5 most expensive winter transfers in football history
The winter transfer window, which spans over the month of January of every calendar year, is known for both essential purchases and panic buys.
Some teams managed to identify their weaknesses over the first half of the season and made strategic purchases in the winter transfer window. There are also some desperate clubs that are trying to sign big players for crazy money in an attempt to save their season. One thing is for certain, drama is always in abundance in January.
In this section, we will take a look at the five biggest transfers that have taken place in the winter window over the years and see how the moves have worked out. Now, without further ado, let’s dig into the five most expensive winter transfers in the history of the sport:
#5 Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea) — €64 million
After a prolonged spell of negotiations, Chelsea signed Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund for a €64 million fee in January 2019. However, they sent him back to Dortmund on loan for the remainder of the 2018-19 campaign and got him on their books in the summer of 2019.
The American forward, who exuded confidence at Dortmund, did not look at home at Chelsea in his debut season. He still managed to finish the season with a respectable tally of 11 goals and 10 assists in 34 matches across competitions.
Christian Pulisic has scored some stunners since arriving at Stamford Bridge 💥 https://t.co/qes8YAc60D
Pulisic was expected to grow in west London, and become an integral member of the Blues; but that has not turned out to be the case. He remains on the fringes at the club and is being heavily linked with a move away from London (via journalist Paul Brown on GiveMeSport).
Since his highly-anticipated move from Dortmund, Pulisic has played 135 games for the club, recording 26 goals and 21 assists.
#4 Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao to Manchester City) — €65 million
Premier League giants Manchester City have never been shy to splurge on the positions they deem important. In January 2018, City spent a staggering €65 million to transfer Spanish centre-back Aymeric Laporte from La Liga outfit Athletic Bilbao, considerably bolstering their defense.
Laporte packs a ton of pace, is decisive, does not hesitate to clear the ball away, and rarely fumbles under pressure. With Ruben Dias, Nathaniel Ake, and John Stones in the team, he might not start every game for City, but he remains an integral part of Guardiola’s plans.
great effort from everyone, we go again 
A tough one to start again but we are through 💙 great effort from everyone, we go again 🔥 https://t.co/lIyCXZOE4t
Laporte, who has won four Premier League titles since joining City, has played 164 games for the club thus far, scoring 12 times.
#3 Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina to Juventus) — €82 million
Juventus spent a whopping €82 million to prise away Dusan Vlahovic from arch-rivals Fiorentina in the 2022 winter transfer window. With Cristiano Ronaldo gone off to Manchester United (summer 2021), the Bianconeri needed a strong centre-forward — a profile that Vlahovic fitted perfectly.
Vlahovic signed for Juventus on the back of a blistering first half of the 2021-22 season. The Serbian had scored 17 times and claimed four assists in 21 Serie A games for Fiorentina. After joining Juventus, his goals dried up, with him scoring only seven times in 15 Serie A appearances last season.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I just really want Dušan Vlahović at United. https://t.co/Gv9lb5Qs5D
The biggest winter transfer of 2022 has had a decent start to the 2022-23 season, scoring six times and providing an assist in 10 Serie A appearances. In the Champions League, however, he failed to prove his mettle, scoring only once in five games before the Old Lady were eliminated from the group stage.
#2 Virgil van Dijk (Southampton to Liverpool) — €85 million
Liverpool love to stick to the summer window for their big-ticket purchases, so it came as a surprise to many when they signed Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for €85 million in January 2018.
Jurgen Klopp and Co.’s bold transfer has paid off handsomely, with the Dutch defender firmly establishing himself as one of the best in the world. In his debut season, he helped Liverpool to the Champions League final, where they eventually lost to Real Madrid. The following year, Van Dijk led from the front as the Reds conquered Europe, beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the final.
🗣️ "Virgil felt a little bit the muscle but said he is fine, and he's a very good judge of these kind of things. But I didn't want to take any risk – the physios looked quite happy when I said we don’t take risks. But I think it is not an injury"
Klopp on van Dijk sub #LFC https://t.co/jGIZx9Itgy
In the 2019-20 season, Liverpool won their first-ever Premier League title, with Van Dijk once again leading from the front. The former Southampton man suffered a grade 3 ACL tear in the 2020-21 season and was sidelined for most of the season. He bounced back strongly in the 2021-22 season as Liverpool won the FA Cup-Carabao Cup double.
Since joining, Van Dijk has played 205 matches for the Reds across competitions, pitching in with 18 goals and 11 assists.
#1 Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool to Barcelona) — €135 million
Six months after Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for a record €222 million, Barcelona signed Philippe Coutinho for a staggering €135 million fee from Liverpool. It was Liverpool’s record departure and Barcelona’s second-biggest transfer, with only Ousmane Dembele’s €140 million transfer eclipsing it.
Unfortunately, for the Blaugrana, the Brazilian attacking midfielder never managed to find his footing in the Catalonian capital. One-and-a-half seasons after his move, Coutinho was loaned out to Bayern Munich. He scored twice against his parent club in the 2019-20 Champions League semi-final, inflicting an 8-2 defeat upon them. He won the treble with the Bavarians in the 2019-20 season.
Philippe Coutinho on IG 💜 https://t.co/NmCtwrPLrv
He returned to Camp Nou in the summer of 2020 but things did not improve, with him struggling to cement his position in the team. In January 2022, Barcelona loaned him out to Aston Villa before making his transfer permanent for a €20 million fee ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Before leaving Catalonia for good, Coutinho played 106 matches for Barca across competitions, scoring 25 goals and providing 14 assists.