on how well they have done in the January Transfer window.
Arsenal
In:
Krystian Bielik (Legia Warsaw, £2m)
Gabriel Paulista (Villarreal, £15m)
Out:
Lukas Podolski (Inter Milan, loan)
Yaya Sanogo (Crystal Palace, loan)
Joel Campbell (Villarreal, loan)
Benik Afobe (Wolverhampton Wanderers, undisclosed)
With Arsenal’s slew of injuries in defence, adding a centre back was crucial and they have done just that by bringing in the highly rated Gabriel Paulista. Very few people have actually seen Krystian Bielik play, but from all accounts he is set to be another in a long line of Arsene’s wonderkinds.
As for outgoings, Podolski always seemed like a square peg in a round hole at Arsenal and very quickly became surplus to requirements. On the other hand, Sanogo and Campbell look to be a big part of Wenger’s future plans as neither deal included an option to buy.
Final thought: Addressed biggest need, built towards the future.
Grade: B
Aston Villa
In:
Carles Gil (Valencia, £3m)
Scott Sinclair (Manchester City, loan)
Out:
Darren Bent (Derby County, loan)
Gary Gardner (Nottingham Forest, loan)
Daniel Johnson (Preston North End, undisclosed)
Jordan Graham (Wolverhampton Wanderers, undisclosed)
Aston Villa are in desperate straights having failed to score in their last six Premier League matches. Fortunately, in Gil and Sinclair, they have added two very talented and pacey wingers who will help Villa create goals and possibly stay in the Premier League. The departure of Darren Bent is unlikely to be an issue as he had only played 83 minutes this season and failed to register any goals.
Final thought: Added two players who should immediately contribute.
Grade: B
Burnley
In:
Michael Keane (Manchester United, £2m)
Out:
Alex Cisak (Leyton Orient, loan)
While Michael Keane will likely be a very good player in the future, I would have expected Burnley to make more moves to secure their Premier League safety. To their credit, Danny Ings is better than any attacking player they could have signed and holding onto his was a massive coup.
Final thought: Did not bolster enough to stay up, kept Ings who gives them a chance.
Grade: C
Chelsea
In:
Juan Cuadrado (Fiorentina, £25m)
Out:
Mark Schwarzer (Leicester City, free)
Andre Schurrle (Wolfsburg, £24m)
Mohamed Salah (Fiorentina, loan)
Ryan Bertrand (Southampton, £9.5m)
Despite all the flack they get for being a big money club, Chelsea have been fairly reasonable in their spending of late. Not only have Chelsea strengthened their starting squad but actually made a profit this window. While Schurrle is an excellent player, Cuadrado is more technically gifted and consistent. Schwarzer, Salah, and Bertrand moving permanently has little impact on the current Chelsea squad.
Final thought: Improved starting eleven, lost depth, made profit.
Grade: B
Crystal Palace
In:
Yaya Sanogo (Arsenal, loan)
Shola Ameobi (Free)
Jordon Mutch (QPR, £4.5m)
Pape Souare (Lille, £4m)
Wilfried Zaha (Manchester United, undisclosed)
Keshi Anderson (Barton Rovers, undisclosed)
Lee Chung-yong (Bolton Wanderers, undisclosed)
Out:
Stuart O’Keefe (Cardiff City, undisclosed)
Zeki Fryers (Rotherham United, loan)
Barry Bannan (Bolton Wanderers, loan)
For the second year in a row Crystal Palace have had an excellent winter window, strengthening at all levels of the pitch. With Ameobi and Sanogo they have added two legitimate goal scoring threats, Mutch will help add depth to the midfield, Lee offers technique on the wing and Souare fills Palace’s long standing hole at left back. The biggest signing, however, has to be Wilfried Zaha. Still just 21, Zaha is a massive talent who may not always score but is always a threat and should help Palace to a comfortable mid-table finish.
Final thought: Filled all positional needs, signed Zaha, Palace to finish mid-table
Grade: A
Everton
In:
Aaron Lennon (Tottenham, loan)
Out:
Samuel Eto’o (Sampdoria, undisclosed)
Everton have struggled massively after last season’s 5th place finish, despite the team being largely the same. Did they choose to bolster the 5th worst defence in the Premier League? No. Instead, they added another winger to a position that already boasts Kevin Mirallas, Christian Atsu, and Aiden McGeady none of whom could possibly have been less productive than Lennon this season. Eto’o was meant to bring a veteran presence but instead brought disharmony to a club whose team mentality was their greatest strength.
