Top 5 bargain buys from the January transfer window 2020
With big-money signings being made with alarming regularity in modern football, finding value in the transfer market has become something of an art. Football clubs all over Europe are not just scouring the globe for the best players but also working tirelessly to sign the player(s) in question at a bargain.
However, while this is difficult as it is during the summer transfer window, striking a deal that offers great value for money is almost impossible in January, a month when clubs are looking to hold on to their top talent so as not to affect their own season.
Despite all that, the January transfer window always throws up a few gems that prove themselves to be really astute pieces of business, and 2020 was no different. With some clubs looking to push for European qualification and others looking to beat the drop, a number of exciting deals were struck.
While only time will tell how successful the deals included on this list proved to be, here’s a look at what could potentially be the top 5 bargain buys from the January transfer window 2020.
#5. Takumi Minamino, Red Bull Salzburg to Liverpool, £7.25m
Not just content with being (by far) the best team on the pitch this season, Liverpool stole a march on their Premier League and European opponents by signing Takumi Minamino from Red Bull Salzburg this January. Minamino rose to prominence this season during an impressive campaign in the Champions League, which included him scoring against Liverpool in a 4-3 defeat at Anfield in October.
So impressed were the Reds by what they saw from the Japanese that they had no hesitation in paying his incredibly low £7.25m release clause, which in today’s inflated market is almost as good as a free transfer.
Minamino joined Liverpool on a four-and-a-half-year deal when the window opened on January 1 and made his debut four days later in Liverpool’s FA Cup third-round tie against local rivals Everton. Before the move, he had scored nine goals and provided 11 assists in 22 appearances for the Austrian side this season, which means that Liverpool have made a quality addition in an absolute steal of a deal!