Ranking all 44 Premier League signings of the last January transfer window from best to worst | OneFootball

Premier League clubs made more than 40 signings last January, but which ones were hits, which were misses, and for whom is the jury still out a year down the line?

The January transfer window can be an awkward time to do business, but Premier League clubs made use of it last time around. As ever, though, there was a mixed success rate with the players that were on the move.

Some only signed for a short-term loan spell or have been moved on already, whereas others went on to earn their place in their new team, some of whom retain it to this day.

Including business by the three clubs that went on to be relegated at the end of last season and the 17 clubs that remain in the top flight, we’ve ranked all the Premier League signings from last January from best to worst, taking into account not just their initial impact but how they are perceived now.

Marcus Rashford (Aston Villa)

After leaving Manchester United for the first time in his career but still backing himself at the top level, Rashford had a point to prove during his Villa loan spell.

With four goals and six assists from 17 games, he managed to do so, earning his eagerly desired move to Barcelona on the back of it.

Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth)

Bournemouth used Bill Foley’s connections at Lorient to land Kroupi last winter, but allowed him to complete the season on loan with the French club.

Since linking up with Andoni Iraola’s squad, Kroupi has shown his potential by reaching five Premier League goals by mid-December.

Nico Gonzalez (Manchester City)

Former Barcelona prospect Gonzalez, who joined City from Porto, has established himself as an increasingly trusted member of Pep Guardiola’s rotation options in midfield, even if a chasm in quality still remains with preferred starter Rodri.

Donyell Malen (Aston Villa)

Taken from Borussia Dortmund on a permanent deal, Malen scored three goals over the second half of the season for Villa.

He has already achieved more than double that tally in 2025-26 after establishing himself as a useful option to rotate with Ollie Watkins up front.

Charly Alcaraz (Everton)

Everton gave Alcaraz a second chance in the Premier League after his previous stint with Southampton and they quickly benefited from it as he made a swift impression.

Turning his loan from Flamengo into a permanent move became a priority for Everton, which they ticked off in the summer.

Marco Asensio (Aston Villa)

Asensio scored an impressive eight goals from 21 games while on loan at Villa from PSG, but his permanent takers were Fenerbahce instead.

Michael Kayode (Brentford)

It was a straightforward decision for Brentford to use their option to buy Kayode this summer after his loan spell from Fiorentina, with the Italian right-back looking a decent prospect for the future.

Kevin Danso (Tottenham)

Danso handily became a regular starter in defence for Spurs during his loan spell, which became permanent in the summer – although he has become more of a rotation option since.

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Diego Gomez (Brighton)

After arriving from MLS side Inter Miami, Gomez has slotted into the Brighton team and notably scored four goals in a Carabao Cup game against Barnsley earlier this season.

Omar Marmoush (Manchester City)

Marmoush was on fire for Eintracht Frankfurt prior to joining City and then averaged almost a goal every other game for the second half of the Premier League season, but he has taken a backseat this season and has been linked with another January move.

Patrick Dorgu (Manchester United)

The first signing of the Ruben Amorim era for United, Dorgu arrived from Lecce to offer an option at left wing-back, a role crucial to the new coach’s system – but it’s one they could already be looking to upgrade.

Jaden Philogene (Ipswich Town)

After his club-record move, Philogene couldn’t help Ipswich escape relegation but unsurprisingly has put up some encouraging numbers in the Championship this season.

Ayden Heaven (Manchester United)

Heaven only had one senior appearance for Arsenal in the Carabao Cup to his name when United acquired him, but the promising defender has now reached double figures of Premier League appearances for his new club.

Antonin Kinsky (Tottenham)

Kinsky gave Spurs a hand when they were short in the goalkeeping department last season, but the club are already being linked with more proven replacements for no. 1, Guglielmo Vicario, which isn’t a great sign.

Julio Enciso (Ipswich Town)

With two goals from 13 games and a relegation at the end of it, Enciso’s loan spell with Ipswich won’t go down in history, but it did help him earn a move to Strasbourg with a view to a future at Chelsea.

Andres Garcia (Aston Villa)

Garcia made the step up from the Spanish second division, where he was playing for Levante, to join Villa and made 10 appearances last season, but the right-back hasn’t featured this term due to injury.

Abdukodir Khusanov (Manchester City)

There was some clamour over Khusanov’s signature after his impressive form for Lens this time last year, with City winning the race for the defender. He had a shaky start to his Premier League career and has endured mixed fortunes since, but he is still fairly young.

Mathys Tel (Tottenham)

Tel already faces an uncertain future at Spurs just a year after they loaned him in from Bayern Munich in a move they made permanent on the back of their Europa League triumph. Despite scoring three goals during his loan spell, the forward hasn’t nailed down his place in their team yet.

