Top 10 Premier League deadline day transfers, January 2023: Porro, Fernandez Jorginho…

The January transfer window in 2023 broke the record for the highest spend in a winter window in Premier League history, with clubs shelling £815million.

Lavish spending went on right until the window slammed shut, with over £150million being spent on the final day – January 31. That was more than was spent in the entirety of the 2021 window, when clubs only parted way with a combined £70million.

Here, TEAMtalk ranks the top 10 deadline day transfers made by Premier League sides in January 2023.

Pedro Porro

The majority of the January window saw Tottenham attempt to convince Sporting CP into allowing Pedro Porro to leave. It looked at one point like it wouldn’t happen, but Daniel Levy finally got the Portuguese side to allow Spurs to take him on loan, with an obligation to pay around £40million for him in the summer.

The Spaniard’s debut could not have gone much worse – the north London outfit were hammered 4-1 by Leicester City, and Porro was dropped for the next game.

But he came back with a vengeance, scoring goals against Southampton, Manchester United and Leeds, alongside three Premier League assists – one coming during the game against the Whites in which he scored.

That was the final game of the season, and Porro brought that form into the current campaign – he’s assisted eight times in the Premier League this term – only three players have provided more goals – and scored a screamer in a 1-0 FA Cup win over Burnley.

Despite his rocky start, he’s quickly developed into one of the best right-backs in the league under Ange Postecoglou, and Tottenham will be thanking their lucky stars they managed to get the deal over the line in January.

Enzo Fernandez

Chelsea capped off a window in which they spent over £500million with the most expensive signing of the lot – Enzo Fernandez. The Argentine midfielder cost them a British transfer record fee of almost £107million.

Enamoured by the Benfica midfielder’s World Cup performances – Fernandez scored and assisted on the way to lifting the trophy in 2022 – Todd Boehly fought tooth and nail to ensure the Blues were the side that snapped him up ahead of any rivals.

That the midfielder cost a British transfer record fee put a lot of pressure of him from the off, and while Chelsea’s 12th-placed finish last term suggests nobody truly covered themselves in glory, Fernandez was one of the brighter sparks.

Two Premier League assists last season have been followed by two goals and an assist in the top flight this term, two League Cup goals on the way to the final and a goal in the FA Cup.

On his day, the 23-year-old is a phenomenal asset, and that he’s so young means he’ll only get better, and will continue to repay the hefty price that he was bought for.

Jorginho

Arsenal were flying high in the Premier League in January, and Mikel Arteta looked to supplement his squad with more talent to ensure they kept their top spot until the end of the season.

Declan Rice was on the radar, but amid a good European run for West Ham, it looked unlikely they would sell in the winter.

With both of those things in mind, Arteta’s unexpected stopgap signing was that of former Champions League winner Jorginho, in a £12million deal from Chelsea.

He was involved in eight wins in his 14 Gunners appearances last term – providing one assist – though they heartbreakingly finished second to serial title winners Manchester City.

In any case, Jorginho proved a useful asset, and his experience for £12million was a bargain, even if he was only used consistently until the signing of Rice was completed in the summer. Jorginho has started just four league games since the Englishman walked through the door.

Illia Zabarnyi

Illia Zabarnyi came through the door at the Vitality Stadium as one of Bournemouth’s most expensive signings in history. His start at the club was not the best, as he spent the first eight games of his Premier League career sidelined with an ankle injury.

That injury meant the Ukrainian international made just five top-flight appearances last season, only three of which came from the start, and all three of them were losses.

This season, he’s shown exactly why he was signed, having not missed a single minute for the 13th-placed Cherries. He was a pillar of the side that went seven games without a league loss between early November and late December.

Within that run were wins over Newcastle and Manchester United – with clean sheets kept in both – and a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa.

Zabarnyi has done so well this term that he’s been linked with high-flying Tottenham, highlighting how much of a coup his initial signing has turned out to be.

Keylor Navas

Nottingham Forest would have liked not to have had to sign a goalkeeper in January. Indeed, they would have been more than happy had Manchester United loanee Dean Henderson remained with them all season, having kept six clean sheets in his first 18 games.