Final thought: Added depth to an already deep position, didn’t address needs.
Grade: D
Hull City
In:
Dame N’Doye (Lokamotiv Moscow, £3m)
Out:
Tom Ince (Derby County, loan)
I really thought Hull would be good this season, considering the summer signings of Hatem Ben Arfa, Michael Dawson, Gaston Ramirez, and Abel Hernandez to all be great ones. Well, that is clearly not the case as they find themselves in a desperate battle to even stay in the Premier League. Their anemic attack has left them with just twenty goals, second worst in the league this season, but bringing in a third striker means one of their eleven best players will not be in their starting eleven. Tom Ince has had a marginal impact this season and his departure is not necessarily a negative.
Final thought: Understandable that they signed a striker but not sure that is the problem.
Grade: D
Leicester City
In:
Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea, free)
Andrej Kramaric (Rijeka, ~ £9.5m)
Robert Huth (Stoke City, loan)
Out:
No senior players
Leicester have done well by addressing their biggest needs. Kramaric is capable of either leading the line on his own or nicely complimenting Leonardo Ulloa. Huth should immediately step into their defence, and Schwarzer gives Leicester a veteran netminder while Schmeichel is out injured. While I am not sure they will be good enough to stay up, they have put themselves in the best position to try.
Final thought: Added three starting calibre players, did their best in the window.
Grade: A
Liverpool
In:
Jordan Ibe (Derby County, recalled)
Out:
Suso (AC Milan, ~ £1m)
Oussama Assaidi (Al Ahli, undisclosed)
Very little movement from a side that should be pushing for European football. Recalling Ibe will likely have little impact in the Premier League. Suso and Assaidi never really came good for Liverpool and their departures seemed inevitable. Sturridge’s return should go a long way towards them achieving their objectives.
Final thought: Should have re-inforced.
Grade: D
Manchester City
In:
Wilfried Bony (Swansea City, £25m)
Out:
Matija Nastasic (Schalke, loan)
Scott Sinclair (Aston Villa, loan)
Wilfried Bony, while an excellent player, feels like a frivolous buy for Manchester City. I realise that they prefer to have four strikers at the club but this move does not make catching Chelsea anymore likely. Nastasic has struggled since his excellent debut year and Sinclair has rarely even made the bench since signing from Swansea in 2012.
Final thought: Big spending club spends big.
Grade: C
Manchester United
In:
Victor Valdes (Free)
Andy Kellet (Bolton, loan)
Out:
Michael Keane (Burnley,£2m)
Will Keane (Sheffield Wednesday, loan)
Marnick Vermijl (Sheffield Wednesday, undisclosed)
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace, undisclosed)
Darren Fletcher (West Bromwich Albion, free)
Manchester United currently sit third, but were unlikely to spend big after splurging in the summer. I am a bit surprised they did not bring in another centre half or wing back to supplement Louis Van Gaal’s 3-5-2 and not doing so may cost them a Champions League spot come May. Darren Fletcher is the only departure that factored into United’s squad this season but his desire for playing time is understandable.
Final thought: Needed more depth in defence and didn’t get it.
Grade: D
Newcastle United
In:
None
Out:
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (Roma, £5.5m)
Hatem Ben Arfa (released)
Davide Santon (Inter Milan, loan)
Unsurprisingly Newcastle did not spend with an interim manager at the helm. The departures of Yanga-Mbiwa, Ben Arfa, and Santon show the club is looking to rebuild instead of trying to recapture the success they had in 2011/12.
Final thought: Nothing to see here.
Grade: F
Queens Park Rangers
In:
Mauro Zarate (West Ham, loan)
Out:
Jordon Mutch (Crystal Palace, ~ £4.5m)
Josh Laurent (Brentford, undisclosed)
I thought Zarate would have a big impact when he signed with West Ham United in the summer. That obviously did not happen but hopefully QPR can get the best out of him as, at the moment, they look sure to go down.
Final thought: Gambled on their current squad keeping them up.
Grade: F
Southampton
In:
Eljero Elia (Werder Bremen, loan)
Filip Djuricic (Benfica, loan)
Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea, £9.5m)
Out:
Jack Cork (Swansea, £3m)
Great window from Southampton. Eljero Elia finally looks like the player he was always meant to be, Djuricic automatically steps in to fill the void left by Jack Cork, and Ryan Bertrand finally found the right system in which to grow. The more they play and grow the more I am convinced that they could legitimately stay in the top four.
