The January 2025 transfer window slammed shut on Monday, with Premier League clubs spending over £394m in total on new signings.
Here, we pick out the winners and losers from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective.
- READ MORE: Transfer deadline day: The new FPL arrivals
- READ MORE: FPL reveal prices of deadline-day arrivals
- READ MORE: FPL new signings: Can Emery unlock Rashford + Asensio’s potential?
THE WINNERS
OLLIE WATKINS
Aston Villa’s decision to sell Jhon Duran to Al Nassr leaves Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) as the club’s only recognised centre-forward.
After Watkins went off with a muscle problem at Molineux on Saturday, Donyell Malen (£5.5m) came off the bench and played as a number nine.
Fellow new arrivals Marcus Rashford (£6.6m) and Marco Asensio (£6.0m) are other options through the middle, but when fit, Watkins is unequivocally Unai Emery’s favoured centre-forward.
The rise of Duran, who frequently came off the bench and scored, had a direct consequence on Watkins’ playing time in the first half of the season.
Watkins averaged 86.9 minutes per start in 2023/24, but this has fallen to 76.3 minutes per start in the current campaign, a significant drop.
You’d expect Watkins to play considerably more minutes following the sale of Duran, then, enhancing his Fantasy appeal.
DANGO OUATTARA
Andoni Iraola had said many times throughout January that Bournemouth were searching for a first-team striker, having lost Evanilson (£5.6m) and Enes Unal (£5.4m) to significant injuries.
It didn’t come to fruition, however, despite the club’s recruitment team exploring the market.
Dango Ouattara’s (£5.0m) Fantasy stock has risen considerably as a result, as he should continue playing as an out-of-position central striker, at least until Evanilson is back anyway.
Ouattara wasn’t a regular starter until recently, but he has now played 90 minutes in each of Bournemouth’s last four matches.
In that time, he’s scored a hat-trick against Nottingham Forest, provided an assist at St James’ Park and racked up some decent underlying numbers, including five Opta-defined ‘big chances’, the most of any FPL midfielder except Phil Foden (£9.3m).
Above: Dango Ouattara’s shot map in Gameweeks 21-24, via StatsBomb
JACOB MURPHY
Newcastle United’s failure to sign a right-winger in the January transfer window, alongside the departure of Miguel Almiron to Atalanta United, lifts the appeal of Jacob Murphy (£5.1m).
The budget midfielder has excelled recently, producing four goals and six assists in 10 starts, a run that has seen him average 6.6 points per match.
On top of that, since his run in the Newcastle first-team started in Gameweek 14, Murphy is among the top three midfielders for StatsBomb xG assisted.
Joelinton £6.0m), Anthony Gordon (£7.6m) and Harvey Barnes (£5.9m), who should be back soon from injury, have been trialled down the right flank this season to mixed success, so it’s very much Murphy’s shirt to lose.
KAI HAVERTZ
The January transfer window closed without Arsenal adding a new striker, despite the loss of Gabriel Jesus (£6.6m) to injury for the rest of the season.
A move for Ollie Watkins was swiftly dismissed, leaving Kai Havertz (£7.8m) as the only recognised centre-forward at Mikel Arteta’s disposal.
The Spaniard has suggested Leandro Trossard (£6.8m), Raheem Sterling (£6.7m) and Ethan Nwaneri (£4.5m) can fill in, but Havertz’s importance to the team has undoubtedly cranked up a notch.
Arteta has even contemplated a scenario where Havertz starts every remaining game this season:
“It is a possibility. Maybe we go through that scenario and he scores another 15 or 18 goals? Can you imagine? That’s a good scenario.
“Genetically he is a powerhouse. He really looks after himself. When you see the professional, how he lives his life, it is immaculate. He does more than any other player there. That is not a coincidence. I think he is so intelligent. He knows what is good for him and what is not. We know how to manage him and we believe that when he says something it is for the right reason, not because he wants to avoid something. When something works, don’t touch him.
“He has played a lot of football but his robustness, his availability is unbelievable. When you ask him, he feels better when he is playing every three days. He is so well-built. He is a player that anything you ask him, he is happy to do: to run in zone six, to be very robust, to make long distances. His body absorbs everything.” – Mikel Arteta
Despite his often-erratic finishing, Havertz has produced five goals and two assists in his last 10 matches.
BETO
Another club that failed to bring in a striker was Everton.
One factor in that decision was surely the performance of Beto (£4.9m) during Saturday’s emphatic 4-0 win over Leicester City.
The Toffees forward – on only his second Premier League start of the campaign – struck two goals to total 13 points at Goodison Park.
With January arrival Carlos Alcaraz (£4.9m) set to compete for a place in Everton’s midfield, Beto is the only fit recognised senior striker available to David Moyes at present, presenting an opportunity for a sustained first-team run.
