As the January transfer window is coming to a close in it’s final week, let’s take a look at the top signings that caught everyone’s eye in the first month of 2014.
Aiden McGeady
The pacy winger joined Everton from Spartak Moscow on a four-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He won four Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish League Cups and two Scottish Cups in six years for Celtic before moving to Russia. He is on this list because of his fancy tricks, notably “The McGeady Spin”.
Juan Mata
Who would have imagined Chelsea’s two-time Player of the Year to be benched in the first half of the season under new coach Jose Mourinho? The likes of Oscar (new number 10 described by The Special One), Eden Hazard, summer signings Willian and Andre Schurrle made it difficult for the Spanish international to break into the starting eleven. David Moyes decided to break the bank and capture Juan Mata’s signature for a club record fee of £37.1 million. Juan Mata vowed to perform in every game in order to make it into the Spanish squad for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil this summer.
Mohamed Salah
The battle to capture Mohamed Salah’s signature between Liverpool and Chelsea was one of the highlights of the January transfer window. The 21-year old Egyptian eventually signed for the Blues for a fee reported to be £11 million. He captured the eyes of world football after scoring in both victories over Chelsea for Basel in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.
Nemanja Matic
He was formerly a Chelsea player, before leaving for Benfica in a deal which brought David Luiz to Chelsea. He rejoined the Londoners for for a fee of £21 million. At 6 foot 4, the Serbian was what Jose Mourinho was looking for. He wanted depth in his squad, and depth he has, with Frank Lampard, Ramires, Nemanja Matic, John Obi Mikel and David Luiz as an alternative.