Final thought: Great business all around for Southampton. Again.
Grade: A
Stoke City
In:
Philipp Wollscheid (Bayer Leverkusen, loan)
Out:
Maurice Edu (Philadelphia Union, undisclosed)
Ryan Shotton (Derby County, undisclosed)
Robert Huth (Leicester City, loan)
Not much in the way of transfers at Stoke, but I do think Wollscheid is an improvement on the outgoing Huth. Maurice Edu joins a long list of failed US internationals in the Premier League that have been forced to return to the friendly confines of the MLS. They could have really used Lennon to temporarily fill in for Bojan who is likely out for the rest of the season.
Final thought: Weren’t able to replace the injured Bojan, improved at centre back.
Grade: C
Sunderland
In:
Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC, swap)
Out:
Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC, swap)
Mikael Mandron (Shrewsbury Town, loan)
Charis Mavrias (Panathinaikos, loan)
Sunderland have basically traded a striker who forgot what a bulging net looks like for one who scores for fun. Sunderland have struggled this season but with Defoe, Wickham, and Steven Fletcher up front they should be able to fire themselves to safety this season.
Final thought: Defoe should be enough to keep Sunderland up this season.
Grade: B
Swansea City
In:
Kyle Naughton (Tottenham Hotspur, £5m)
Jack Cork (Southampton, £3m)
Nelson Oliveira (Benfica, loan)
Matt Grimes (Exeter City, ~ £1.5m)
Out:
Wilfried Bony (Manchester City, £25m)
Jazz Richards (Fulham, loan)
Rory Donnelly (Tranmere, loan)
Ryan Hedges (Leyton Orient, loan)
Despite the big loss of Wilfried Bony, Swansea still had a pretty solid transfer window. By holding onto Bafetimbi Gomis they already have an in-house replacement for Bony, and Oliveira is a more than decent back-up option. Naughton is a solid player who should quickly take the starting right back position from the aging Angel Rangel. Jack Cork may have a hard time breaking into the midfield with Britton, Shelvey, Ki, and Carroll all vying for two or three spots.
Final thought: Cashed in on Bony, strengthened throughout the squad.
Grade: B
Tottenham Hotspur
In:
Deandre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders, ~ £2m)
Dele Alli (MK Dons, £5m)
Out:
Kyle Naughton (Swansea, £5m)
Aaron Lennon (Everton, loan)
Benoit Assou-Ekotto (released)
Dele Alli (MK Dons, loan)
Tottenham had a bit of a disappointing window having neither cleared out unwanted players, nor reinforced for the rest of the season. That being said, Yedlin and Alli are both highly touted youngsters who will likely be given a chance sooner rather than later based on Pochettino’s ability to develop youth. As for outgoings, Naughton and Lennon hadn’t played since early December and will not necessarily be missed. Adebayor, Kaboul, and Capoue all turned down moves away from Spurs which kept chairman Daniel Levy from clearing a massive chunk of cash off the wage bill.
Final thought: Built towards the future but failed to strengthen for the run-in.
Grade: D
West Bromwich Albion
In:
Callum McManaman (Wigan Athletic, £4.75m)
Darren Fletcher (Man United, free)
Out:
No senior players
Albion have done a nice bit of business this January. McManaman already had a fantastic debut against Tottenham and Darren Fletcher will bring elite level experience to Tony Pulis’ side. Like Burnley, their greatest accomplishment this January was keeping hold of a young talented English striker. Berahino looks to be a major factor in Albion’s season and I think enough to guide them to a comfortable finish in the table.
Final thought: Strengthened the midfield, kept Berahino.
Grade: B
West Ham United
In:
Doneil Henry (Apollon Limassol, £1.5m)
Out:
Mauro Zarate (QPR, loan)
Ricardo Vaz Te (released)
Blair Turgott (Coventry, free)
Matthias Firmino (released)
I was surprised to see West Ham make such little effort to ensure a top half finish. While they currently sit 8th, they were 4th at Christmas and could have done with an impact signing or two. They did manage to hold onto Winston Reid for the time being, and look to have already brought in his replacement with the signing of Doneil Henry.
Final thought: Should have made a meaningful move, but should finish midtable.
Grade: D