“He has done a lot for me, just saying: ‘Play your game, run in behind.’ To be aggressive, to try to bully the defenders. Jump, even if I don’t mean to get something. And that gave me a little bit of confidence – no, a boost of confidence – because I can play my game, and I know he trusts me. Even if I’m on the bench, I know he will trust me to come in, to do my game.
“Me, I will try to give my best to improve. And I need to be ready. I need to recover, and I need to be ready. I know the team will need a lot from me; they will ask a lot from me. And for my confidence, I think my confidence will come game by game. Keep playing, keep getting minutes in the tank and always, it will go a good way.” – Beto on David Moyes
THE LOSERS
BRENNAN JOHNSON
Tottenham Hotspur completed the loan signing of Mathys Tel (6.0m) from Bayern Munich on Monday, with an option to buy for £55m.
The youngster is probably best suited to a wide role, but he’s versatile and can operate across the frontline.
In fact, Tel has previously said his best position is somewhere “between a number nine and a left-winger”.
Ange Postecoglou surely won’t drop Son Heung-min (£9.8m), however, bar the odd rest of course, so Tel’s best chance of significant minutes may therefore come as competition for Brennan Johnson (£6.2m) down the right, or through the middle, at least until Dominic Solanke (£7.4m) returns from injury.
It could impact Dejan Kulusevski (£6.4m), too, although it is worth noting much of his best work this season has been from a central midfield role.
Discussing Tel’s best position in Wednesday’s EFL Cup presser, Postecoglou said:
“Archie [Gray] wanted to be a central midfielder, so who knows where Mathys will end up! Look, he’s got the attributes to play, I think, as a nine for sure, but he’s played wide really successfully as well. That’s the beauty of him coming into us. At the moment we’re going to need him probably in all of those areas because it’s fair to say, as much as we’ve got issues at the back, we’ve probably got bigger issues in the front third at the moment. We’re missing three wingers and our striker.
“I get people are still dismissing the fact that tomorrow night we’re still gonna have nine, maybe 10 first-team players out of our starting line-up, so having Mathys, who can play both wide and central… Richy’s doing great for us at the moment but again he’s coming off not playing for a while and we’ve got to be really careful with him. Sonny’s playing all the time. We’ve got Mikey, he’s a 17-year-old. We’ve got Deki who can play in there. So, having [Tel] who can play either side… I reckon in the short term until we get some numbers back, I think he can fill all three roles.” – Ange Postecoglou on Mathys Tel
TYRICK MITCHELL
Following his arrival at Selhurst Park, Ben Chilwell (£4.6m) will provide cover and competition for Tyrick Mitchell (£4.8m).
Mitchell has started each of Crystal Palace’s 24 Premier League games this season, averaging 86.8 minutes per appearance, so the need for a second left-footed option was clear.
Chilwell could feasibly play at centre-back, too, although this feels much less likely.
“When it comes to the style of football that he [Glasner] wants to play — and obviously playing in a back five with wing-backs is something that I’m familiar with, I did it the season at Chelsea we won the Champions League — it’s something that I enjoy.
“The attacking side of things suits me as a player, and he [Glasner] emphasised that it was something that he really wants from his wing-backs, which obviously excited me.” – Ben Chilwell
Chilwell has not made a Premier League appearance since April 2024, however, so expect a bedding in period.
DIOGO DALOT
Another versatile player, Patrick Dorgu (£4.5m), has arrived in the Premier League, this time at Manchester United.
He played as a full-back, wing-back and winger at previous club Lecce.
It is presumed, however, that he’ll perform as a left-sided wing-back in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation.
He’ll therefore provide competition to Diogo Dalot (£5.0m), who has somehow started and completed 90 minutes in every Premier League game he has been available for under Amorim, despite several ineffective displays.
Dalot can, of course, shift over to right wing-back, too, but Dorgu’s arrival undeniably dents his appeal.
MAN CITY’S CENTRE-BACKS
Manchester City had a busy January transfer window, spending in the region of £178m.
It included the signings of Abdukodir Khusanov (£5.0m) and Vitor Reis (£4.5m), who add further depth at centre-back.
Both players are young and raw, which was abundantly clear in Khusanov’s debut against Chelsea in Gameweek 23, but they are nonetheless expected to contribute in the second half of the season.
That could impact Manuel Akanji (£5.3m) and John Stones (£5.3m), plus Nathan Ake (£5.3m) and Ruben Dias (£5.4m), who are currently injured.
It’s unlikely any of us will be considering a City defender any time soon, but if you were thinking the arrival of Nico Gonzalez (£6.0m) could help shore up their backline, the additions of Khusanov and Reis add further complications.
Another signing, Omar Marmoush (£7.0m), has started each of City’s last two Premier League games, pushing Kevin De Bruyne (£9.4m) onto the bench.