However, he was injured in January, which meant they had to go find a useful asset to take his place.

Being able to call upon an ex-Real Madrid goalkeeper from Paris Saint-Germain is something some sides could only dream of, but Forest managed just that when they got Keylor Navas on loan from the French side.

Had a less experienced stopped come through the door, they might have struggled to stay afloat, but Forest finished the season four points above the drop zone, with Navas crucially keeping clean sheets in his first and last game.

Without them, the club’s fate might have been much worse and they’ve managed to kick on from last season’s survival and are in a better spot this term.

READ MORE: Eight of Jurgen Klopp’s biggest transfer regrets during his time at Liverpool: Keita, Bellingham and more…

Marcel Sabitzer

A curious January window saw Manchester United dip into the loan market for a few assets. They brought in Jack Butland and Wout Weghorst, and injuries in the midfield meant that was an area that also required strengthening at the back end.

On deadline day, they plumped for Marcel Sabitzer, an experienced international player with two Bundesliga titles under his belt.

He’d been a very prolific goalscorer and assister during his time pre-Bayern, with RB Leipzig – he scored 52 goals and provided 42 assists there – but that production dropped off when he got to the Allianz, which led to his club allowing him to move to Old Trafford.

It’s fair to say United did not get the old iteration of Sabitzer, but he did at least chip in with three goals and an assist in all competitions. That included a goal in the League Cup quarter-final, a competition United won, though Sabitzer was injured for the final.

Felipe

Alongside Navas and another five players, former Atletico Madrid centre-back Felipe joined Forest in January, coming through the door the same day as the goalkeeper.

He had won the La Liga title with his previous employers two seasons prior, so was far from a bad asset to help a struggling Premier League side.

Similarly to Navas, he played a key role in helping Forest avoid the drop from the top flight. He played all but two games he was available for in his first season, and chipped in with an assist from the back in one of those.

He might have featured higher in this list had he continued to play an important role for Forest this season.

However, he’s been plagued with injuries – something that had hardly happened before joining the club – and has managed just 132 league minutes this season, and Forest have lost two of the three games he’s featured in.

Kamaldeen Sulemana

Southampton have only ever spent more money than the £22million they paid to sign Kamaldeen Sulemana from Rennes in January twice before, on Danny Ings and Tino Livramento.

The winger had shown himself to be a useful attacking asset during his time with Rennes, scoring four goals and chipping in with two assists in 20 Ligue 1 games the season before his move, as well as a goal and two assists in all competitions the first-half of the season in which he did move.

He notched twice and assisted once in 18 games for the Saints in the second-half of the campaign, but the task of trying to keep them up was too much for him to do alone, and they were relegated from the Premier League.

Sulemana is having a decent season in the Championship, having assisted three times so far in 13 games – two of them came in a 3-1 win over Leeds United.

The winger has helped the Saints to third in the table and could conceivably return to the top flight with them next season.

Harry Souttar

Leicester, similarly to Southampton, were in the mire in January, and risked being relegated from the Premier League. As such, they looked to shore up their defence.

Harry Souttar was one of the two defenders they brought through the door in January, and he got off to a good start, assisting in a 4-1 victory over Tottenham in his second game.

Results slipped beyond that point, though, with the Foxes only winning two more games beyond February. Souttar played in neither of those, as he was dropped for six games towards the end of the season.

He’s started just one game for Leicester in the Championship this season, with Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes the clear favourites in the centre-back position.

Albert Sambi Lokonga

After failing to have much of an impact following his move to Arsenal for approximately £17million, Albert Sambi Lokonga was shipped out on loan to Crystal Palace.

The midfielder’s impact was similarly low at Selhurst Park, but he was at least involved in three draws – including one against Liverpool in which he played the full 90 minutes – and a win over Southampton.

His impact, while low, was at least greater than some players that moved on deadline day.

While it’s of little comfort to Palace, Lokonga is impressing on loan with Luton at the moment, where he’s provided two assists in eight games.

READ MORE: 12 players Liverpool made a profit on in the Jurgen Klopp era: Coutinho, Solanke, Minamino…