Romain Esse (Crystal Palace)

Palace picked Esse up from the Championship and offered him his first taste of top-flight football, with the young midfielder making nine appearances (and scoring once) over the second half of last season but becoming more of a peripheral figure this term.

Emmanuel Agbadou (Wolves)

Agbadou looks set to have a relegation on his CV by the end of the season and has had a mixed time of things at Molineux after his £16.6m move from Reims. He looked reasonable at first, but his form has dropped off this season.

Alex Palmer (Ipswich Town)

Palmer stepped up to the Premier League for half a season after leaving West Brom, but is back in the Championship this season after Ipswich’s relegation.

Ben Chilwell (Crystal Palace)

After being virtually frozen out by Chelsea, Chilwell built his gametime back up with Palace on loan and even scored once, but ended up being shipped off to Strasbourg in the summer.

Axel Disasi (Aston Villa)

After falling down the Chelsea pecking order, Disasi went on loan to Villa and played 10 times, but didn’t bring himself back onto the radar enough to earn a move in the summer and has since been frozen out by the Blues.

Vitor Reis (Manchester City)

One for the future, Reis only played once in the Premier League after his arrival from Palmeiras and that was as a stoppage-time substitute. The defender is building up experience on loan at Girona now.

Stefanos Tzimas (Brighton)

Brighton let Tzimas stay on loan at Nurnberg after signing him on deadline day last winter, before welcoming the striker in the summer and seeing him score three goals from 12 games before suffering a serious injury.

Julio Soler (Bournemouth)

Soler’s appearances in the Premier League so far have been short cameos, with the 20-year-old left-back viewed as more one for the future by Bournemouth.

Willian (Fulham)

Willian was decent in his first spell with Fulham between 2022 and 2024, but failed to score in his second, which didn’t last any longer than the short-term, six-month deal he agreed.

Welington (Southampton)

Brought in from his native Brazil, left-back Welington has stayed with Southampton after their relegation from the Premier League.

Juma Bah (Manchester City)

After starting to break through with Valladolid, Bah joined City but has been loaned out since in France while they manage his development.

Yang Min-hyeok (Tottenham)

Spurs’ next South Korean forward, Yang joined in a pre-facilitated move but has been learning his trade on loan in the Championship so far.

Albert Gronbaek (Southampton)

Gronbaek joined Southampton on loan from Rennes but failed to score or assist from his five appearances, none of which lasted a full 90 minutes.

Ben Godfrey (Ipswich Town)

Godfrey played as many games last season on loan for Ipswich as he did in the first half of the season with Atalanta after his surprise move to Serie A, but it represented his stock falling.

Evan Ferguson (West Ham)

Ferguson was hoping a reunion with Graham Potter at West Ham could reignite his potential, but he failed to score during his loan spell from Brighton.

Woyo Coulibaly (Leicester City)

Coulibaly made five appearances for Leicester after joining from Parma but was sent back to Italy in the summer for a loan spell with Sassuolo.

Mathis Amougou (Chelsea)

Amougou added to Chelsea’s midfield ranks at a cost of about £12m but only played once in the Premier League – for a grand total of seven minutes – before being sold to Strasbourg in the summer.

Eiran Cashin (Brighton)

Cashin was seen as something of a prospect for a while at Derby but has taken a while to get going with Brighton after the step up to the Premier League; in fact, he dropped back down to the Championship on loan with Birmingham City in the summer.

Romelle Donovan (Brentford)

Teenage attacking midfielder Donovan joined Brentford to play in their B team before making his move from Birmingham City permanent. He has since earned two appearances at senior level in the EFL Cup.

Joachim Kayi Sanda (Southampton)

Young defender Kayi Sanda only played twice in the Premier League before being loaned out to the French second tier with Red Star after Southampton’s relegation.

Tyler Bindon (Nottingham Forest)

Forest signed Bindon from Reading but let him stay there on loan for the remainder of last season, before sending him to Sheffield United for his next loan this term.

Zain Silcott-Duberry (Bournemouth)

A former Chelsea academy player, Silcott-Duberry left the Blues, made one sub appearance (for a minute) for Bournemouth and went on to leave for Olympiacos’ B team in the summer.

Joel Ndala (Nottingham Forest)

Ndala joined Forest on loan from Man City but was placed in the academy ranks and not retained on a permanent basis, paving the way for a loan move to Hull City instead this summer.

Matai Akinmboni (Bournemouth)

Still a teenager, Akinmboni is yet to play at senior level for Bournemouth after his move from DC United.

Somto Boniface (Ipswich Town)

Boniface was playing at under-21 level with Chelsea before moving to Ipswich and has remained in that age bracket rather than senior football since.

Wayne Hennessey (Nottingham Forest)

Hennessey returned to Forest six months after being released, although he had continued to train with the club in the meantime.

Still, the veteran backup goalkeeper didn’t play again for the club and retired at the end of the season.