January transfer window: Top 10 transfers by value
The January transfer window of 2019 has finally come to a close - and although it wasn't as exciting as the previous one, we saw some pretty big deals go through.
Last year saw several big-money transfers - Coutinho to Barcelona, van Dijk to Liverpool, Aubameyang to Arsenal, and Laporte to Manchester City to name a few.
Most of the top six clubs in England have been relatively quiet in the transfer window this season, with Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham choosing not to recruit any new players.
Speaking of Spurs, they created yet another unwanted record by becoming the first English team not to sign any players in consecutive transfer windows. That may well come back to haunt them later this season, with injuries to Dele Alli and Harry Kane, coupled with the departure of Moussa Dembele leaving them with a threadbare squad.
Elsewhere, Barcelona have been active with the signings of Frenkie de Jong and Kevin-Prince Boateng, although the former deal will technically go through only in the summer.
Deadline day saw a lot of exciting moves - Denis Suarez to Arsenal, Miguel Almiron to Newcastle, Michy Batshuayi to Crystal Palace, Peter Crouch to Burnley, and Youri Tielemans to Leicester.
Let's take a look at the five biggest January signings in terms of transfer fees:
#5 Paco Alcacer to Dortmund (£22.7m)
Considering that Alcacer has been on loan with Borussia Dortmund since last summer, the Germans' decision to make his move permanent flew under the radar following a frantic deadline day.
The 25-year-old joined Barcelona in 2016, but he never quite managed to be as prolific as he was at Valencia, scoring just 10 league goals over two seasons.
From just 5 Bundesliga starts, and 14 appearances overall, Alcacer has scored a mind-blowing 12 goals already. Earlier in the season, he shot into the spotlight when he made a 30-minute cameo against Augsburg and scored a match-winning hattrick.
If his performances so far are anything to go by, £22.7 million will be an absolute bargain.
Dortmund are currently 6 points clear of Bayern at the top of the league, and are in prime position to break the latter's 6 year dominance in Germany.
Alcacer never really looked like he was going to break through in Spain, so this looks like the perfect deal for all parties involved.